Cutting and Sawing Tools

    This section focuses on tools whose primary purpose is to cut or sever materials like wood, metal, plastic, tile, or concrete using blades, abrasive discs, or specialized cutters. Cutting is a fundamental operation in fabrication, construction, and repair.

Circular Saw

  1. Circular Saw

  • A highly versatile handheld power saw featuring a rapidly rotating flat, circular blade, designed primarily for making straight cuts in wood. It excels at making both crosscuts (cutting across the wood grain) and rip cuts (cutting along the wood grain). With the appropriate blade, it can also cut plywood, plastics, and sometimes metals. Most circular saws allow for adjusting the cutting depth and tilting the baseplate (shoe) to make bevel cuts at various angles. It is a fundamental tool in construction for tasks like framing lumber and cutting sheathing, as well as in woodworking for breaking down large sheets of material or making general cuts. Available in corded models for continuous power and popular cordless versions offering portability. Common blade diameters include 6-1/2 inches and 7-1/4 inches. Accuracy can be enhanced by using straightedge guides. Its combination of power, versatility, and portability makes it one of the most common power saws.
Miter Saw

  1. Miter Saw (Chop Saw - Wood)

  • A specialized power saw, typically stationary or benchtop-mounted, designed for making precise crosscuts and angled (miter) cuts in wood. It features a circular blade mounted on a pivoting arm that lowers ("chops") onto the workpiece, which is held securely against an adjustable fence. Miter saws are essential for tasks requiring accurate angles, such as cutting trim molding (baseboards, crown molding), picture frames, and framing lumber for construction. Various types exist: basic chop saws (90-degree cuts only), standard miter saws (cut angles left and right), compound miter saws (blade also tilts for bevel cuts), and sliding compound miter saws (blade slides horizontally for cutting wider boards). Common blade sizes are 10 inches and 12 inches. They offer significantly greater accuracy for miter and bevel cuts compared to handheld circular saws. While sometimes called a "chop saw," this term can also refer to abrasive metal-cutting saws, so context is important.
Table Saw

  1. Table Saw

  • A cornerstone stationary woodworking machine featuring a circular saw blade mounted beneath a flat table surface, with the blade projecting upward through a slot. Workpieces are guided past the blade using either a rip fence (a guide parallel to the blade for making rip cuts along the grain) or a miter gauge (a sliding guide for making crosscuts across the grain at various angles). Table saws are renowned for their ability to make highly accurate and repeatable straight rip cuts and crosscuts. The blade's height (depth of cut) and angle (for bevel cuts) are typically adjustable. Considered essential in most woodworking shops, they are used for dimensioning solid lumber, cutting sheet goods (plywood, MDF), and making various joinery cuts. Models range from portable jobsite saws to large, heavy-duty cabinet saws offering greater power and precision. Due to the exposed blade, safety features like blade guards, splitters or riving knives (to prevent kickback), and anti-kickback pawls are crucial, with advanced systems like SawStop offering blade-stopping technology.
Jigsaw

  1. Jigsaw

  • A versatile handheld power saw characterized by a narrow, reciprocating blade, primarily used for cutting curves, circles, and intricate shapes in materials like wood, plastic, metal, and laminates. Its maneuverability allows it to follow complex patterns. Jigsaws can also make straight cuts, often aided by a guide, and are capable of plunge cutting – starting a cut within the material's surface rather than from an edge. Many models feature orbital action settings, which introduce a forward-and-back motion in addition to the up-and-down stroke, allowing for faster, more aggressive cuts (useful in wood) or smoother, more controlled cuts (better for metal or fine curves). It's an essential tool for tasks like cutting openings for sinks or electrical boxes, creating decorative shapes, and coping molding. Available in both corded and cordless versions, with blade types varying widely depending on the material and desired cut quality.
Reciprocating Saw (Sawzall)

