Which way do the teeth go on a coping saw blade?

There is no “correct” position. The teeth can face in or out , and the blade can cut on either the push or the pull stroke. Typically the teeth face out and cut is on the push stroke, but do as you please - and no “law” says you have to be consistent.

What is the best TPI for a coping saw?

Coping saw blades for cutting wood differ by their teeth per inch (TPI). The typical numbers you'll see are between 5 and 20 TPI . If you're rough cutting a line that'll be pared down with a chisel later, 5 to 15 TPI is fine.

What is the purpose of a coping saw?

A coping saw was mainly invented to “cope” or “saw” the crossings between two surfaces to allow them to fit together seamlessly . With a coping saw, you can cut out any intricate shape in wooden materials or make curved trims for your roof eaves.

Should a coping saw cut on the push or pull?

You can install the blade to cut either on the push or pull stroke , although for most work I find that a pull cut is easier to control. Of course, the saw gets its name from the coping cut used to fit molding together in place of a miter joint.

Do coping saws cut on the forward or backward stroke?

The blade in a coping saw is mounted with the teeth facing the handle so that it cuts on the pull stroke . Attempting to cut on the push stroke can cause the frame to flex, relaxing tension on the blade and allowing the blade to bend and wobble in the cut.

What not to do with a coping saw?

For safety, keep appendages, hands and other objects away from the sharp teeth. Never apply more force onto the saw than you could using your bare hands . As with any other bladed tools, the user should wear long sleeves, padded work gloves and safety glasses to prevent bodily contact with the blade or cutting debris.

Is a coping saw the same as a hacksaw?

Coping saws must have an extremely narrow blade so that they can make very sharp turn to cut intricate designs and shapes. A hacksaw is designed to cut steel, or pipes that require a straight line. You may slant the cut line with a hack saw, but you would be unable to make a “U” turn cut like you can with a coping saw!

What is the alternative to a coping saw?

The next hand saw for wood working that I recommend is a frame saw called a bow saw . A bow saw is like the big brother to the smaller coping saw. Both are great at cutting curves, but a bow saw can also cut straight lines with a larger blade.

Can you sharpen a coping saw?

While you might be inclined to sharpen a dull coping saw blade as you would on some of your other saws, it's not usually worth the effort. You can sharpen some blades, like those with steel teeth, on your own. But blades with carbide-tipped teeth have to be sharpened by a professional .

What is the finest coping saw blade?

These blades by Pégas are manufactured in Switzerland of high quality carbon steel. Many consider them the finest coping saw blades currently made.

What is the disadvantage of a coping saw?

The major downside to the coping saw is that you have to remove the waste in two passes instead of one . Because the coping saw's blade is thick, it sometimes won't drop down into the bottom of the kerf left by your dovetail saw.

Can you cut steel with a coping saw?

When it comes to metal, a coping saw can definitely cut it — including tin, aluminum, copper, metal sheet and more. If you're looking to cut metal with your coping saw, make sure your blade has a TPI of 24 or above. While a coping saw can surely get the job done, a hacksaw is a much better option for cutting metal.

The Humble, Essential Coping Saw (2024)

The coping saw is just a narrow blade held taut in a C-shaped frame with a simple handle. Yet it can literally run circles around any other handheld saw, even a jigsaw. With a coping saw, you can cut out a heart in the back of a child’s chair or make gingerbread trim for your roof eaves. Equip it with the right blade and you can cut curves in tile or metal. And, of course, you need it to create one of the most useful and elegant cuts in finish carpentry—the cope, which earned this saw its name.

A cope is the best way to marry the ends of wood molding at inside corners so the joints stay tight. It’s made by carefully sawing away the profile of one molding, leaving an undulating “cope” that overlaps the profile of the adjacent piece of trim. A tight cope joint signals a hard-earned mastery of this delicate tool.

So perfectly is this saw attuned to its task that it has hardly changed since it was invented almost 90 years ago. No power, no “improvements,” no bells or whistles. Just hand, eyes, and tool skillfully engaged in the shaping of wood. Craftsmanship doesn’t get any purer.

What to Look For

The size of the throat—the span between blade and frame—varies from 4 to 6 inches, yet all coping saws use the same 63/8– to 6½–inch blades. The few other differences between saws are just as subtle. Tension adjustment. All blades are tightened by twisting the saw handle. Some saws also have a knob screw (1) opposite the handle, which pulls the blade taut after the handle is engaged. The flap on the T–slot fitting (2) makes it easy to adjust the blade’s angle when necessary. Rigid frame. A flat frame with a rectangular cross–section (3) will hold a blade in greater tension than a round bar of the same width (4). Slotted pins (5). With these, you can use blades with loop ends (see the tile–cutting blade at right) as well as the standard wood–cutting blades with pins in their ends.

Choice Cuts

METAL: Composed of the same high–carbon steel as hacksaw blades, these can make straight cuts through thin sheets of nonferrous metal or nonhardened steel, as when making a cutout in a tin ceiling panel.

The Humble, Essential Coping Saw (2024)

Choice Cuts

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