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.
Wikipedia
A saw pit or '''sawpit ''' is a pit over which lumber is positioned to be sawed with a long two-handled saw by two men, one standing above the timber and the other below. It was used for producing sawn planks from tree trunks, which could then be cut down into boards, pales, posts, etc. Many towns, villages and country estates had their own saw pits. The greatest user of sawn timber in past centuries was the shipbuilding industry.
Usage examples of "saw pit".
Within very few years after the takeover, the newly rebuilt fort was strong and comfortable for what it wasa primitive fortification set in the midst of a primitive wildernessthe old, Irish croplands had been recleared and once more were producing fine yields, herds of swine and goats and flocks of chickens battened in the woods, and a saw pit was reducing cured timber to planks for the church under construction in the riverside settlement.
He pumped his short red wings up and down like a drunk in a saw pit, like a demented duck, like a lopsided windmill.
We set up a saw pit, an arrangement whereby a log was rolled over a deep pit.
By the time lunch was ready, all four base logs were in place, the long ones sitting half in the ground, the short ones standing higher, and a number of other logs had been brought up by the saw pit.
Within very few years after the takeover, the newly rebuilt fort was strong and comfortable for what it was-a primitive fortification set in the midst of a primitive wilderness-the old, Irish croplands had been recleared and once more were producing fine yields, herds of swine and goats and flocks of chickens battened in the woods, and a saw pit was reducing cured timber to planks for the church under construction in the riverside settlement.