How to Cut Wood Straight with a Hand Saw

How to Cut Wood Straight with a Hand Saw

Handyman's World is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Here’s a task that DIYers and professional craftsman all dread – cutting straight lines through lumber with only a hand saw. This task can always feel intimidating because there are so many opportunities to fall off course, resulting in an angled cut that fails to meet expectations. Worse yet, these kinds of manual straight cuts can feel extra tedious as you slowly but surely make your way through a long cut.

Suffice to say, both DIYers and professionals alike are always looking for a fool-proof way to do this task efficiently. Such a method would also need to minimize the risk of cutting out of line whenever possible while keeping the saw operator sane. A method that fits all of those criteria is outlined in this guide, as is a quick primer on the best type of saw to use for making straight cuts.

In all, you should be able to use the method outlined in this guide to make straight cuts through any wood stock with your preferred hand saw. But we’ve also included a few pointers at the end to help you pass up some common mistakes that novice woodcutters are prone to make.

What Is the Best Type of Hand Saw for Long Straight Cuts?

Whether you’re a professional or an amateur woodcutter, your plans for making straight cuts through wood should start by picking out the best type of hand saw for the job. While some might assume that one type of hand saw rules above the rest in this application, the truth is that you should choose your hand saw based upon the direction of your intended cut.

In other words, if you intend to cut with the grain, then your standard hand saw should do the job just fine. Of course, it helps to have that blade as sharp as possible when it comes time to cut. Meanwhile, if you are planning to cut across the grain, you have a few options for straight cuts.

A crosscut hand saw works well in this implementation, as can a back saw with a little practice.

Hand Saw for Straight Cutting

How to Cut Wood Straight with a Hand Saw

With that out of the way, let’s get into the actual process.

Step 1: Prepare the Workspace

A major aspect of making straight wood cuts with a hand saw is going through the proper preparation steps. If these are adhered to, you can count on reliably turning out straight wood cuts time and again, regardless of which type of saw you use.

So, to start, find yourself a solid, flat working surface (such as a workbench) that can have clamps safely mounted on it. Ideally, all of the legs that support this surface should be level.

Once you’ve found such a table, grab a few clamps, and use them to secure your chosen workpiece to the table. This is done to prevent the wood plank or board from scooting back and forth during your sawing motion.

While you clamp down your woodwork piece, be sure that a fair bit of it hangs off of the edge where you intend to perform your wood cutting. This is to ensure that there is enough clearance for your saw blade when the time comes.

Don’t allow too much to hang off the end, though, or your board may bow too much.

Step 2: Draw Cutline and Place a Straight Board

With your workpiece in place and secured to your work surface, you should next grab a ruler, straight edge, or other measurement tool that you have on hand. You should also grab a writing utensil, such as a pencil. With both in hand, you should measure out and mark your intended cut line.

This will help you keep on course as you cut while still knowing with certainty that your cut line was straight to begin with.

After doing that, look around your workshop for a lightweight straight board. This board should have at least one straight edge. Once you’ve found one, lay it on top of your workpiece and clamp it down. While clamping, ensure that that straight edge is perfectly in line with the cutting edge you just marked down.

This will help manually keep your blade in line during the next step.

Step 3: Angle Saw and Begin Cutting

With all of the preparation finished, you can now take your chosen hand saw in hand (specifically, in your dominant hand). Once you have a secure grip on your saw, place its blade at an angle relative to the horizontal surface of your workpiece.

The specific angle of your blade will depend on the type of saw and cut you intend to make. Rip cuts call for a 60-degree blade angle while crosscuts are best served by a 45-degree blade angle.

After properly angling your blade, make three firm strokes on the edge of your workpiece along the pre-marked cut line. If any splintering occurs at this stage, you may need to adjust your set-up accordingly. You might also want to fix the splinters before proceeding. However, if no issues arise, you are ready to begin cutting in earnest. This should be done by preserving your blade’s angle while making full strokes that use the blade’s full length.

Step 4: Make Shorter Strokes as You Finish

Continue using a proper sawing technique as you work through the main width of your cut. As you do so, be sure that your blade is flush with the straight board you mounted on earlier.

If you find yourself getting off-track at all, don’t be afraid to pause and reassess your situation. In many cases, you’ll be able to back up and straighten out your cut effectively.

However, as you begin to approach the end of your cut, you should take two more important actions.

First, you may need to add support underneath your board as you move it from the main workpiece. This is because bowing is common at this stage. In the same vein, you should start to make shorter, quicker strokes as your cut concludes. This is to decrease the likelihood of your workpiece splintering as it breaks apart.

Mistakes to Avoid, Tips & Tricks

There are a variety of mistakes that first-timers can make while trying to make a straight cut through wood with only a handsaw.

The first of these is trying to “eye-ball” their measurements without utilizing a measuring tool. Your vision may be hawk-like, but you’ll find it very easy to get off track if you don’t have a track to follow in the first place. As such, it is doubly important to mark down your intended cut line before ever whipping out your hand saw.

Also, while using the cutting method outlined above, some DIYers may forget that their board ends may bounce around as they begin their sawing motion. This bouncing can be not only bothersome but also dangerous if it causes your saw to hop out of its groove.

To prevent this, you should manually brace the board with the hand not occupied by the saw. Be sure to perform this bracing carefully, though, so that the fingers on your bracing hand are not in harm’s way from your sharp saw blade.

Also, if you are looking to speed up the process of making straight cuts substantially, consider investing in a miter box. These slotted units allow you to brace your blade in a set orientation while you cut. This, in turn, makes it easy to not only perform straight cuts but also miters – all without needing a power saw.

Without question, a miter box is an ideal solution if you’re looking at a project with lots straight, hand-saw-based cuts ahead.

Summary

All in all, there are a variety of reasons why craftsmen of all skill levels don’t look forward to making straight cuts with a hand saw. But now that you know the proper technique for completing this task, you can jump into your next woodworking job without any hesitation.

If you keep our tips and tricks in mind, too, you’ll sure to find yourself reaching for your handsaw anytime you want to make a reliably straight cut through any size wood stock.

Finally, if you still feel unsure about this task, read also my general guide to using a hand saw.