Common Types of Saws
Lift saw, band saw or circular saw – all types of saws have their advantages and disadvantages. There are also various manually or mechanically operated variants, as well as practical hand-held devices or larger stand-alone devices.
Saw types at a glance: Electric saws
- Jigsaw
- Circular saw
- Bench Top Band Saw
- A metal cutting band saw
- Table circular saw
- Miter saw
Jigsaw
Cordless Circular Saw
Bench Top Band Saw
- wood
- metal
- plastics
- textiles
- leather or
- aerated concrete
The fact that the workpiece can be processed very precisely plays a major role here. Curves are no hurdle for a skilled carpenter, and sawing is faster and more precise than with a jigsaw, for example.
Metal Cutting Band Saw
This ensures an uninterrupted cut because the saw blade runs continuously in a straight line. The sawing process is not only very precise but also very easy to handle.
Table Saw
For safety reasons, the saw blade is protected by a blade guard, which means that the saw blade does not appear until the workpiece is inserted. Workpieces are guided laterally by an adjustable parallel or angular fence, to the saw blade. In this way, exact, straight cuts are achieved. Curved cuts, such as with a jigsaw, cannot be made with circular saws.
Miter Saw
Which saw do I really need?
There can be no exact answer to this question, as there are universal saws as well as many special saws and saws that are not suitable for all types of cutting due to their design. However, if you are just setting up a workshop and have not yet defined your specialty, you can easily cover the basic needs with some saws. Besides hand saws, the first saw is usually a jigsaw – and for a good reason: It is inexpensive to purchase and covers almost all areas of application. In addition, a jigsaw does not require many accessories. The narrow saw blade of the jigsaw can be used to cut contours and, depending on the quality of the saw, can also be used to make quite good and long straight cuts with the help of a fence. A jigsaw is therefore sufficient for the first DIY jobs. But also later, when further sawing follows, a jigsaw is indispensable for sawing radii and cutouts.
If the quality of long straight cuts with a jigsaw is no longer sufficient or if the time required for this is too great, in most cases the purchase of a hand-held circular saw follows. Although such a saw can only cut straight, it does so to perfection with the help of a guide rail and enables enormous progress to be made. If the hand-held circular saw also contains a plunge function, the hand-held circular saw can additionally be used to make cutouts in wood.
Need to quickly cut something to length or saw at a certain angle? Then there is a need for a chop and miter saw. To perform the cut, the saw with the saw blade must be lowered only with one hand. No saw is faster for this form of the saw cut. If long cuts are required, possibly also with high repeatability, the table saw can replace a hand-held circular saw and expand the range of functions. Due to the band run over two rollers and an additional adjustable guide, band saws can use narrow saw blades and still achieve a very straight cut pattern in thick materials. Various saw blades can be used for this purpose, which differs in particular in terms of the different tooth pitches and sets.