That’s a question I was asked during the week and just like so often I found myself saying “well, it depends”
So how should you make a decision on what to buy? Today I’ll see if I can help you with that.
I’ll take you through different types of saw and what they’re useful for.
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Let’s see then, in my collection I have:
In hand saws
22 inch crosscut handsaw x 2
14 inch toolbox crosscut handsaw (called a toolbox saw because it fits in your toolbox!)
15 inch toolbox panel saw
Coping saw
Bow saw
Pad saw
Drywall saw / gyp saw / plasterboard saw
Junior hacksaw x 3
Hacksaw x 2
Tenon / back saw x 2
In power saws
Mitre saw x 3
Circular saw x 2
Plunge / track saw
Sabre / reciprocating saw
Jigsaw
Chainsaw
A Multitool that is most often used as a saw
A 9” disk cutter (angle grinder) that gets used as a concrete / brick / slab saw
Now you could be forgiven for thinking “ah he’s just showing off” or “oh my days do I need all those?” and the response in both cases is no. Out of all those I possess I probably use 30% regularly and if you’re just starting out you only need one.
But if you continue in DIY, sooner or later you’ll get another and another Depending on your needs at that time.
I guess if there’s a judgement to be made about my collection it’s probably that I’m not very good at throwing things away.
Where to begin?
But you’re here for you, not me so let’s discuss that. Let’s take a simple split in the first instance: Hand or Power? There is another combined question of “what are you going to cut / what are you going to do with it?” But we’ll deal with that a little later.
Start with a hand saw
Hand saws were pretty much all that woodworkers had for thousands of years. My dad only had hand saws and the carpenter that worked for him used to sharpen and set them. That's all most builders had in the 60's and 70's.
So, don’t think you’re short changing yourself if you only want or can afford a hand saw.
The two shown here are probably 30+ years old and desperately need replacing but they've done great work In the past. Neither of them is available as a direct replacement any more And I’ve only put them here as an illustratio.
Assuming you’re new to DIY and possibly budget conscious we’ll start with a basic hand saw. Low cost, even for a fairly decent one (around £10- £15) and super versatile, a good hand saw will tackle a huge amount of jobs.
They are what you might call "throwaway" saws in that you don't sharpen them when they lose their edge, you just throw them away (or dedicate them to a different task) and buy a new one.
Here's a link to a 22 inch Bahco hand saw. Bahco in my experience are a good make. This one has a fairly coarse cut at 8 tpi
And here's a link to a slightly cheaper Spear and Jackson which is also available in different cut types (see below)
With it you would be able to crosscut (cut across the grain) of lengths of wood but equally you would be able to cut boards with it. You could even cut along the length of the wood (with or along the grain) That will be its least capable cut. So as an example, cutting 300mm along a length of wood to make something like an infill piece won’t be so bad but if you need to cut along a full 2.4m length of 80 x 80 fence post or across a 1220 x 2440 plywood sheet you’re setting yourself a bit of a challenge.
A general purpose saw like the Bahco will see you through numerous shelving projects, fixing your garden fence, maybe even building some pallet furniture if you take the nails out of the pallets first. These days I only carry the two toolbox saws I have (because they fit in my toolbox....) That’s fine for me but if your handsaw is going to be your only saw, make it a 22” or 20” (550mm or 500mm) because you’ll find it far easier to learn to get a good cut with.
If your appetite for DIY is only a few small jobs you’ll most likely be fine stopping right here.
If your sights are set a bit higher, read on...
Rip saw? Crosscut saw? What?
In simple terms a rip saw has less teeth per inch than a crosscut saw and ”rips” through the length of the fibres of the wood.
Generally you won’t get things like traditional rip saws at your local DIY stores these days although some places have “first fix” and “second fix” saws denoting coarse and fine cut. but you can still go to some of the more “enthusiast” focused shops and sometimes pay a lot more than the price of a power saw to buy one.
TPI?
Teeth per inch, the lower the number, the coarser / rougher / faster the cut, from the coarsest on something like a garden pruning saw to a fine cut saw for finish panel work.
If you want a bit more detail take a look at this page at wonkeedonkee tools here
You could then, get two hand saws, one with a coarse cut of maybe 6 - 8 tpi for cutting large boards or lengths of timber and rougher quicker work and then keep a finer cut one of say 12 tpi for doing work that needs a better finish.
But maybe you want to attempt something a bit more challenging?