  1. Reciprocating Saw (Sawzall)

  • A powerful, robust handheld saw featuring a long, relatively flexible blade that moves back and forth rapidly in a reciprocating (push-pull) motion. Primarily designed for demolition, rough cutting, and pruning, it excels at cutting through a wide variety of materials, including wood (even with embedded nails), metal pipes and conduit, plastic (PVC), drywall, plaster, and even masonry with the appropriate blade. Its design allows it to reach into awkward or tight spaces where other saws cannot operate easily. Commonly used in renovation and remodeling for tasks like cutting out old window frames, removing sections of pipe or studs, and general teardown work. Often referred to by the popular Milwaukee brand name "Sawzall". Available in corded versions for sustained power and increasingly capable cordless models for portability. Variable speed control enhances its versatility across different materials.
Band Saw (Vertical)

  1. Band Saw (Vertical)

  • A stationary power saw characterized by a long, continuous loop blade made of a thin band of steel with teeth on one edge, running over two or more wheels. Vertical band saws, common in woodworking shops, feature a table surface through which the blade passes vertically, allowing the operator to feed and maneuver the workpiece into the blade. They are primarily used for cutting curves, irregular shapes, and circles in wood and other materials. A key application in woodworking is resawing – slicing thicker boards into thinner ones along their width. While capable of straight cuts (rip cuts and crosscuts), their strength lies in curved work. Blade selection (width, tooth count, tooth shape) is critical and varies depending on the material (wood, metal, plastic) and the type of cut (tight curves require narrower blades, resawing benefits from wider blades). Vertical band saws offer greater throat depth (distance from blade to vertical frame) than scroll saws, allowing for cuts further from the edge of larger workpieces, and can handle thicker stock than jigsaws. Models range from small benchtop units to large floor-standing industrial machines. Metal-cutting variants typically operate at much lower speeds and may incorporate coolant systems.
Track Saw

  1. Track Saw (Plunge Cut Saw)

  • A specialized handheld circular saw system designed for making exceptionally straight, precise, and clean cuts, particularly in large sheet materials like plywood, MDF, and solid surface countertops. Its defining feature is a guide track (or rail) that the saw base rides along; this track ensures the saw follows a perfectly straight line and typically has an anti-splinter strip along the cutting edge to prevent tear-out on the top surface of the material. Track saws employ a plunge-cut mechanism, where the blade is normally retracted within the housing and can be smoothly plunged down into the material to start or end a cut anywhere on the workpiece, not just from the edge. This makes them ideal for cutting openings (like sink cutouts) or precise stopped cuts. They offer accuracy rivaling a table saw but with greater portability and ease of use for breaking down large sheets. Commonly used for trimming doors to size, accurately cutting panels for cabinetry and furniture, and making precise joinery cuts.14 While generally more expensive than standard circular saws, their precision and cut quality often justify the cost for fine woodworking and professional applications.
Vertical Panel Saw

  1. Panel Saw (Vertical/Horizontal)

  • A large-format saw specifically engineered for accurately and safely cutting large, heavy sheets or panels of material such as plywood, MDF, particleboard, plastics, and sometimes non-ferrous metals. Panel saws come in two main configurations: vertical and horizontal. Vertical panel saws feature a large frame against which the sheet is placed vertically; the saw motor and blade assembly travel along guide rails either vertically (for crosscuts) or horizontally (for rip cuts) across the stationary panel. This design is space-efficient, making it popular in smaller workshops. Horizontal panel saws, often resembling large table saws with sliding tables or beam saws, require more floor space but typically offer higher precision, faster throughput, and greater potential for automation (CNC control), making them common in high-volume production environments like cabinet shops and furniture factories. Both types provide superior support and control for large sheets compared to attempting similar cuts on a standard table saw or with handheld saws, enhancing both accuracy and operator safety. They are essential tools in industries that rely heavily on processing sheet goods.
Scroll Saw

