How to use a chainsaw: pro tips. How to properly saw with a hacksaw for metal Features of sawing round and oval elements
If you are going to do any construction or carpentry work, then at some stage you may need to cut something out of plywood. However, plywood sheets are usually quite large and quite difficult to saw, especially in the absence of special tools. But if you remember a few basic rules, you can easily cut plywood with a simple hand or circular saw, also called a circular saw. The main thing is that the blade of your saw is sharp, and the plywood sheet itself remains stable.
Steps
Cutting plywood with a hand-held circular saw
- Working with a circular saw is dangerous. Be sure to wear safety glasses and keep your fingers away from the blade.
- Keep an eye on the saw's power cord when operating it. Keep work area clean.
-
Cut the plywood. Support the sheet securely and make sure it is pressed well against the guide edge of your table saw. Use both hands to feed the sheet onto the running saw blade.
Choose the right blade type. To achieve an even cut on plywood, for circular saw the correct type of blade must be used. Look for a carbide blade with big amount teeth
Set the saw to the correct depth of cut. Before cutting the plywood, adjust the depth of cut on the saw. If the depth of the cut is too large, the saw blade will be pulled through the cut point once again. If the cutting depth is too small, then you risk not cutting the plywood to the end.
Provide support for the plywood sheet. When cutting plywood, it is very important to support the plywood sheet on both sides of the cut line.
Saw the plywood face down. To cut plywood with a hand-held circular saw, it must be laid face down. In this case, the saw teeth will enter the base of the plywood from the front side and exit from the back side. When the saw teeth emerge from the plywood, they may tear the edge of the cut a little. Therefore, laying plywood face down will ensure a neat cut line on the face of the sheet.
Pre-mark the cutting line. Use a large ruler to mark your cutting line. Place your marks carefully and make sure to draw a line at right angles to the edges of the plywood sheet.
Use a guide when cutting. Find a piece of plywood that still has a straight factory edge, lay it over a full sheet of plywood parallel to the cut line, and secure it in place with a vice.
Cut the plywood. Place the saw against the guide and double-check that the blade is aligned exactly with the cutting line. Turn on the saw and guide it with the shoe along the guide. Try to make the cut as straight as possible.
Creating a slot on a sheet of plywood using a hand-held circular saw
Provide the plywood sheet with reliable support. Place a sheet of plywood on top of several 5x10cm beams supported by a pair of sawhorses. The entire sheet of plywood must receive reliable support.
Set the correct cutting depth. Lower the saw blade until the depth of cut is only 5 mm greater than the thickness of the plywood being cut. This way the saw blade will only barely penetrate the thickness of the wood from the bottom side.
Stand to the side of the saw's direction. When making a cut in plywood, there is a high risk of kickback, which causes the hand-held circular saw to be thrown forward sharply in the direction of rotation of the blade. Never stand directly in front of the saw while making a cut.
Set up the saw to make the desired cut. Place the front side of the saw shoe against a piece of plywood. Carefully lift the saw guard and align the blade exactly along the intended cutting line.
Make sure the underside of the sheet is clean. When you cut, you won't be able to see what's underneath the leaf. Therefore, it is reasonable to make sure before starting work that there is nothing superfluous underneath.
Place the running saw into the plywood. Turn on the saw and slowly lower the blade into the wood. Hold the tool firmly to prevent kickback.
Choice of residence, Big city or the countryside, also means a choice of lifestyle. And if a city dweller can only complain about old trees threatening to fall from any wind, then a resident of the suburbs or rural areas Most likely, you will have to learn how to cut trees with a chainsaw and, of course, control this tool.
With a chainsaw you can easily and quickly not only cut down trees, but also saw them into boards or logs.
On modern market The range of saws is quite wide, but in order to make the right choice, you should decide on the amount of work that will have to be done and its regularity. If the purchase is made by a non-professional lumberjack, then the need to purchase a professional segment tool does not make sense. Besides the fact that its price is quite high, for the most part it will simply sit idle, being used a maximum of one to three times a year. A professional tool designed for continuous operation during a normal work shift, that is, 6-8 hours. Perhaps, only in one case will the costs of purchasing a professional chainsaw be justified, when it is necessary to clear the area for construction from trees.
