General Purpose Saw

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A general purpose saw is among the first tools a hobbyist woodworker should acquire. The tool is simple to use, robust and can accomplish a multitude of sawing tasks. I put together this little video, the first for this blog, in response to a query regarding what saws to buy. I hope it will be useful to newbies.



Indranil Banerjie
6 February 2014

Comments

  1. Longi11 February, 2014

    Hi Indranil

    Do let me know from which site I can order stanley hand saw. Thank you
    Anil

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indian Woodworker11 February, 2014

    Longi: I buy my hand tools from Delhi's Chawri Bazar. I am not familiar with markets in other cities. Most hand tools stores around the country should stcok this basic saw. This is their contact info taken from their website:
    For Sales Enquiry
    Stanley Works India Pvt Ltd
    4/24A, AB House,
    Asaf Ali Road,
    New Delh - 110 002
    Phone No. - 011- 43569000
    indiasales@stanleyworks.com

    North & East
    Mobile +91-9311859002
    West
    Mobile +91-9321998578
    South
    Mobile +91-9341408578

    best wishes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown30 April, 2014

    Hi indranil, could you please tell me the difference between Stanley 15-809 and 20-807 Mini-hacksaw? Both have 10" blade and looks alike...unable to comprehend the difference here. Thanks a ton in advance!

    regards,
    Dipanjan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Indian Woodworker01 May, 2014

    Dipanjan: They look very similar. I have one of them. Very limited use.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown01 October, 2014

    Dear Mr. Indranil,

    Looking at the Stanley India website, they have two saws listed under their "Plastic Handle Saws" section which has an image of the saw that says "General Purpose Saw" on the protective sleeve.

    However, both these saws (part-number 20-082 and 20-083) are specified with a Cross-Cut tooth pattern. I was expecting a general purpose saw to have a Rip-Cut pattern.

    So I wonder if the saw in your demo video is some other Stanley part-number altogether.

    Could you let me know the part-number, and basic spec (TPI/Length/Tooth-pattern) of your saw, please?

    So I can then look for the same saw on the market.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Avinash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indian Woodworker16 October, 2014

      Avinash: Extremely sorry for the delay in replying but I seem to have missed your comment entirely.
      You are right, most Stanley general purpose saws have teeth closer to a cross cut pattern. These can be used for ripping smaller pieces but aren't terribly efficient at ripping long lengths. But absolutely fine for ripping plywood, board and so on.
      My saw is a 20 inch 7tpi general purpose saw probably model no 20.074.
      These days I usually use a Japanese Kataba for ripping long pieces, which I purchased from toolsfromjapan.com
      best wishes

      Delete
  6. Anonymous03 November, 2014

    I have bought the BAHCO AP06 general purpose saw from ebay for Rs 650.
    Till now usage has been limited to plywood, and I have no complaints. Cuts like a dream, and I use it more than my skil 5301 power saw, just for the sake of simplicity.
    http://www.ebay.in/itm/bahco-20-inch-500mm-universal-20-hacksaw-/121438108991?pt=lh_defaultdomain_203
    - Siddhartha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indian Woodworker03 November, 2014

      Congratulations on your new acquisition. Once you get used to cutting with a hand saw, you will use your power saw less and less.

      Delete
  7. Bob Marlie21 November, 2014

    Congrats on your new obtaining. When you get used to cutting with a hand saw, you will utilize your energy saw less and less.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unknown07 September, 2021

    Sir, I am visiting your blog for the first time. First, Congrats on your enthusiasm and building a DIY blog. I've always been fascinated by the DIY culture in USA etc such as instructables.com. I wish more and more people take up DIY kind of projects.

    Anyway, the primary reason I write to you is that the video on this page apparently is no longer available (according to my FireFox browser). Could you please give me a link to the video if it's available elsewhere? I've been toying with the idea of buying a hand saw versus a circular saw. Problem is (as you rightly said), power tools just gather dust if you are a very sporadic DIYer, which I am (or hope to be soon!).

    Advance thanks for any pointers regarding the saw. Please continue this blog and your writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indian Woodworker08 September, 2021

      I removed the video as it was quite old. I will do a blog post on this subject. In the meanwhile, it would be advisable to buy and try a handsaw before investing in something as heavy, expensive and somewhat dangerous as a power circular saw.

      Delete

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