  1. Scroll Saw

  • A small, electrically powered benchtop saw designed for making highly intricate curved cuts, sharp angles, and detailed patterns in thin materials (typically wood up to 3/4" or 1" thick, but also plastics and thin metals with appropriate blades). It utilizes a very fine, short reciprocating blade (moving up and down rapidly) that is held under tension between an upper and lower arm. This fine blade allows for much tighter turns and more delicate cuts than a jigsaw or band saw, making it the tool of choice for detailed scrollwork, fretwork, marquetry, intarsia, model building, toy making, and cutting out complex shapes like puzzle pieces or lettering. The table can usually be tilted to allow for beveled cuts. A key feature is the ability to make internal cuts: a small pilot hole is drilled in the workpiece, the blade is detached from the upper arm, threaded through the hole, and reattached, allowing the user to cut out internal shapes. Blade selection (size, tooth pattern) is crucial for achieving good results in different materials.
Concrete Saw

  1. Concrete Saw (Cut-off Saw - Concrete)

  • A powerful, heavy-duty saw specifically designed for cutting hard, abrasive materials such as concrete, asphalt, stone, brick, and masonry. These saws typically employ abrasive composite discs or, more commonly, diamond-impregnated circular blades to grind through the material. They are available in various forms: handheld models (resembling large circular saws or angle grinders, often called cut-off saws) for smaller jobs or vertical cuts, and larger walk-behind machines for cutting horizontally across slabs, floors, roads, and sidewalks. Many concrete saws incorporate a water delivery system ("wet cutting") that sprays water onto the blade during operation; this cools the blade, suppresses hazardous silica dust, and improves cutting performance and blade life. Key applications include cutting expansion or control joints in concrete slabs, creating openings for plumbing or electrical work, cutting pavement for road repairs, demolition tasks, and scoring or trimming masonry units. Gas engines are common power sources for portability and power, especially for outdoor work, although electric models are also available. Specialized versions include wall saws (track-mounted for precise vertical cuts) and concrete chain saws (for deep plunge cuts or square corners).
Wet Tile Saw

  1. Wet Tile Saw

  • A specialized power saw designed explicitly for cutting ceramic, porcelain, glass, and natural stone tiles with high precision and minimal chipping. It resembles a small table saw but incorporates a water reservoir and pump system that continuously floods the diamond-coated cutting blade with water during operation. This "wet cutting" method is crucial for several reasons: it cools the blade to prevent overheating and damage, lubricates the cut for smoother edges, and significantly suppresses the fine, hazardous dust generated when cutting tile. Wet tile saws are indispensable for tile installation projects, enabling installers to make accurate straight cuts, diagonal (miter) cuts, bevel cuts (by tilting the table or blade), L-shaped cuts, and notches to fit tiles around obstacles or into corners. Most models feature an adjustable rip fence for guiding straight cuts and a miter gauge for setting angles. They range from small, portable tabletop models suitable for DIYers to larger, professional-grade saws with sliding tables for handling bigger tiles and higher volumes of work.
Cold Saw (Metal Cutting)

  1. Cold Saw (Metal Cutting)

  • A circular saw optimized for making precise, high-quality cuts in metal. Unlike abrasive chop saws, cold saws use a toothed blade, typically made from High-Speed Steel (HSS) or featuring Tungsten Carbide Tips (TCT), which rotates at a much slower speed. This slow speed, combined with a high chip load per tooth and often the use of a coolant/lubrication system, allows the heat generated during cutting to be effectively transferred into the metal chips, keeping both the blade and the workpiece relatively cool. This "cold" cutting process results in minimal heat distortion, fewer sparks, a clean, burr-free finish, and excellent dimensional accuracy. Cold saws are used to cut a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and brass, in various forms like solid bars, tubes, angles, and extrusions. They are essential tools in metal fabrication shops, machine shops, and manufacturing facilities where cut quality and precision are paramount. Models range from manual feed saws to semi-automatic and fully automatic production machines.
Chop Saw (Abrasive Cut-off Saw)

