"BoyntonStu" wrote in message


The stick in my hand is the saw in the slot.

You have it backwards.

Consider a shovel with a short handle to dig a hole? No way.

YOU use the long handle to increase YOUR torque on the shovel head.

In a like manner you use a long handle to keep the saw in the groove.

No, you use the shovel like a lever, with the fulcrum
being the edge or side of the hole you're digging.
Mechanical advantage then is given by the ratio of
the handle length to the length of the shovel face.

When you pick up a load with the shovel, you move
one hand down closer to the shovel face to decrease
the torque required (the lower hand providing a new
fulcrum).

There is no fulcrum to provide a pivot point for the
saw on the end of a stick, just what force you can
muster by torquing the other end of the stick where
you're holding it.

Put a weight on a shovel face and try to lift it
while gripping only the shovel handle. Repeat
sliding one hand down near the business end.
Compare efforts.