The Collaborative International Dictionary
Saw \Saw\, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sage; akin to D. zaag, G. s["a]ge, OHG. sega, saga, Dan. sav, Sw. s[*a]g, Icel. s["o]g, L. secare to cut, securis ax, secula sickle. Cf. Scythe, Sickle, Section, Sedge.] An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood, iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel, with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing.
Note: Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound.
Band saw, Crosscut saw, etc. See under Band, Crosscut, etc.
Circular saw, a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its periphery, and revolved on an arbor.
Saw bench, a bench or table with a flat top for for sawing, especially with a circular saw which projects above the table.
Saw file, a three-cornered file, such as is used for sharpening saw teeth.
Saw frame, the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the saw, or gang of saws, is held.
Saw gate, a saw frame.
Saw gin, the form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in which the cotton fibers are drawn, by the teeth of a set of revolving circular saws, through a wire grating which is too fine for the seeds to pass.
Saw grass (Bot.), any one of certain cyperaceous plants having the edges of the leaves set with minute sharp teeth, especially the Cladium Mariscus of Europe, and the Cladium effusum of the Southern United States. Cf. Razor grass, under Razor.
Saw log, a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber.
Saw mandrel, a mandrel on which a circular saw is fastened for running.
Saw pit, a pit over which timbor is sawed by two men, one
standing below the timber and the other above.
--Mortimer.
Saw sharpener (Zo["o]l.), the great titmouse; -- so named from its harsh call note. [Prov. Eng.]
Saw whetter (Zo["o]l.), the marsh titmouse ( Parus palustris); -- so named from its call note. [Prov. Eng.]
Scroll saw, a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge, stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved outlines; also, a machine in which such a saw is worked by foot or power.
Crosscut \Cross"cut`\, n.
A short cut across; a path shorter than by the high road.
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(Mining) A level driven across the course of a vein, or across the main workings, as from one gangway to another. Crosscut saw.
A saw, the teeth of which are so set as to adapt it for sawing wood crosswise of the grain rather than lengthwise.
A saw managed by two men, one at each end, for cutting large logs crosswise.
Wiktionary
alt. A handsaw used to cut wood across the grain n. A handsaw used to cut wood across the grain
WordNet
n. handsaw that cuts at right angles to the grain (or major axis)
Wikipedia
A crosscut saw (thwart saw) is any saw designed for cutting wood perpendicular to (across) the wood grain. Crosscut saws may be small or large, with small teeth close together for fine work like woodworking or large for coarse work like log bucking, and can be a hand tool or power tool.
The cutting edge of each tooth is angled in an alternating pattern. This design allows each tooth to act like a knife edge and slice through the wood in contrast to a rip saw, which tears along the grain, acting like a miniature chisel. Some crosscut saws use special teeth called "rakers" designed to clean out the cut strips of wood from the kerf. Crosscut saws generally have larger teeth than rip saws.
Some saws, such as Japanese saws and those used by the ancient Egyptians, are designed to cut only on the pull stroke. Western saws, on the other hand, are designed to cut on the push stroke.
"Crosscut Saw", or "Cross Cut Saw Blues" as it was first called, is a dirty blues song "that must have belonged to the general repertoire of the Delta blues". The song was first released in 1941 by Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan and has since been interpreted by many blues artists. "Crosscut Saw" became an early R&B chart hit for Albert King, "who made it one of the necessary pieces of modern blues".
Usage examples of "crosscut saw".
But in Washington County, the crosscut saw was the main tool for logging, while for cutting fuelwood, the homemade bucksaw was mostly used.
He clamps the brace in the box vice, measures it against the original, and shortens it with the crosscut saw, then rasps and files it smooth.
Rosemary noted and commented on everything: the white linen slipcovers on the sofas, the mauve and turquoise tints of the lake as the sun sank, the tall oak candlestick on the porch, the moose head and crosscut saw over the mantel.
At first glance, you normally wouldn't notice much or any difference between a crosscut saw and a ripsaw, but in use the difference is huge.
That trail was steep, narrow, clogged with stones, and as full of sharp corners as a crosscut saw.
But when we looked down into the yard from the Bridge of Sighs we saw Ed Nabors and the carpenter arguing over a crosscut saw on the trap itself, and the blessed morning light coming up in glory to show us we could knock that ugly contraption to pieces and burn it.
There was a scar on his right shoulder, nearly hidden by a deep tan, that looked like it had been put there with a crosscut saw.
There was a scar on his right shoulder, nearly hidden by a deep tan, that looked like it had been put there with a crosscut saw….
Broadax and crosscut saw had eaten up the soul of the North Woods.
Once this had been logging country hardy men working the crosscut saw and jackscrew in the forests, bull teams dragging their heavy loads to the coast, fresh-cut logs thundering down the chutes to schooners that lay at anchor in the coves below.
Sharp, to meet a gruff, bewhiskered individual, with a voice like a crosscut saw, and a rolling gait.
With a pint of rum, a well-stropped razor, and a crosscut saw, I'd have your leg off before you knew it.
Across the room, the older man began to snore, like a crosscut saw that rasped across Nylan's nerves.