Can't saw straight

[Maggie1]

Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong? When I saw a piece of wood I can follow the line ok but I always end up with an angle on the cut. (hand saw)

Thanks

 

[xerxes]

Presumably the 'angle' is not the 90 degree square angle you want to achieve.

There are several things you can do. First, drawing a line square across the face and the edge will help you sight the saw and keep it upright. Keep watching the cut and correcting the angle. Make sure your body stance isn't skewing the saw one way or another.

It's not realistic to expect a precise 90 degrees working by hand; you may need to cut oversize and trim with a hand plane and shooting board.

Make sure you're using an appropriate saw. A 'hand saw' is the usual term for a long saw used for cutting sheet material and boards. If you are cutting battens you will need to use a back saw (or tenon saw).

If the teeth of the saw are incorrectly set, it won't cut straight, so make sure that isn't the problem.

Apart from that you must practice in order to improve your skill.

 

[Maggie1]

Thanks for your advice, will try it out next time.

Thanks again

 

[big-all]

make shure your standing in the right position!!
comfortable and relaxed if you standing to one side and your natural swing isnt on line you will find it hard to cut strait

 

[Maggie1]

Thanks for all tips and advice

 

[Symptoms]

Maggie - your stance, after the correct saw for the job- sharp & with a good set, is critical. Assuming your standing position is as others here have suggested, then ensure your sighting eye is looking straight down your sawing arm, that you're holding the saw with your index finger pointing forward (again sighting with your eye along your finger), finally sighting along the length of the saw onto your pencil line (assumes these have been accurately marked with a try-square). A final tip - don't attempt to cut 3 sides together and through the timber - what I mean by that is work only to a maximum of two pencil lines at a time, say top & back edge, until you are a good distance through, then lower the angle of the saw to begin cutting the 3rd line (the one facing you). You will get good with practice

A final tip if you still can't manage - clamp a block of thick timber along you line and use it's vertical edge as a guide to keep vertical.

 

[masona]

Let the saw do the cutting and not your elbow

 

[Maggie1]

Thanks again to everyone who replied, my partner ended up finishing off the sawing so I won't get to try out the tips for a while, but thank you all for taking the time to give me advice.