What Is A Coping Saw?
A coping saw is most often used for coping trim molding. Its design allows for a thin blade to be used which can cut shapes, angles, or curves within woodworking. It is a simple saw which performs a much needed task.
This saw has been in existence since the 16th century and became a cornerstone within woodwork. Today it still is a valuable asset to any wood shop and among the best hand saws.
Know that I do not make a single penny from any recommendation which I make here. All that follows comes from my experience. Take what I give you here and test the information for your own application.
Choosing The Right Blade For The Coping Saw
Not all blades are equal. Pegas and also Olson have the better blades on the market. Selecting blades for coping saws can be a lot like selection for band saws. Quality matters.
Note you will need several different blades. Some have more teeth, others less. Then of course there are the skip tooth blades. You will need a little of everything if you use a coping saw often.
The more teeth a blade has the smoother the cut will be. The problem which can arise is the cuts are slower and it can potentially become bogged down. Fewer teeth make for faster cutting yet the finish which is left is rough.
If a blade becomes bogged down in the cutting process it can cause the cut to drift away from its line. A lot of the problems people face with this has less to do with the teeth and more with technique.
So do not buy into myths blaming the teeth. Perfect the technique. Poor technique becomes more apparent with higher Tpi blades and denser wood.
Among the more common blades to find will be 10 Tpi, 15 Tpi, and 20 Tpi blades. Tpi stands for teeth per inch. This is a standard by which blades are measured for the coping saw.
10 Tpi is great for roughing in cuts or general shaping. 15 to 18 Tpi is great for finishing. 20 Tpi seems to be too fine for many woodworkers but some love it. You will need to experiment here on what you prefer.
Should A Coping Saw Blade Cut On Pull Or Push Stroke?
I have seen people use coping saws on both the pull and push stroke. Yet which is the proper way, or is it really preference?
Some claim the original design of the saw it is made to work with a pull stroke. These people say it is important because a push stroke can create slack in the blade. Yet it never was a problem historically.
Apparently these people never used older coping saws. This blade flex is actually possible to accomplish, but it really applies to inferior modern coping saws. The old ones are far better.
In modern coping saws, a pull stroke prevents compression within the saw keeping the blade tight. The real problem is that today manufacturing cares more about cheap mass production and less about quality.
So what should you do? Here is a tip for practical application in the real world putting all this bench theory aside.
If you are using a coping saw then you are attempting to follow a line to make a cut. Position the blade so that the cut goes into the line. Why?
It is easier to follow a drawn line without the teeth splintering and breaking up the line at its exit. This also allows for proactive adjustments as the blade enters the cut rather than after it is exiting.
Ultimately this means that most of us will be using a push cut, not a pull cut. That is real world woodworking advice from a practical application point of view, not armchair woodworking philosophy.
How Much Blade Tension Should Be Applied?
Generally the blade should not be able to be flexed easily with your finger. Some like the blade to be so tight that it “sings” if you tap it. That is if if you can get it to that point in the first place.
You will sometimes see woodworkers talk about a coping saw blade having too much tension. So allow me to give more real world shop advice.
Modern coping saw blades you find are really incapable of having too much tension. The fact is that the problem is just the opposite.
When you buy a new coping saw it will not take long for you to discover that it becomes difficult to keep enough tension on the blade. This is due to poor materials and design in the saw itself.
So what do you do? Aside from going out and buying an expensive vintage saw there must be a solution.
You could buy a Knew coping saw which will set you back at least 160 or so dollars. Or you can improve the design of a cheaper saw.
Olson makes a decent and cheap saw. The problem is again maintaining tension. Buy some 5/16th in spring lock washers and add it to the blade locking mechanism.
This will allow the saw to have a death grip on the blade. The nice thing about the Olson deluxe coping saw is that it allows the blade to be pin locked at the front and back of the blade.
In these cheap saws it does not prevent twisting so be mindful to not become over aggressive with your cuts. Yet for a saw with this modification for under 20 dollars it is hard to beat.
For the record the older coping saws of history were far superior. Seriously you should at least try to find and use one someday to see the difference. There is no way to compare what they had then to what we have now.
If you hear people discuss blade tension citing that, “too tight is a bad thing”, and their saw came from the hardware store….. then they have been reading too many forums. Just keep things within the world of what is realistically beneficial.
