PRACTICALPRACTICAL
A
hacksaw is a versatile
tool to have aboard a
boat. It’ll cut metals of all
types, cuts plastics with ease,
and can be used to saw through
corroded hose clips or even
reinforced rubber hoses that
have welded themselves to
couplings. And they’re not
expensive – you can buy a
perfectly good new hacksaw
for under a fiver.
Trying to saw through anything
with a blunt hacksaw blade is hard
work, so the first rule to successful
Hacked off
A hacksaw isn’t just for the metalwork
shop – it’s essential for any boat toolkit,
as Julian Peckham explains
GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR HACKSAW
32 Teeth24 Teeth18 Teethhacksawing is to use a sharp
blade. They’re fairly cheap at
around £1 each if you buy in bulk,
so if your blade’s teeth have lost
their edge, or the blade hasCutting metal
with a jigsaw
A jigsaw with a fine-toothed
metal-cutting blade is great for
things like tubing – it’s often
easier to get a true, clean cut than
it is using an ordinary hacksaw.
Set the speed to slow, ensure
the piece being sawed is held
securely with no chance of any
movement, lubricate the blade
and proceed carefully, letting
the blade do the work.Setting up
the hacksaw
Hacksaw blades can be set up in
the saw frame to cut on either the
push or pull stroke, depending on
circumstances. For most normal
uses they’re set forwards to cut on
the push stroke. The blade needs
to be set in tension in the frame to
work properly. Some saws come
with a wing nut adjustment, others
with a lever-type cam: if yours has
a wing nut do it up until it feels
tight, then do it up some more until
the frame starts to bend slightly.
Cam adjusters will pretty much
set up the tension for you.
A blade that twists or kinks during
sawing creates a lot of friction, not
only wasting your energy but also
making it hard to maintain an
accurate cut, so make sure it’s
under a good tension.
Don’t push so hard that you bend
the blade or encounter a lot of
resistance. With the teeth facing
forwards, they’ll only be cutting on
the forward stroke so there’s no
need to keep pressure on during
the backstroke. As with any type of
sawing, let the blade do the work.
Use both hands fore and aft on the
saw, move your body rather than
just your arms, and try to keep a
constant, easy pace so you don’t
get too tired too quickly.A junior hacksaw is ideal for
sawing where space is restricted,
or where you need to be careful
on a delicate job.Lubricating the blade with a light
machine oil (even baby oil will do)
or something like WD40 will help
stop the teeth clogging.missing teeth or cracks in it,
replace it.
Standard hacksaw blades are
mostly available in three different
pitches, or numbers of teeth per
inch (TPI). The number of teeth
you need will depend on what
you’re cutting:
■ 32 TPI for soft metals such ascopper, brass and aluminium,
and for precision cutting of sheet
metals including stainless steel.
■ 24 TPI for cutting heavier steel
such as angle iron and heavy pipe.
■ 18 TPI for steel rod and cast iron.
Generally speaking, the finer the
pitch the more accurate and clean
the cut will be – but it’ll take longer.When using a hacksaw, push firmly and use the whole length of the bladeGet started: using the hacksaw
Making the initial cut, particularly
on tubing, can be tricky as the saw
blade can have a tendency to skip
and slide about until it has a firm
bite – this is especially the case
with stainless steel, which can be a
devil to get started. A layer or two
of masking tape can help prevent
slipping and sliding.Make sure that whatever you’re
sawing is held firmly in a vice or
clamped tightly to a workbench:
the closer you can make your cut
to the vice or clamp the less the
piece will vibrate and the easier it
will be to cut. It’ll be quieter too!1in