Of course, on suburban area sometimes it becomes necessary to get rid of several old and dry trees and for this you can invite specialists, but if the owner of the site prefers to do this on his own, then the most optimal choice- semi-professional instrument. In terms of its functionality, it is comparable to the corresponding professional models, but a semi-professional chainsaw cannot be used long time without interruption, the engine may overheat.
There are significantly fewer so-called “household” models of chainsaws on the market, which do not have much power and service life and are intended for simple work. With their help, it is easy to prepare firewood for the fireplace and sauna or trim branches in the garden. Advantages: ease of use due to light weight, simple controls and service.
Operating rules and safety precautions
But before you get started, you should not only learn how to cut trees correctly, but also master the rules for safe operation of a chainsaw. There are no trifles when working with this tool: both its technical condition and the level of skill of the lumberjack are important.
The first thing you should do is carefully study the operating instructions and safety rules. You should definitely buy personal protective equipment. You will need comfortable shoes with non-slip soles, thick protective clothing, preferably overalls, glasses, gloves. You should also think about ear protection. Special headphones are designed for this, but ordinary earplugs can also save the situation.
When working, the chainsaw should be held firmly with both hands, while being at the side of it, but not behind it. The legs should be approximately shoulder-width apart: this makes it easier to maintain body balance; one should not forget about the back, it should be straight, but without tension. If you need to relocate during work, then the chainsaw must be put on the brake - such a precaution will avoid injury. It is forbidden to cut down trees in windy weather: in this case, the calculated and actual directions of the tree's fall may not coincide, which is fraught not only with operational problems, but also life-threatening.
Return to contents
Checking the technical condition of the chainsaw before starting work
Before starting work, it is mandatory to check technical condition tool. Special attention the chain must have the necessary tension and be properly sharpened. The fact that the chain is correctly tensioned can be judged by the following sign: when pulling it away from the upper bar, the guide teeth lie exactly in the groove. In this case, the chain should stretch easily; if necessary, adjust the tension. This action is recommended to be carried out regularly, and when replacing or adding oil, it is mandatory.
It is also necessary to check the condition of the inertial brake; in its normal position, its handle does not touch the handle. If the brake moves, the chain may fall out. It is important to remember this rule: you should always start sawing wood or wood only with the edge of the tire.
Tree cutting is not only complex look work, but also very dangerous.
A falling tree can become a threat to both people and objects located along the line of its fall. Naturally, there should be no people or animals where the work is being done. The only exception is the participants of the work. It should be borne in mind that it is almost impossible to cope with such work alone, so the help of at least one person will be required.
All work zone should be free enough to be able to get out of it quickly and without hindrance. It is important to ensure that a falling tree does not hit others, especially to avoid getting stuck in branches.
Ideally, the tree should fall in such a way that it can be easily removed later: cut off branches and twigs, saw the trunk, and, if necessary, provide access for transport to remove it from the site.
So, I collected a sufficient amount of material and decided to write another analytical note. This time the topic is sawing laminated chipboard without chipping.
There is a fairly fair opinion that it is possible to cleanly saw laminated chipboard only using professional equipment (that is, a format-cutting machine).
The whole highlight of this machine is that it has two saw blades, located strictly on the same axis. The first one cuts the chipboard, the second one cuts it right through.
The cost of this unit is about 700,000 - 1,000,000 rubles (of course, there are more expensive ones))). NOT VERY ACCEPTABLE FOR AN Amateur.
It’s a good way to trim incorrectly marked parts, but you can’t cut the entire cabinet this way. Chips, of course, are present, but in an amount quite comparable to the formatter (it also, secretly, leaves a small number of small chips). A lot of hassle with markings. Only straight cuts can be made.
Method 5 - Fraser
Provides the cleanest possible edge to the workpiece, the quality is no different from the formatter, often even better.
With it, we first saw the workpiece with a jigsaw, retreating 2-3 mm from the marking line, and then align the line according to the template (I usually use a second piece of laminated chipboard, sawed on a format saw, of a suitable size). must be copying, that is, with a bearing.
