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A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a 
Sawyers either dug a large pit or constructed a sturdy platform, enabling a two-man crew to saw, one positioned below the log called the pit-man, the other standing on top called the top-man. The saw blade teeth were angled and sharpened as a
Pitsaw00.jpg, Woodcut showing work above a saw pit
Pitsaw01.jpg, Pitsaw being sharpened
Whipsaw2-1898.jpg, Two men sawing lumber with a pit saw, the log on trestles rather than over a
The Wisconsin Logging Book, 1839-1939: Whipsaw to up-and-down saw
{{Woodworking Saws Timber preparation
A whipsaw or pitsaw was originally a type of saw used in a saw pit
A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, whi ...
, and consisted of a narrow blade held rigid by a frame and called a frame saw
A frame saw or sash saw is a type of saw 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 ...
or sash saw (see illustrations). This evolved into a straight, stiff blade without a frame, up to 14 feet long and with a handle at each end. The upper handle was called the tiller and the lower one the box, so called from its appearance and because it could be removed when the saw was taken out of one cut to be positioned in another. The whipsaw was used close to the felling site to reduce large logs to beams and planks.
Sawyers either dug a large pit or constructed a sturdy platform, enabling a two-man crew to saw, one positioned below the log called the pit-man, the other standing on top called the top-man. The saw blade teeth were angled and sharpened as a rip saw
A ripsaw (or rip saw) is a wood saw that is specially designed for making a rip cut, a cut made parallel to the direction of the wood grain.
Design
The cutting edge of each tooth has a flat front edge and it is angled backward by about 8°, in ...
so as to only cut on the downward stroke. On the return stroke, the burden of lifting the weight of the saw was shared equally by the two sawyers, thereby reducing fatigue and backache. The pitman had to contend with sawdust in his mouth and eyes and the risk of being crushed by a falling log, although modern photographsArnoult, Annie, La Grande Histoire des Scieurs de Long show the saw dust falling, as would be expected, away from the pitman, the teeth being on the opposite edge from him.
Gallery
saw pit
A saw pit or sawpit is a pit over which timber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw, usually a whipsaw, by two people, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, whi ...
Whipsaw03.JPG, Two types of hand-powered frame or sash saws
Tsingtau Postkarten ca 1900 Holz.jpg, A postcard of Chinese sawyers using frame saws around 1900. This method does not need a saw pit.
See also
*Two-man saw
A two-man saw (known colloquially as a "misery whip") is a saw designed for use by two sawyers. While some modern chainsaws are so large that they require two persons to control, two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power w ...
References
* ''The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary''. 1993. * Arnoult, Annie, ''La Grande Histoire des Scieurs de Long'', 2 volumes, Feurs (France), 1996 and 2001. * Salaman, R. A., ''Dictionary of Woodworking Tools'', revised 2nd edition, 1989.External links
The Wisconsin Logging Book, 1839-1939: Whipsaw to up-and-down saw
{{Woodworking Saws Timber preparation