How to Pick the Right Saw for Your DIY Project

If you’re a homeowner, chances are you have a lengthy list of projects to do around your house. Whether fixing broken items or creating something new to add value and functionality, your home is probably a never ending list of projects.

Inevitably, you’ll need a saw to carry out some of these projects. We’ve put together a list of considerations for you to think through as you determine which saw is the best fit when you’re considering upgrading your home. We got suggestion from plasma cutter advisor blog when i wrote this content.

Types of Saws

First, it helps to understand the different types of saws available to you, so you can determine which one would be the best for your specific project.

Hand Saws

At some point, we have all probably used a hand saw. Ranging from the common hacksaw to a coping saw to a crosscut saw, these saws all share one thing in common: they all require your hand and arm muscles to do the work.

Unlike saws that take power, hand saws are easy to use and don’t require a lot of experience. They don’t require power, so they are highly portable and don’t break very often. As a matter of fact, the only thing you’ll probably ever need to replace on them is the occasional blade.

While they are easy to use, they typically aren’t nearly as effective as power saws. If your project requires anything more than just a few cuts, the hand saw will get old pretty quickly. A power saw can help when you have a lot of cuts to make.

Hand saws also aren’t typically as accurate in the cuts they make as power saws are. Using a power saw and a guide of some sort can ensure your cuts are very accurate.

Power Saws

Power saws have a power source of some sort to power their saw blade, either from plugging into the wall or through a battery. Because of their power, they are a lot more powerful than a hand saw, and can cut through a variety of material much quicker.

Power saws come in all shapes and sizes, from the highly versatile jigsaw to the extremely powerful (and dangerous) table saw. These saws can make a variety of cuts through a long list of materials.

Other power saws, like the scroll saw, are highly specialized, focused on allowing you to perform one, singular type of cut.

Power saws can really broken into two categories: simple and advanced.

Simple power saws, such as the jigsaw or reciprocating saw, are easy for both beginners and advanced DIY’ers to use. They are relatively safe, and effective at cutting a variety of materials. They also aren’t all that expensive to purchase. A simple power saw can be the perfect tool to pick up for your next home project.

Advanced power saws, such as the table saw and bandsaw, are much more complicated to work, and best used by experienced woodworkers. They are powerful saws, able to cut through thick, hard material. And, they can be very dangerous as well. Typically, these tools are expensive, and best picked up once you have a felt need for them.

Saw Considerations

Once you’ve determined what type of saw is best, its good to think through what you’ll need out of it for your next home project:

Type of Cut

Are you looking to make a lot of simple cuts through 2×4’s? Or are you looking to make intricate, curved cuts through wood? Or perhaps you’re looking for something more complicated, like rip cuts or resawing through thick wood?

The type of cut largely determines what saw is best, as does the material you’re cutting through.

Portability

Do you need a portable saw for your DIY project, or can you bring the material to a stationary saw to make the cuts? Not all saw are portable, and so you need to figure this out before settling on one.

Some saws make both stationary and portable options, such as the table saw. You’ll want to know which one is best for you to purchase.

Cost

While it would be nice to say this isn’t a factor, it is important to think through how much you have available to spend. In a perfect world, cost wouldn’t be a consideration, but it always is.

You can find similar characteristics of one saw in a cheaper saw, even though you might be making a small sacrifice. For example, a miter saw can make a lot of the same cuts that a table saw can make, but the saw is 1/10^th the cost.

Overview of Power Saws

Here is a brief overview of why you would pick up some of the more popular DIY saws:

Jigsaw:

Extremely portable and easy to use, this handheld saw can make most of your standard cuts, along with being able to cut curves. You can buy a plethora of blades so that it can cut through a long list of material.

Circular Saw:

A great, easy to use saw that is perfect for making large volumes of simple cuts. Also handheld, this saw can’t cut curves, but its circular blade makes it more powerful than the jigsaw.

Miter Saw:

The perfect saw for cutting angles, this mounted saw is highly portable and yet highly accurate.

Table Saw:

Big, expensive, and dangerous, the table saw is best for advanced DIY’ers, but highly effective at both cross cuts and rip cuts.

There are a lot of other saws available to you, but these are the four most practical power saws for your DIY project. Upgrading your home brings a tremendous amount of value and utility, and you can make the project a lot easier by picking the right saw for the job. Good luck!