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Keyhole saw

 
Keyhole Saw

 
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Keyhole saw
 
 
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A keyhole saw (also called a pad saw, alligator saw, jab saw or drywall saw) is a long, narrow saw used for cutting small, often awkward features in various building materials. There are typically two varieties of keyhole saw: the fixed blade type and retractable blade type.

The retractable blade variety is usually found to have either a cast iron
Cast iron

Cast iron usually refers to Gray iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy....
 handle or, less commonly, a wooden handle.






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Encyclopedia


A keyhole saw (also called a pad saw, alligator saw, jab saw or drywall saw) is a long, narrow saw used for cutting small, often awkward features in various building materials. There are typically two varieties of keyhole saw: the fixed blade type and retractable blade type.

The retractable blade variety is usually found to have either a cast iron
Cast iron

Cast iron usually refers to Gray iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy....
 handle or, less commonly, a wooden handle. The facility to retract the blade to an optimum length serves to prevent unwanted flex to the blade should the full length of the blade be obstructed in some way. In both types the blade is typically secured by one or two holding/thumb screws.

The fixed blade type, often being cheaper to manufacture and purchase (due to fewer parts) is therefore more commonly used in the modern construction
Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking....
 trade. With the advance of certain building methods and materials, designs specific to these trades have been developed. One such modification being a sharpened point at the tip of the blade which can be pushed or ‘jabbed’ through soft materials such as drywall
Drywall

Drywall is a common building material typically made of a layer of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper, then kiln dried. Drywall is used globally for the finish construction of interior walls and ceilings....
 without pre-drilling a hole for the blade.

Two power tools serving largely the same function but which work more quickly and with less effort are the jigsaw
Jigsaw

A jigsaw is a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves, such as stenciled designs or other custom shapes, into a piece of wood or similar material....
 and spiral saw.

Maintenance


Maintenance of the saw blade will depend on the type and or age of the tool. Older key hole saws with filed crosscut teeth will require the craftsman
Artisan

An artisan is a skilled manual labor worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools....
 to manually set and sharpen the teeth by hand. For contemporary versions of the retractable blade variety replacement blades are readily available thus removing the skills, tools and time that would otherwise be required to manually sharpen the blade. Mass production
Mass production

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk to discrete solid parts to assemblies of such parts ....
 of cheap throw away versions of the fixed blade type make it cost effective for the tradesman
Tradesman

A tradesman is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a tradesman's status is considered between a laborer and a professional, with a high degree of both practical and theoretical knowledge of their trade....
 to do exactly that and purchase a new replacement when the teeth become blunt.

History


See also


  • Saw
    Saw

    A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive wear edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive....
  • Sharpening
    Sharpening

    Sharpening is the process of creating or refining a sharp edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by grinding away material on the implement with an abrasive substance harder than the material of the implement, followed sometimes by processes to polish the sharp surface to increase smoothnes...
  • Woodwork
  • Tool
    Tool

    A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
    s


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