Should The Blade Face Towards The Coping Saw Or Away?
The argument of whether or not a blade should face towards the saw frame or away from it in my mind is ridiculous. Nevertheless I bring it up here for I have seen some woodworkers debate this issue.
These woodworkers cited “history” in how older and more traditional saws were used. Too much seems to be made about the geometry of this saw. The point is that it is capable of fulfilling a lot of needs.
Lets get back to real practical application. My saw blade will always be positioned in a way which will allow for me to do two things. I want the face of my cut to be clean and for the line to be followed.
What does this mean? The face of the cut will be what people will see on a completed project. I do not want the saw teeth creating “blowout”, if I can use a table saw term here.
The face needs to be clean thus it makes sense to also follow my line from this same side. My cut should enter the face following the line which also will allow me to make proactive adjustments.
Within wood art the finish of the appearance is everything. If your work does not require this much attention to detail then it does not matter.
The greater point here is that I do not care about woodworking philosophy. My tool will perform the task in order to produce for me what is needed according to my needs. So should yours.
Adjust the coping saw according to the need by design of the cut, then just cut the wood. It really is that simple.
How To Keep A Coping Saw From Binding
There are a few factors to watch for when cutting with a coping saw. One of the things which people find so difficult about them is how they can bind up with a cut.
Among the common causes of this issue is blade tension, speed of cut, pressure of cut, and depth of the cutting stroke. Ensure that the saw blade is clean before using.
As I have dealt with blade tension let’s look at these other factors.
The speed of the cut will be impacted by the pressure of cut. In short, allow the coping saw to do the work for you. Do not try to force it.
It is likely you need to reduce the amount of pressure you are applying if your blade is sharp. This leads us to the depth of the cutting stroke.
When cutting with a coping saw you need to be using the full stroke of the blade. If you find yourself stopping short of this full stroke due to binding then you are using too much pressure, or the wrong blade.
Other factors which can impact this can be related to the Tpi of the blade, the wood density, and the thickness of the wood you are cutting.
Twisting Issues Come From Inferior Coping Saw Design
There are two major flaws with the common coping saw you can find today. Earlier I dealt with tension of the blade. Now lets look at twisting.
If you use many of the saws from the local hardware store it is inevitable that you will discover blade twist. What causes this?
While the terms toe and heel are more common with ripsaws I will use this terminology for ease of reference. The heel would be the portion of the blade closest to our hand. The toe would be the front.
As the coping saw is being used, pressure is applied with the sawing motion. As you begin to cut a curve, the heel maintains its position and does not move.
The toe faces the same pressure but is only supported by a locking pin and nut. This pressure begins to turn this feature thus twisting the blade.
The earlier fix I mentioned with split ring washers on the Olsen coping saw will help this, though not prevent it. Here is where designs from Knew coping saws help solve these problems.
Unfortunately, aside from getting a better saw there is little one can do to remedy this in cheaper saws. This is one example of how older is just better.
Easiest Way To Cut Curves Or Shapes With A Coping Saw
If you have matched the right blade to the wood then cutting a curve or shape should go rather smoothly. The trick is to keep the blade moving with the right speed and pressure allowing the saw to work.
You may consider a marking knife as a worthwhile investment to aid in creating a line for the intended path of cut.
A turn should only be made while the saw is in motion on the cutting stroke. This allows you to more easily remain on the desired line of the cut minimizing stress to the blade.
If you are short stroking the coping saw then cutting a curve is near impossible to do accurately. Improper application also lends to stressing the blade and it breaking over time.
Wood Density Impact On Using The Coping Saw
Wood density is something that not many how to videos or blog explanations will dive into. Yet it is a factor for consideration.
Density has one added caveat. Thickness of the wood being cut holds a direct relationship with density. This will determine how well the blade will move through the wood.
Here is where coping saw design matters. Dense wood requires more work by the blade to remove material. As thickness of a board increases so does the need for a skip tooth blade.
This scenario will inevitably give you headaches with the average coping saw. You will more readily see twisted blades, drifting lines, tension issues, and binding.
Older saws would face few issues with whatever you asked of them to perform. Today there is only one brand I am aware of which can perform at the same or similar level.
The Knew coping saw is the best that you can acquire in modern tools. I just have not found or seen any other that can rid you of the problems which we can so often run into.