  1. Chop Saw (Abrasive Cut-off Saw - Metal)

  • A power saw, typically benchtop or stationary, specifically designed for cutting ferrous metals like steel, iron pipe, and rebar using a consumable abrasive disc (wheel) instead of a toothed blade. The saw features a high-speed motor that spins the abrasive wheel, which grinds its way through the metal workpiece, usually clamped in a built-in vise. Abrasive chop saws are known for their ability to cut through hard metals relatively quickly. However, the abrasive cutting process generates significant heat, sparks, and burrs, resulting in a less precise cut with a potentially rough finish compared to a cold saw. They are generally not suitable for cutting non-ferrous metals like aluminum, as these softer materials tend to load up and clog the abrasive wheel. Commonly used in construction, fabrication, and repair shops for quick cutoff of metal stock where high precision or a clean finish is not the primary requirement.

  1. Metal Nibbler

  • A specialized power tool for cutting sheet metal, particularly useful for making curved or intricate cuts and for cutting profiled or corrugated sheets without causing distortion or warping. It operates using a punch and die mechanism that removes small semicircular "nibbles" of material as the tool advances, effectively chewing its way through the metal. This cutting action avoids the bending or stretching forces associated with shears, preserving the flatness of the surrounding material. Nibblers can easily follow tight curves and patterns, and can be used to start cuts in the middle of a sheet after drilling a pilot hole. The main drawback is the creation of numerous small metal chips as waste material, which requires cleanup. They are available in electric (corded and cordless) and pneumatic versions and are commonly used in HVAC fabrication (ductwork), roofing, automotive body repair, and general sheet metal work.
Power Metal Shears

  1. Power Metal Shears

  • A power tool designed to cut sheet metal using a scissor-like action, with two blades moving past each other to sever the material.1 Power shears are efficient for making fast, straight cuts or long, gentle curves in flat sheet metal. Unlike nibblers, they do not remove material or create chips during the cut, resulting in a cleaner work area. However, the shearing action, particularly with single-cut models, can sometimes cause slight distortion, warping, or bending along the cut edge. Double-cut shears are designed to minimize this distortion. Available in various power sources including electric (corded/cordless) and pneumatic. They are widely used in sheet metal fabrication, HVAC work, roofing, auto body repair, and for cutting materials like metal studs or ductwork. The choice between shears and nibblers often depends on the required cut shape (straight vs. intricate curve), the material profile (flat vs. corrugated), and whether minimal distortion or zero waste chips is more critical.
    Electric Rotary Cutter

  1. Electric Rotary Cutter (Fabric/Craft)

  • A handheld electric tool equipped with a small, rotating circular blade, specifically designed for cutting soft materials, primarily multiple layers of fabric, cloth, or textiles. It offers a significant advantage over manual rotary cutters or scissors by reducing hand fatigue and increasing cutting speed, especially when dealing with large quantities or thick stacks of material. Commonly used in sewing, quilting, upholstery, crafting, and garment production. Many models feature integrated blade sharpeners to maintain cutting efficiency and safety guards to protect the user's fingers. While primarily for fabric, some may also cut other soft materials like paper, thin leather, vinyl, or cardboard. Available in corded electric models, with some specialized long-handled versions for cutting on large tables.
Hot Wire Foam Cutter

  1. Hot Wire Foam Cutter

  • A specialized cutting tool that utilizes an electrically heated wire, typically made of Nichrome, to slice through various types of foam, such as Expanded Polystyrene (EPS, commonly called Styrofoam), Extruded Polystyrene (XPS), and polyethylene foams. The hot wire cuts by melting the foam along its path, resulting in a very smooth, clean edge with minimal dust or debris compared to mechanical cutting methods like sawing or sanding. This tool is ideal for shaping, carving, and precisely cutting foam for a wide range of applications including architectural models, prototypes (e.g., aerodynamic shapes), theatrical props and scenery, signage letters, hobbyist projects (model railroad terrain, gaming scenery), craft decorations, and cutting insulation boards. Hot wire foam cutters come in various forms, from simple handheld pens or wands and bow cutters to more elaborate tabletop machines offering greater control and capacity.137 The temperature of the wire is usually adjustable via a power supply to suit different foam densities and cutting speeds.