Hand saw: common mistakes and how to avoid them

Learn to make a straight, controlled cut with a hand saw without the blade wandering off line.

HS-01Pick the right saw and check itA panel saw has a wide blade and is for general cutting of wood to size. A tenon saw is smaller with a stiff metal spine along the top, giving straighter cuts on small, precise jobs like skirting. Before you start, run a finger lightly along the back edge (never the cutting edge) to check the teeth aren't rusty, bent or missing. A blunt or damaged saw will fight you at every later step, so it's worth sorting this first.

HS-02Mark your cut line before you touch the sawUse a pencil and a try square (an L-shaped tool that gives you a true 90-degree line) to mark right across the top of the wood and down the side face. Beginners often cut freehand by eye, and the cut almost always drifts off square. Mark a small X on the waste side (the offcut you won't be keeping) so you always know which side of the line to cut.

HS-03Support the wood so it can't moveClamp the timber to a workbench, or rest it across two sawhorses (trestle stands), with your cut line hanging just past the edge of the support so the saw has room to pass through underneath. Don't try to hold the wood steady with one hand while you saw with the other - it will shift under the blade, and the cut will wander or the saw will jam.

HS-04Start the cut with control, not forceRest the saw teeth on the waste side of your line, right at the corner edge of the wood. Use the knuckle of your thumb on your free hand as a guide against the flat of the blade, and draw the saw backwards once or twice to nick a starting groove before you push forward. Beginners push hard straight away, which makes the saw skid across the surface and jump off the line.

HS-05Use long, steady strokesLet the full length of the blade do the work with long, even strokes, not short scrubbing ones. Push forward with light pressure, pull back with almost none - don't push down on the saw. Gripping too hard and forcing it downward tires your arm quickly and makes the blade bind in the cut, which is what causes it to veer off line.

HS-06Watch the side face, not just the topCheck the saw is following your marked line on both the top of the wood and the side you're cutting from - most beginners only watch the top and don't notice the cut leaning sideways. If it starts to drift, gently twist the handle a few degrees to steer it back rather than forcing the blade sideways, which can bend it. Small corrections early stop a big drift by the end of the cut.

HS-07Finish the cut slowlyAs you near the end, slow right down and support the offcut (the waste end) with your free hand, or let it rest on the bench, so it doesn't snap away and tear a chunk out of the good piece. Take the last few strokes lightly. Rushing the final inch is the single most common way beginners ruin an otherwise good cut.

HS-08Check you've cut it rightRun a finger along the cut edge - it should feel smooth and straight, not stepped or ragged. Hold a try square against the cut face to check it's a true 90 degrees, and look at the wood next to your original pencil line - you want the line barely visible, not a ledge left on one side. If the cut is angled or wavy, that's the drift from earlier steps, and it tells you what to focus on next time.

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