Barnacle Bill Magazine March 2016 issue 3 | Page 39
39
The
Bosun’s Mate
happen and in many areas, the resources of coal and iron required for the manufacture were expensive. Therefore, in mainland Europe, to this day it is far more common to see wooden bow saws and wooden planes rather
than the steel saws and cast iron planes we see in the English speaking world. To keep the article of reasonable
length, I am not going to deal with bow saws or coping saws here, we will cover them in another article.
Western backsaws split into the following types, they all share one feature which is they have thin blades, usually with small teeth for delicate work and the back edge of the saw is reinforced with a band of thicker metal.
The thin blade is to ensure a thin kerf: th e kerf is the width of the cut. This is important in boat building as
keeping the kerf thin is important when making accurate cuts.
Mitre Saw – a large backsaw (20-30 inches). These are used in a metal or wooden box allowing mitres to be cut
at different angles, usually 45 or 90 degrees. Not all mitre saws are back saws and the term is mostly used these
days to describe a circular saw mounted on a base and frame to permit mitre cutting. Hand mitre saws usually
have a pistol grip made of wood or composite plastic
Left, a frame mounted mitre saw. These saws have now
nearly been entirely replaced by
power mitre saws with circular
blades.
It is possible to make a cheap
mitre jig box for use with a
tenon saw.
Tenon saw – this is a medium sized back saw with fine teeth and comes in rip or cross cut type. They are
designed to produce the fine and straight cuts required for mortise and tenon joinery
Sash saw – In the past this was a type of small tenon saw designed for making the cuts required for a sash
window. These days, it is also used to describe a very fine saw with a flexible blade, designed to free sash
windows that have been painted shut and really only seen in the UK and Ireland where the 18th and 19th
century housing stock means there are still a lot of sash windows around. Sash windows being the indigenous design of those times.
Dovetail saw. – this is a small backsaw for cutting dovetail joints usually set for fine ripping cuts. They
have very fine teeth and the thin blade leaves a narrow kerf.
Gentleman’s saw – this is a small dovetail saw with a turned straight handle instead of the pistol style
found on most western saws. Used for model making, musical instrument making or any fancy detailed
work where accuracy is critical.
Razor saw- the smallest of western backsaws, it looks like a traditional single bladed disposable razor
blade with very fine cross cut teeth, it is designed for model makers and can be used with woods like balsa
which a larger saw would tear. They are also designed to be used on metals and plastics
Gentleman’s saws and Razor saws don’t typically concern the boat builder.