Very clean cut. The possibility of making curved cuts, that is, making many, including several completely identical ones. Disadvantages - a lot of hassle: the need for precise marking, preliminary filing of workpieces, setting a template or tire for the router, that is, it is not very suitable for mass use.
Tricks and subtleties of sawing - sawing firewood - helpful information for those who have not yet had time to prepare firewood for winter. :-)
A saw with poorly set teeth gets stuck in damp wood. It is enough to anoint the canvas with soap and the work will go faster.
To avoid injuring your hands when sharpening the saw, you need to cover its teeth with a cover made from a rubber tube cut lengthwise - as in the picture on the right.
Wood cutting
Cutting firewood will become much more convenient if you equip the sawhorses with a middle support. It should be slightly higher than the outer ones, then the log will not pinch the saw.
Collapsible sawhorses
It is convenient to have sawhorses for cutting firewood that are collapsible and of variable length. These sawhorses are convenient to store in a barn; they can be used to cut logs of any length. To do this, the crosspieces must be movably mounted on the rod with fixation (for example, using a clamp for a bolt) in any position. Goats are made from metal or wood or a combination of both.
Stop for carpentry workbench
The home handyman should have in his technical arsenal a simple stop for carpentry workbench, which securely fastens the workpiece and relieves your hands from frequent bruises and wounds.
Sawing with a two-handed saw by one person
Everyone knows that sawing with a two-handed saw without an assistant is inconvenient. But not everyone knows that instead of an assistant, you can attach a spring, a thick rubber cord, or an elastic branch to the task. How this is done is shown in the figure.
Bench board
When making a workbench board like the one in the picture, the idea of a wedge vice was used. 
There is a groove cut out on the right side of the board. Guide strips made of hard wood are firmly screwed to the edges of the groove, flush with its upper edge. Two wedges are inserted into the groove between the guide bars. A metal visor with teeth (ruff) is embedded in one of them, with which it should dig into the end of the workpiece. Another wedge acts as a lock. It firmly holds the wedge with the ruff in the established position.
The wedges, as well as the guide strips, must be made of hard wood.
The part is secured and released from the clamp with light blows of a hammer sliding along special cutouts made for this purpose on the wedges. 
The second stop for the workpiece is a pin with an iron comb-ruff. It is inserted into one of the slots hollowed out in the board.
To be able to fasten parts of any length (naturally, within the length of your board), the distance between adjacent sockets should not exceed the length of the groove.
And one more important circumstance must be taken into account. To make it possible to process thin parts on the bench board, the protruding parts of the wedges and checks should not rise above the plane of the board by more than 10 millimeters.
Cutting short logs
What to do if a short log doesn’t want to fit into the sawhorse? You need to take two boards, place them on the horns as shown in the figure, and now you can safely saw through any log.
Bow saw with two blades
For cross and longitudinal cutting.
A bow saw with two blades for cross-cutting and longitudinal cutting is a thing that is simply irreplaceable for household. The tension device - an adjustable spacer - is made in the center.
Hacksaw with two blades
To cut grooves, tenons, slats, etc., it is convenient to place two blades on a hacksaw. The width of the cutout will be determined by the thickness of the insert between the panels.
Smooth cut to a specified depth
Such a device for ensuring an even and even specified depth of cutting the board can be made in your home workshop.
Two holes are made in the hacksaw (see figure) and through them a limiter ruler with vertical slots is secured with wing bolts. By installing a ruler, you can get an even cut, and if you apply the appropriate divisions on the slots, the cut will be not only even, but also accurate to the required depth.
How to saw off a thin strip
At home, it is not so easy to saw off a thin strip: the saw constantly goes off the straight line. The matter is made easier if you put a board underneath.
Cutting identical strips
In the technical arsenal home handyman It’s very good to have a device that allows you to get strips of the same size from plywood, thin boards, soft metal, plastic or plexiglass. The simplest design Such a device consists of two bars fastened together with nails at a constant angle of a cutter driven into the end of the upper bar.
A more advanced design allows you to use a wing nut to change the position of the cutter and, accordingly, obtain strips of any width.
