How Should You Hold a Tenon Saw?
- 1). Mark the wood with a pencil line in the location you wish to cut. The line must be straight since tenon saws can only produce straight cuts. Put on eye protection.
- 2). Grasp the saw in your right hand (for right handed users), with the palm of your hand pressing forward on the rear of the saw handle. Do not insert your fingers into the hole in the handle, rather align them straight ahead parallel to the saw blade. Wrap your left thumb (for right handed users) around the top of the saw handle.
- 3). Position the blade flat onto the pencil line on the wood, with the base of the saw (nearest the handle) resting on the edge of the wood closest to you (centered on the pencil line). The intent is to start the cut with gentle push strokes, rather than the powerful back cuts that tenon saws provide.
- 4). Steady the saw blade with the thumb of your left hand (for right handed users), allowing slight contact between your thumb and the vertical side of the saw blade. Using little or no downward pressure, gently push the saw slowly across the pencil line. The saw should not bounce or grab, if it does raise it slightly (reduce pressure) and continue moving across the pencil line. Stop motion at the edge of the wood.
- 5). Repeat the gentle forward stroke several times until a slight groove can be seen in the wood. Place your fingers in the handle, then begin reversing direction at the end of the forward strokes so that the back cuts may begin taking place. Keep the saw blade flat and square on the wood and use long slow strokes. Continue to cut until the cut is completed.
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