A frame saw or sash saw is a type of

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

which consists of a relatively narrow and flexible blade held under tension within a (generally wooden) rectangular frame (also called a sash or gate). They are used for cutting wood or stone. The blade is held perpendicular to the plane of the frame, so that the material being cut passes through the center of the frame. Frame saws for use with wood are rip saws operated as a

hand saw In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and carve a wooden object. They usually operate by having a ser ...

or powered in a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. Frame saws used for cutting stone were powered saws in stone mills. When used for different purposes, a frame saw may have other names. For converting logs into

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, they are also called a pit-saw or

whipsaw A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a saw pit, and consisted of a narrow blade held rigid by a frame and called a frame saw or sash saw (see illustrations). This evolved into a straight, stiff blade without a frame, up to 1 ...

. For sawing veneer, they may simply be called a ''veneer saw''. It is unknown how early framed pit-saws came into use however there is an Italian fresco from depicting their use. A more modern development from the 18th Century is the ''open'' pit saw which resembled a large hand saw with no frame, a ''till'' for a handle at the top and a ''box'' for a lower handle. This form of pit saw is still manufactured and in use in rural areas of developing countries as a means of processing timber. The frame pit saw was the mainstay of resawing before stiff, unframed two-man saws called a muley or mulay saw, circular saws, and

band saw A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and l ...

s took over. In some early

s a frame saw was powered from a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

wind mill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...

or other rotary motion through a crankshaft and connecting rod. Frame saws are now largely obsolete, although woodworkers who eschew power tools still make them for personal use in many sizes and styles of assembly.

References

* * {{woodworking Saws Timber preparation