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Red Green

(Doug Miller) wrote in
:

In article , "Robert11"
wrote:
Hi,

Was looking at the Home Handyman magazine, and mentioned was the
below. This is a bit lengthy, so bear with me.

Someone questioned about how to install a hacksaw blade, forward or
backward, and said his two reliable sources told him it didn't matter.
Family Handyman said the sources weren't so reliable; the blades
should be forward.

Guess my question is twofold: I took a look at the saws that I have,
(I was curious, not just with the hacksaw), and none of them appear to
have blades facing forward or back. They all look to be facing
downward, so what is the magazine talking about here?

They're talking about which direction the teeth are pointed.

Also, if the blades are installed facing forward, doesn't that impede
progress when pulling the blade back? You move a saw forward and
back, not in just one direction, of course ? So, if the blades were
facing forward, they would be tougher to pull back, no?

??? Not sure where you're going with this. It should be obvious that
if the teeth are pointed forward, it will be more difficult to move
the saw forward, because that's the cutting stroke. Moving it backward
is just pulling it back into position to begin another cutting stroke.

So, how should hacksaw blades be oriented, please ?

Whichever way works best for you.

Sortta like do you pull or push the caulking gun. The object you are
working on doesn't really care.

Usually, that's with the teeth
forward; the steel frame of the hacksaw is more than strong enough to
keep sufficient tension on the blade even though you're pushing it
through the cut.

How about wood type saws also, since we are on the subject ?

European and North American wood saws have thick, heavy blades with
the teeth pointed forward, and cut on the push stroke. Asian
(especially Japanese) wood saws have thin, light blades with the teeth
pointed backward (toward the handle) and cut on the pull stroke. Take
your pick.