A rip saw is a saw that is specially designed for making rip cuts. The cutting edge of each tooth has a flat front edge and it is not angled forward or backward. This design allows each tooth to act like a chisel (rather than being knife-like, as with a crosscut saw), preventing the saw from following grain lines, which could curve the path of the saw. By acting like a chisel, the saw can more easily cut across deviating grain lines, which is necessary if a straight cut is to be achieved.
On the vast majority of saws throughout the world, the teeth are designed to cut when the saw is being pushed through the wood (on the push stroke). However, some saws (such as Japanese saws and the saws used by Ancient Egyptians) are designed to cut on the pull stroke.
Read more about Rip Saw: Technical Information
Famous quotes containing the word rip:
“As a father I had some trouble finding the words to separate the person from the deed. Usually, when one of my sons broke the rules or a window, I was too angry to speak calmly and objectively. My own solution was to express my feelings, but in an exaggerated, humorous way: “You do that again and you will be grounded so long they will call you Rip Van Winkle II,” or “If I hear that word again, I’m going to braid your tongue.””
—David Elkind (20th century)