Specialist hand saws
The kit of “tenon saw / panel saw / crosscut saw / rip saw” that an average woodworker had (and I grew up with) has rather faded away over the years. You can still buy single purpose, sharpenable, setable hand saws but they tend to be expensive. There’s been a surge in popularity recently for Japanese saws which cut on the pull (up) stroke as opposed to traditional European saws that cut on the push (down) stroke. All of these tend more towards dedicated woodworkers who use them every day or people who want the highest quality in everything, thus not really the average DIYer. But if you get an interest in working with wood there’s plenty of options to spend your money on in just fairly plain hand saws.
There's also saws for specific jobs or materials so there are tenon saws, coping saws, fret saws, padsaws, keyhole saws, saws for metal, saws for brick and other types that are usually designed for a specific task and often named after that task. To start out you'd only need them if you were doing that specific task and there's often a way round it for the DIY person.
Out of the above, I guess those that are most likely to be of interest to the beginner are a coping saw and maybe a keyhole saw and possibly a junior hacksaw for curtain poles, cutting off nails and screws etc.
If you’re thinking of replacing some skirting board or cutting a shelf or cupboard to fit round a pipe or something, a coping saw will cut the intricate small curves you need.
Similarly if you need to cut a hole in the middle of something, a keyhole saw or a padsaw could be useful.
To sum up the first bit: What's your task? What will you use the saw for?
A general purpose saw will do general purpose work. So if you want one saw to tackle as wide a range of jobs as possible, general purpose or universal saw it is.
As you improve your skills, move up to a couple of different tpi’s for rough work and fine work.
But if you are tackling something a bit more challenging like fitting new skirting boards and or architrave for instance, you might want to consider say a coping saw and maybe a tenon saw to add to your general purpose saw. These are saws suited to particular purposes so you’d buy them as additions to your basic tools and you’d most likely use them a lot less than your basic tools.
Can I survive with just hand saws?
Contrary to popular belief, or YouTube and google as it’s better known, you don’t actually need a stack of power tools to do any household sawing job (yes I know I have but we’ll come to that). It’s more about balancing how much effort you want to put in against how much you want to spend
When I was much younger I went through the “ooh I must get one of them” phase with tools. And I ended up purchasing a lot of stuff that i never used. Nowadays I don’t buy anything that I can’t make a “business case” for. And given that I’m not in business that’s quite restrictive. Check out my ROI post for reasons why you might not want to buy a power saw..... That said, if you include all types, I currently run 8 power saws and I can justify all of them.
As I’ve said earlier and in other posts, think about what you’re planning to do and buy what you need with that in mind. Hand tools are perfectly adequate, you can achieve high levels of finish with them but they do require more time and effort than power tools.
What about power tools then?
A bit of a dilemma here. The two most popular types of power saw are circular saws and jigsaws. They both cut wood (and other materials) but in other respects they are very different.
A circular saw has a circular blade that spins and can cut in a straight line across lengths of timber, along lengths of timber and also they‘re great for cutting boards. They come in blade sizes from about 165mm up to 450mm (the biggest currently available in UK).
A jigsaw has a smaller thin blade that cuts up and down and is great for cutting shapes and curves but not so good for any longer cuts. Blade length is usually between about 60mm - 100mm.
There’s also a fear factor associated with circular saws particularly for some. All power tools can hurt you if not treated with care but circular saws and any other rotating blade saws are often perceived as that bit more dangerous so you might include that in your purchasing considerations.
Finally circular saws, with the exception of a few small "multi material" saws tend to be bulkier and heavier which may also be of importance to you.
Which power saw to buy first
If I remember correctly I had a jigsaw first and I think the reason for that was I was fitting a kitchen in our old house and I needed to cut holes and notches in the cabinets to put pipes and cables through. Then I think the circular saw came along when I started the flooring which was very early laminate.
If i was starting again now I think I’d go with a small (maybe 165mm) circular saw first. Possibly even a cordless like the Ryobi that I have.
Light enough to handle easily but capable enough to cut sheet material and CLS which are the the materials I personally seem to be cutting the most. Click on this link to go to Amazon and buy one
Jigsaw
Second up I'd definitely get a jigsaw. Again, these days I have a Ryobi One+ of which I think I have the cheaper of two versions
As I've said, cutting curves, circles, notches and holes is where this comes in. If you're scribing to a wall or similar, which is marking and cutting a piece of timber or board to exactly match an uneven or shaped surface, a jigsaw is ideal. Also you can get blades for wood, plastic, metal and tiles so it can be very versatile. I'm happy enough with the Ryobi and I also have a Bosch mains powered cabled one that I bought many years ago. They both use the same "T" shank blades so I can swap between the two if I need to. The Ryobi has a quick release blade which I like. If you're interested in buying one, click on this link
Multitool
I'm putting this in here because even though you might say it's not a saw (it's an arguable point) it is SO USEFUL!
