Home Repair Workshop

   The "pull-saw" has been around for over 2000 years (yes, 2000 years and not a misprint!) with the origin credited to the Japanese who build most of their homes from wood. The pull- saw, it differs from Western world saws, because, unlike the cross cut and rip hand saws we use, the pull saw has long, sharp teeth that cut only when the saw is pulled rather than pushed. Of necessity our saws have much thicker blades so they will not buckle on the push stroke. The pull saw is made from steel less than half the thickness of our push saws and, since they are thinner, they offer less resistance and therefore cut faster. Of course, contributing to the speed is the cutting capability of the teeth. Pull saw teeth actually have three cutting edges responsible for a  smooth fast cut.
   The teeth of the early pull saws were hand filed but  now computerized machines controlling diamond faced blades grind  the teeth one tooth at a time. Automation along with new steel formulations and teeth hardening processes make these razor sharp saws work faster, last longer and produce more accurate work than at any time in the past.
   Taking advantage of this technology is the precision saw guide kit illustrated that makes possible fast and accurate cross and rip cuts plus any angle or compound angle cut. Included in the kit is  10 1/2 inch, 2 inch wide blade with 14 teeth to the inch and a gauge to set the desired blade angle ( Figure A). When a miter or compound miter cut is desired the gauge can be adjusted with an T-shaped on board hex wrench, and for making different cuts, you have the choice of screwing in place a holder for parallel cuts or a positioning holder for some cross cuts (Figure B). Incidentally, the base of the guide is meticulous punched with circular recesses to accept matching studs in the holder selected to guarantee precision. For making long cuts clamp a straight edge to the wood  (Figure D), attached the parallel sliding holder  with a turn of a screw and slide it against the straight edge while you pull saw at the recommended angle of about 15 degrees. With this clever kit you can easily build detailed outdoor furniture using 2  and 4 inch thick lumber. A great saw kit from Vaughan, originally made famous  by hammers. Available wherever tools are sold but if you cannot track down a kit Vaughan at 1-815-648-2446