Traditional tenon saws are distinguished from dovetail saws by their size: longer, wider blades for faster sawing through much deeper cuts, with fewer teeth for sawing through tenon cheeks and other stock far thicker than is usually encountered in dovetails. These new backsaws are considerably beefier than Lie-Nielsens acclaimed dovetail and carcass saws, but theyre built to the same high standards of quality and finish. Blades are Swedish steel .032” thick; teeth are set .004” each way. 3/4” solid brass backs maintain tension for straight, precise, sawing. Brilliant curly maple handles in a classic Disston pattern complete the package.
There are two models, and two sizes of each, in this new line. Most of your time sawing tenons is spent cutting the cheeks along the grain, so one model is filed for rip cuts: 10 teeth per inch, with nearly vertical tooth faces. The other model is filed at 13 tpi, with alternate bevel crosscut teeth especially for cutting tenon shoulders. Both models are available with 12” blades, 3” deep to the back and 17-1/4” long overall; or with substantially larger 14” blades that offer 3-5/8” depth of cut (19-1/4” overall length.) Most workers will prefer the 12” saws, but skilled joiners and those specializing in large-scale work will appreciate the extra speed and capacity of the 14” models.