Sawing identical boards
You can often observe how, when cutting a large number of boards of the same length, an inexperienced craftsman walks with a ruler from one end of the board to the other, measuring the standard length each time. An experienced carpenter can save this hassle by using a batten of the required length with a stop at the end. It is enough to cut the boards evenly at one end, and then, using the slats as a template, trim them to the desired length.
Sawing at an angle
A simple stop made of durable wood will make your work much easier when you need to saw bars or boards at the desired angle at home.
Fixing the board when sawing
A simple device for carpentry work - a “wooden hook” will allow you to securely fix the board when sawing. One protrusion presses the device against a stool or table, and the other protrusion rests a board.
The saw needs to be driven, otherwise it will start “walking”. This must be taken literally. Wood is a living material, and its behavior is unpredictable. Hard growth rings, knots, cracks, high humidity and high resin content can seriously complicate sawing.
For this reason no universal tool, which could take into account all the vagaries of wood, and there are many different special saws. The shape and order of alternation of their teeth are determined not by the material from which the saw blade is made, but by its purpose. Some tools can only be cut in a straight line, while others, on the contrary, are better able to cut in a circle.
When sawing, only the saw moves; the workpiece must be securely fastened. Therefore, you will need stable support. For example, a workbench or sawhorses. The workpiece is secured with a clamp or held by hand, and especially large ones - additionally with a knee.
Sawing begins and ends with repeated light pulling of the saw in the opposite direction, that is, a “trace” is laid. At the end of sawing, you must hold the remainder firmly so that it does not break off along with the piece of main wood.
Sawing is one of the most common processes in wood processing. A clean, even cut is not a problem if you choose the right tool and know how to use it.
In the photo (from top to bottom): large and small hacksaws; saw with a “back”; saw with a narrow blade. Next to the left is a saw for finishing cutting.
Each workpiece has its own saw
The hacksaw cuts quickly, but the wide spacing of the teeth leaves a rough mark on the soft material. On the other hand, it would be difficult to cut thick timber with a finishing saw. In short, the material and the tool must fit together. Only then can you count on quality work and obtaining a smooth, defect-free part. We offer brief instructions: which tree needs to be processed with which saw.
How to protect your saw from damage
Any saw (especially its cutting edge) should not come into contact with other tools during storage. Such proximity can quickly cause it to fail.
If the saw does not have a cover, then a simple method will help protect its teeth from damage. A slot of the required length is made in a piece of hose, after which the hose is placed on the saw blade. A rigid hose covered with fabric on the inside is best suited for this purpose. It holds tightly to the saw blade even after repeated use.
If longitudinal sawing is carried out in large volumes, then it is better to purchase a circular saw. Doing this with a handsaw will get you dirty. This is the first, and second: the information that can be gleaned from the texts in the frame is incomprehensible for a beginner, and useless for a professional.
Basic hand saws
Any home workshop should have at least three to four saws of different types.
- Hacksaw with a wide blade for rough cutting of large parts and workpieces. The longer the canvas, the goes faster Job. However, for the same reason, the mobility of the blade itself increases, which is why the saw, as they say, is pulled to the side. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor the cutting line, preventing it from deviating from the markings. New recent years- Teflon coating on the hacksaw blade, which makes sawing fresh wood much easier and also protects the saw from rust.
- A saw with a “back” differs from a regular hacksaw not only in that it has a rigid attachment that “dampens” vibrations of the blade, but also in smaller, closely spaced teeth. This saw allows you to make clean and thin cuts.
- The finishing saw provides an even and neat cut.
- A saw with a narrow blade is designed for cutting rounded parts and large holes. The basic rule for caring for any saw: its blade should always be dry and clean. Saw teeth - even hardened ones - should be sharpened regularly.
How to saw correctly
You should always cut from the cutting side, close to the marking line. This applies to both rough cuts with a hacksaw and precise cuts with a fine-toothed saw. Next, it is very important that the workpiece being processed has a stable support in the form of a workbench table top or a regular work table. For large-sized workpieces, it is better to use sawhorses. During the sawing process, the part must be held firmly with your hand at all times (large-sized workpieces should also be held with your knee) - in other words, only the saw should move.
Sawing begins with the first short movements at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees. Only after the saw blade has entered the wood and is fixed in it, you can start working with the saw along the entire length of the blade.
