The Hacksaw

The hacksaw is the quintessential tool for cutting metal. It is inexpensive, manually powered and will cut a wide variety of steels. I went many years into my blacksmithing hobby without any mechanized means of cutting metal. You can cut 1" square steel with a hacksaw. It just takes a while. For really thick sections of steel, you may need to stop and take a break, then return to cutting.

When you go to buy a hacksaw, pay a few extra dollars and buy a high tension hacksaw. The extra money is well worth it. In the picture below the upper hacksaw with the yellow handle is a high-tension model. It is a lot beefier than the traditional model shown in the bottom half of the picture. At the top of the yellow handle is a black knob. This allows to you attain quiet a bit of tension on the saw blade. The traditional saw has a wingnut and you can only tighten so far and the frame starts to bend. The benefit of being able to have a higher tension on the saw blade is that the blade stays straight, you cut straighter, and the blades last longer. Always strore the hacksaw with the tension backed off.

The price difference between the two types of saws is probably on the order of $10 to $15.

Once you get your hacksaw frame, you need to get hacksaw blades. This is another area where buying quality tools really makes a big difference. A good bi-metal blade from a "name" company (like STARRETT or LENOX) will actually save you money in the long run. Those blades will last much longer than "el-cheapo"/no-name blades.

When cutting, the rule of thumb is that 3 saw blade teeth should be in contact with the metal all the time. the thinner the metal being cut, the more teeth-per-inch you need.

Also, another important point, the hacksaw cuts on the push stroke, lift the saw up a tiny bit in the cut on the back stroke so that the teeth of the saw are not being scrapped back against the metal. This will increase the life of the blade significantly.

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 18 Feb 2009