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Thread: Hack Saw vs Meat Saw?
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13th September 2017, 04:30 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Hack Saw vs Meat Saw?
Disclaimer: This may technically belong in the metalworking section or the antique tools section, but I think I'll get better responses here, so...
I need a full sized hacksaw for general, hacksaw use, and, of course, I'd like to have an older one. I'd prefer a Disston.
I see a lot of really cool saws on eBay that look exactly like hacksaws, but are marketed as meat saws.
So the question is straightforward... What is the difference - or is there a difference - between a hacksaw and a meat saw? If I buy an old meat saw because it looks cool and put a hacksaw blade into it, is some fundamental difference between the two going to make itself apparent?
I think I know the answer here, so I'm mostly looking for affirmation...
Thanks a lot in advance,
Luke
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13th September 2017 04:30 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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13th September 2017, 04:37 PM #2
I have hacksaws and meat saws, the main differences is the meat saw is stainless. The hacksaw is usually a finer tooth pattern.
I am learning, slowley.
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13th September 2017, 04:44 PM #3GOLD MEMBER
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13th September 2017, 06:25 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Millers Falls and Goodell Pratt also made some nice looking hacksaws. GP even made a hacksaw mitre box.
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13th September 2017, 07:11 PM #5
Yes the blade needs to be stainless so you don't put rust into your meat. The frame can be anything that can be cleaned easy.IMG_0320.jpg That one is a Bodman from Germany
I am learning, slowley.
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13th September 2017, 07:55 PM #6Senior Member
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Might be worth checking your blade compatibility before going too deep in the process.
From memory the standard for a bone saw is 17 inches at 6TPI. Older blades might have a slightly finer tooth pattern, but still nowhere near fine enough to use as a hacksaw - they usually come in at 20 plus TPI. Hardness would be an issue as well.
Is there even such a thing as a 17 inch hacksaw blade?
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14th September 2017, 01:45 AM #7GOLD MEMBER
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To clarify, I'm only talking about the frame of the saw. Blade replacement isn't an issue. I can always cut one down and drill new holes.
Cheers,
Luke
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14th September 2017, 09:29 AM #8
Size, Luke, size! As gv says, a bone-saw frame is a hacksaw on steroids. I guess you could fit one out with a bit of metal-cutting bandsaw blade & use it as a Schwarzenegger-sized hacksaw, but I doubt you'd be thrilled with it. For starters, I'm not sure the frame would take the extra tension you'd need for cutting metal, & sawing your way through even a 1/2 inch thick slab of steel is no walk in the park. Hacksaws had evolved to their current size well over 100 years ago, and they are plenty big enough for most jobs you would sensibly tackle using potato power.
If you need the extra depth of a larger frame, try it, but I predict your enthusiasm will be waning before you reach the frame depth even with a regular-sized saw, and you'll be thinking about the practicalities of cutting your metal with an angle-grinder & 1mm cutoff wheel - best damn discovery I've made in the last 15 years...
Of course there are lots of situations where a good 'ol-fashun hacksaw is the sensible tool for an occasional metalworker, and I own a couple that see plenty of use. I would recommend an older one, i.e. pre-1960, say, because they were made to be used regularly & the frames were far stronger & will comfortably hold their tension. The trash they sell in hardware stores nowadays are not worth picking up. My big problem is getting decent blades that will cut a straight line. The best brand I can find here is "Sutton", which at least hold an edge long enough to saw through a chunk of steel, but why oh why do they slather them with about a mm of white paint that takes several minutes of sawing to wear off, & tends to jam the darned blade while it does so?!!
Good luck,IW
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14th September 2017, 09:53 AM #9
You might look at an Armstrong Blum like this: Vintage Rare Armstrong Blum Marvel Frame NO 12 hack saw,USA,1218 N,pat applied | eBay
Stupid expensive on eBay but I'm sure they can be found at flea markets and second hand shops. Great ergonomics.
Simonds blades are the best I've ever used, they work on hardened steel and stainless without complaint.Innovations are those useful things that, by dint of chance, manage to survive the stupidity and destructive tendencies inherent in human nature.
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14th September 2017, 10:45 AM #10.
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No one has asked the obvious question, "What are you intending to cut with it?"
I know that you are after a manual solution but like Ian I am a fan of 1mm tin cutting wheels and use them in a home made mini table saw that attaches to a 1HP variable speed grinder. This is used to cut small pieces of stock than cannot be easily held in the vice on my horizontal metal cutting bandsaw. The metal cutting bandsaw cost me $150 a few years ago and has become one of the most oft used machines in my shed. After clamping the work in the vice, starting the motor and lowering the band onto the work you can go do something else and when it completes the cut it stops by itself. I wish more machines were like that.
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14th September 2017, 01:29 PM #11GOLD MEMBER
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Ok, good to know on the size thing. That makes a lot of sense. I agree about the paint. I don't see the point...
I'm just intending to do, as Ian says, the occasional cutting of thin brass and steel. For one, I'd like to make myself a long, single bevel marking knife. Nothing serious or super demanding, just the occasional nipping off that would save a lot of grinder time.
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14th September 2017, 04:32 PM #12.
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17th September 2017, 09:20 AM #13
Luke
The butcher's or meat saws were made in a wide variety of sizes. For example, my Simonds 1919 catalogue has eleven different models plus two beef splitters ( for halving a beef carcass). Most of them were available in a range of frame sizes from 14" up to a maximum of 30", although not each model had all sizes available. A couple of models, described as kitchen saws, did go down to 12". The blade widths ranged from 5/8" to 1" with the beef splitters at 1 1/2". The size of these blades is more akin to power hacksaw blades. While you could adapt a suitable saw, I am not convinced it would be really acceptable, unless there was no other option.
If you really wanted a particular size hacksaw (deeper throat for example) I think you should consider making up your own frame perhaps by butchering (sorry ) some of the more difficult parts from a proprietary meat or hacksaw. It would not be difficult either from sheet metal or, even better, RHS (25mm x 25mm) if you wanted something really robust.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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17th September 2017, 11:08 AM #14
Paul, I think from what Luke said he intends to do with it, a standard hacksaw will more than suffice for his needs - he's a wookworker who wants to dabble in metalwork, after all, not t'other way round.
As I said above, our biggest problem these days is getting decent blades for hacksaws. At least half the blades I've bought over the last few years want to cut circles, which is very annoying when you want to cleave to a line. And nearly everyone splashes lashings of heavy paint on their wares before packing them off to the shops!
But maybe, now that the Donald is re-habilitating all the polluting industries in the US & taking us back to the early 20th century, they will start making the good 'ol stuff again.
(I'm not holding my breath...........)
Cheers,IW
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30th September 2017, 01:52 PM #15
I must say I'm a huge fan of the old Lancashire pattern hacksaw. They came in 6 sizes. I plan to make myself a full set at some stage. I have 2 originals that are my go to saws. I have about 10 older style hacksaws all together.
…..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands
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