At the edge of the cut, cut only in short, sharp strokes. This will avoid breakages on the underside of the workpiece.
Cutting along the wood fibers is always a “critical” situation, especially if the wood has a large grain. Saw naturally wants to follow the path of least resistance, and if it is not restrained, it will begin to “walk.” That is, in such cases you have to press the saw harder than usual, which, in turn, requires the most stable position of the workpiece.
When making large cross cuts, a regular hacksaw can jam. In such cases, it is better to use a rip saw with widely spaced teeth. You just need to take into account that the cut strip will be much thicker than the saw blade.
Cutting fresh or damp wood will be easier if you lubricate the saw blade with wax or soap.
The workpieces are pressed tightly against the lintel, its right edge guides the saw.
Tsulaga
When processing small workpieces, the tsulaga shown in the pictures below can be of great help.
To make it, you will need a piece of wood slab approximately 20 x 30 cm in size and 2 mm thick, as well as two planed strips, which must be fixed to the slab as shown in the figure. To prevent the slab from bending and breaking, the planks must be positioned transverse to the direction of its core layer.
How to work with a circular saw
The lower bar of the tsulaga rests against the edge of the tabletop and thus sets the correct direction for the cut; the shortened upper bar ensures good centering of the saw.
If you have to cut long boards or planks, then a second tsulaga will not hurt, which will serve as a stop for the other end of the workpiece.
A piece of wood slab and two pieces of plank are enough to make a practical tsulagi.
Before starting sawing, the saw placed at an angle must be pulled towards you several times.
Teeth and their shape
The capabilities of the saw depend on its shape and size of the teeth. A large number of teeth on a given length of blade means a fine cut but slow forward progress. A small number of teeth produces a rough cut.
Wood is made up of fibres, and when sawed they separate. This creates sawdust that needs to be removed. The finer the teeth, the faster the cut and the cutting edge of the saw become clogged with small sawdust - saw flour. The teeth can no longer grip wood to its full height. Sawing is becoming more and more tedious and, most importantly, unproductive. But large teeth almost never get clogged due to the greater distance between their tips and each other.
Almost any saw has teeth that are set apart, that is, their tips alternately deviate to the left and then to the right. The greater the angle of inclination, the wider the cut strip, and therefore it becomes less clogged with sawdust, and the saw jams less.
Over time, saw teeth become dull and need to be sharpened. In this case, the damaged wiring must be restored. Even for a specialist this is not simple work. Therefore, we recommend purchasing saws with hardened teeth. They don't get dull as quickly, and they are easier to sharpen than the teeth of a regular saw.
You just need to put the saw blade on the table and use the sharpening stone to pass it twice cutting edge from the end to the handle, then turn the canvas over. The saw is sharpened, you can start working.
Steep teeth for rip sawing
Almost all of them have teeth arranged this way. hand saws, including hacksaws and backless saws.
The cutting edge of the teeth is located vertically. Suitable for longitudinal cuts.
When cutting longitudinally, the workpiece should protrude sufficiently beyond the workbench - this makes sawing easier.
The marking below the gap indicates where the saw deviates.
Bevels
Connection of two wooden parts at right angles, for example on picture frames, is often done using an adhesive seam at an angle of 45 degrees to the edge. The cut at this angle must be done very accurately. Even a slight deviation will not allow the parts to fit tightly.
A miter box will help you cut the plank accurately and accurately at an angle of 45 degrees. This device, made of hardwood, is a block with two parallel sides, oblique slots in which provide the saw with the desired position. Moreover, in three positions, that is, the saw can divide the plank obliquely to the left or right, or at a right angle.
The plank should lie tightly in the miter box: any displacement of it can lead to a change in the cutting angle. It is best to secure the part with a clamp. Well, if the miter box itself is fixed to the workbench or at least has a stable position with a stop. Sawing on a miter box with a saw with a “back” or a saw for finishing sawing. If you use a miter box frequently, its sides may become damaged, which will inevitably lead to distortion of the cutting angle. This miter box will have to be replaced.
There are also expensive metal miter boxes. They do not wear out and last a long time.
A miter box will help you carefully cut the plank at an angle of 45 and 90 degrees.
