History and Invention of the Coping Saw
– Invented in the middle of the 16th century
– Influenced by innovations in metallurgy and spring-driven clock
– Blades made of strong and flexible material through rolling
– Used in combination with the Chevalet de Marqueterie, invented in 1780
– Allows sawing pack of veneers with one angle of cut
Construction of the Coping Saw
– Consists of thin, hardened steel blade stretched between square, c-shaped, springy-iron frame
– Handle attached to the frame
– Blade easily removable for passing through drilled hole in wood
– Frame re-attached to the blade to start the cut from the middle of the piece
– Shallow depth of frame limits cutting distance from the edge
Use of the Coping Saw
– Cuts on the pull stroke, unlike a hacksaw
– Blade removable by partially unscrewing the handle
– Blade rotation possible by loosening the handle
– Finger alignment with steady bars ensures a straight blade
– Blade breakage is rarer than with a fretsaw
Related Tools
– Bow saw
– Fretsaw
– Hacksaw
– Jigsaw
– Piercing saw
References
– Fretsaw | tool. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
– A History of Coping Saws in Five Paragraphs. Lost Art Press.
– A Return to Tradition: the Marquetry Chevalet. Lee Valley and Veritas.
– Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coping saws. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_saw
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2015) |
A coping saw is a type of bow saw used to cut intricate external shapes and interior cut-outs in woodworking or carpentry. It is widely used to cut moldings to create coped rather than mitre joints. It is occasionally used to create fretwork though it is not able to match a fretsaw in intricacy of cut, particularly in thin materials. Coping saw blades are always thicker and much coarser cutting than typical fretsaw blades and many others of its family members. Coping saws can however cut slight bends in the work, allowing circles to be cut if used carefully.
