Saw

saw

Tool for cutting solid materials to prescribed lengths or shapes. Most saws take the form of a thin metal strip with teeth on one edge or a thin metal disk with teeth on the edge. The teeth are usually set to alternate sides so that the kerf (groove) cut by the saw is wider than the thickness of the saw; the saw blade can thus move freely in the groove without binding. Thin-strip saws are used in various ways in both hand and machine operations; circular, or disk, saws are always machine powered (see sawing machine, machine tool).

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saw

1. any of various hand tools for cutting wood, metal, etc., having a blade with teeth along one edge

2. any of various machines or devices for cutting by use of a toothed blade, such as a power-driven circular toothed wheel or toothed band of metal

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saw [sȯ]

(design engineering)

Any of various tools consisting of a thin, usually steel, blade with continuous cutting teeth on the edge.

Any similar device or tool, such as arotating disc, in which a sharp continuous edge replaces the teeth.

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SAW

(acoustics)

surface acoustic wave

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saw

A cutting tool having a thin, flat metal blade, band, or stiff plate with cutting teeth along the edge; worked either by a reciprocating motion (as in a handsaw) or by a continuous motion (as in a band saw).

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Saw 

a tool with many cutting points, used for cutting metal, wood, and other materials. The term “saw” is also applied to machine tools and other devices in which a saw is the cutting element. The cutting part of a saw is usually a toothed blade, but there are saws in which the cutter is an abrasive diamond disk or a steel cable; such saws are used to cut materials such as stone and glass.

Saws are distinguished according to their working motion. Thus there are circular saws, which have a rotary motion; jigsaws, whose blades perform a reciprocating motion; and band saws, whose blades are flexible endless belts stretched on two rotating pulleys. Circular-saw blades may be one solid piece of carbon tool steel with teeth cut in, or they may have mounted teeth that are made of high-speed steel or of hard alloy. Jigsaws and band saws usually have teeth that are cut directly into the blade.

Man used small serrated flint tools as early as the Neolithic. Excavations at Troy reveal that saws were used during the Aeneolithic period. The earliest metal saws were made from copper, which was rapidly replaced by bronze. Bronze saws for cutting wood, stone, and bone are common among finds dating from the Bronze Age of various peoples. Steel saws, with edge thicknesses and tooth shapes varying according to intended use, were first used in ancient Rome. Steel saws were widely used in ancient Rus’ in many crafts. Cabinetmakers and wood turners used two kinds of hand saws: jigsaws and bow saws. A jigsaw-type steel saw measuring 39 cm long and having 76 set teeth was found in Novgorod in cultural levels dating from the 11 th century. Old-Russian bone cutters used an assortment of saws.

M. L. GEL’FAND