Much like the jigsaw there are all manner of cutting blades available for multitools. Wood, plastic, tile, metal and additionally all kinds of shapes for difficult tasks. With cheaper ones like the Ryobi you need to use e hex key (provided) to change the blade but if you want to spend lots of money you can get tool with quick release blades. There's also a sanding head with it so it makes a great detail sander.
Brilliant for cutting in tight corners and up against walls, it can also give a really clean fine cut in a small area. Also great for cutting plasterboard to fit lightswitches etc.
I notice the one I have is no longer available so if I replace it, I'll get the one on this link
Moving on - specialist power saws
Now we’re starting to move a long way outside basic DIY, the world of electric saws, both cabled (mains power) and battery seems almost endless.
Let me take you through which I use the most and what I use them for, I've listed them from most used to least used but bear in mind that's my use. Your use will be different depending on your projects.
Sliding bevel mitre saw
I bought a small cheap Dewalt first and it was fine until I was building the raised planting beds at which point I bought the bigger Metabo. They're great for angle cuts across lengths of timber. With a good blade and a well set up saw you can do single or repeat cuts with a good finish so if you plan to change all your skirting board (base board) for instance they're a real advantage.
Here's a video I made about my dewalt.
Bear in mind that you may also find that when you reach the stage of buying more specialist tools, your basic tools for measuring and marking out may also need stepping up!
The DeWalt I have is no longer on Amazon but you may get it if you shop around. The one here on Amazon is a better saw with things like shadow line for positioning your work but it's more expensive.
I've also got the Metabo which I mention in the DeWalt review, very happy with this but it's a bit of a beast! Here's a link to buy it
Plunge or track saw
When I got this I had a specific task in mind (part of the kitchen project) but I've since found it incredibly useful for many other jobs. Essentially it's for making dead straight cuts, usually in sheet material. It runs on guide tracks so provided your tracks are straight, so will your cut be! I originally used it for the end panels, plinths and shelves in the kitchen because it probably gives the best finish you can get in melamine faced board without cutting everything with a router or planing / sanding down after you’ve cut with a circular or hand saw.. But in addition to that I've used it for cutting down the oak veneer doors I fitted, both lots of decking I built and many other tasks beside.
The reasons it gives a good finish are that it has quite a fine cutting blade but also it has a rubber strip on the underside of the track that also helps prevent chipping.
‘You might be thinking “but I can run my ordinary circular saw along a piece of wood and get a straight cut”. Yes you can but you can veer away from your guide and also it won't have the "anti-splinter" strip mentioned.
Bear in mind that if you get the saw you also need to buy the guide rails!!
I have the 240v mains version and two of the 1.4m guide rails as here on these links
Sabre or reciprocating saw
I'll be honest, I don't use this so much. When I need it, it's great but that doesn't happen so often. I'd say if you have a lot of tree pruning in your garden then it would be a godsend with the right blade. You can also get blades for metal, plastic and all sorts. I've used it for all sorts of tasks but mostly that's because the blade is quick change and it's light and portable so it gets used because I can't be bothered to change the blade in the circular saw and I need to cut something quickly.
Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it but something in my collection has to be the least used and this is it on this link. Note, my own one is out of production, the link is to the current version
Finally I'll add in my big circular saw
I'm only putting it at the end because I dealt with circular saws earlier. Much like the Metabo mitre saw, this is a bit of an animal and I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.
I use it quite a lot because I have a saw table that I built to house it to run as a table saw. But that is most definitely heading towards enthusiast woodworker or builder and to be fair, If I was at the point of buying it now, I'd by a site table saw instead.
Again, nothing wrong with the tool itself, it's just for my needs it gets more use in my table saw than it does as a hand circular saw so that says "shoulda got a table saw"
Here's the buy link for the Makita circular saw and for the DeWalt table saw that I probably should have got.......
There you have it then, saw buying advice from beginner up to tool addict level.
I hope it's been of some help, feel free to comment or ask questions below.