Wild Women With Toolboxes

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A hacksaw is one of those terribly useful tools that doesn’t cost a bomb and can cut through a diversity of materials. It has a blade with a long cutting edge to make the job go faster, and fine teeth to make a smooth cut. Different blades can be used to cut through seized bolts, metal pipes, sheet metal, plastic pipes, and wood.

The Parts of a Hacksaw

The metal frame is designed to hold a blade that is clamped in with a butterfly nut or a knurled screw. There is an angled handle on one end. The blades have a hole at each end which fit over pins in the frame. Some have an adjusting screw to allow the frame to slide back into the handle for shorter blades, and others have a fixed length.

A hacksaw is designed to cut on the push stroke, so always check that the teeth of the blade are facing forward and away from the handle.

Choosing the Right Hacksaw

The main consideration here is weight. A few hacksaws are too heavy for the average womanly hand, but most are of a lighter weight. A hollow tubular frame or thinner solid light frame is best. Consider a padded handle only if you will be doing a lot of sawing, as the padding adds to the weight.

Choosing the Right Blade

Originally hacksaws were designed to cut through metal, but with the right blade, they can cut through wood, ceramic tiles, and porcelain too. The higher the number, the finer the saw.

• Use a 32 tpi (teeth per inch) for conduit and thin metal, like copper pipe.

• Choose an 18 tpi blade for cutting off a bolt, to cut a plastic pipe, sheet metal, or doweling sticks.

• Pick a 14 tpi blade for aluminum and other soft materials.

• Select an 8 tpi blade for wood.

Make sure you buy the correct length for your hacksaw if it has a fixed frame. Take one of the old blades with you if you go to the store, or check the specs if ordering online.

Don’t be tempted to buy really cheap blades, they are too brittle and will break easily.

High speed steel blades are quite a bit more expensive and are used for cutting hard materials like stainless steel.

Keep the carbide blade for cutting glass, ceramics, marble, fiberglass, and steel. Carbide blades don’t have teeth, but the cutting edge is covered with carbide chips. There are also carbide rods that fit a hacksaw. Either can be used for the job at hand.

The Set of a Hacksaw Blade

The set refers the way the teeth are positioned on the blade.

Regular for softer, non-ferrous (no iron) metals, like copper, aluminum, or tin. The teeth alternate left and right and this is the blade that your hacksaw will come with when you buy it.

Raker for cutting into thick metals, like iron pipe and bolts. It will be slow going, but this is the right blade for the heavier jobs. The teeth alternate left and right in sets of three.

Wavy for hard, thin metals. The teeth are in a wave pattern and create a fine, smooth cut. Don’t try and use it on thick metals.

Putting the Hacksaw Blade in Correctly

For a fine saw blade where the teeth are hard to see, run your finger very gently along the edge. You will feel when the teeth grip your finger – that will be the direction to put the blade in with the teeth facing forward away from the handle.

Slip the holes in either end of the blade over the pins in the frame.

Turn the butterfly nut or knurled screw tight with your fingers to keep the blade taut.

How To Use a Hacksaw

• Mark the place that needs to be cut.

• Score the material with the blade to create a starting point.

• Put a drop of oil on the blade for cutting metal and use slow, steady strokes with the cutting action on the forward thrust. 

• With metal, heat can build up very quickly and you don’t want to wreck your blade by cutting too fast.

• Don’t press down too hard on the saw.

• Cut harder metals more slowly than softer materials.

• Keep the hacksaw upright so as not to twist the blade and snap it.

• Use the whole length of the blade.

• After you’ve made the forward cutting stroke, pull the saw back without any pressure, ready for the next forward cutting stroke.

• Secure a pipe in a vise or clamped to a table to cut, otherwise it will be difficult to hold still.

• If possible, when cutting through a bolt, cut from different sides until the saw goes through at the center. It will make cutting easier.

Check out the Stahlwille hacksaw for a strong, lightweight tool.

Troubleshooting

If the hacksaw blade snaps, is not cutting correctly, the blade keeps falling out, or the blade keeps getting stuck while you are trying to saw something, then read further:

• The blade is put in incorrectly. Check that the teeth are facing forwards and away from the handle.

• The edge is blunt. Check the edge gently with your fingers, if it doesn’t catch the skin, it’s blunt. Change the blade.

• The blade is bending all over the place. Tighten the wing nut or knurled screw with your fingers to make the blade taut. Don’t use a pair of pliers to tighten it, otherwise you could strip the screw.

• The blade is too fine for the material. Choose the right blade for the job.

• You are putting too much pressure on the saw and the blade snaps.

• The saw is not being kept upright to prevent the blade from twisting and breaking.

• If the piece you are sawing is wobbling all over the place. It needs to be clamped to keep it steady and stop the blade from getting stuck when the piece moves.

©Kerry Biddle, 2020

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Image Credits

• Copper Pipes – Image by Eifelhunter from Pixabay 
• Hacksaw – Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay