Types of Saws and What Each One Is Actually For
There are two families of saws, hand and powered, and inside them roughly 18 types of saws that matter around a house. Powered saws split into spinning blades (circular, miter, table, track, tile wet saw), back-and-forth blades (jigsaw, reciprocating, scroll), and continuous loops (band saw, chainsaw). Hand saws split into push saws, pull saws, frame saws and specialty saws. For 90 percent of home projects, three tools cover everything: a circular saw for sheet goods and rough cuts, a miter saw for accurate crosscuts, and a jigsaw for curves and cutouts.
If you only remember one idea, make it this: pick the saw by the cut, not by the material. Straight and long, straight and short, angled, curved, flush, or into an existing surface. Each of those is a different tool.
Updated September 2026
Buying lumber for the cuts you are about to make? Use our free Board Foot Calculator to convert your cut list into board feet, so you buy the right quantity of rough stock the first time instead of driving back for one more board.
Types of saws at a glance
| Saw | Cut it makes | Best for | Typical blade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circular saw | Straight, long | Sheet goods, framing lumber, decking | 7.25 in, 24T to 60T |
| Track saw | Straight, long, splinter free | Breaking down plywood and MDF | 6.5 in, 48T to 60T |
| Miter saw | Straight, short, angled | Trim, framing, deck boards, stair parts | 10 or 12 in, 60T to 80T |
| Table saw | Straight rips and repeat cuts | Ripping boards to width, repeat parts | 10 in, 24T to 80T |
| Jigsaw | Curves, cutouts, plunge | Sink cutouts, curves, notches | T-shank, 6 to 20 TPI |
| Reciprocating saw | Rough, destructive, blind | Demolition, cutting nails, pruning | 6 to 12 in, 6 to 24 TPI |
| Band saw | Curves in thick stock, resawing | Curves, splitting boards, small parts | 1/8 to 3/4 in wide |
| Scroll saw | Tight curves and inside cuts | Fretwork, puzzles, detailed craft | Pinned or pinless, 5 in |
| Oscillating multi-tool | Flush and plunge in place | Undercutting jambs, small trim removal | Segment or plunge blade |
| Tile wet saw | Straight and angled in tile | Ceramic, porcelain, stone | Diamond, continuous rim |
| Chop saw, abrasive | Straight in metal | Rebar, angle iron, conduit | Abrasive or carbide |
| Chainsaw | Rough, thick, green wood | Trees, limbs, timbers | 14 to 20 in bar |
| Hole saw | Round holes | Door hardware, pipe pass-through | 3/4 to 6 in cup |
| Hand saw, panel | Straight, short | One-off cuts, no power available | 8 to 12 TPI |
| Back saw, tenon saw | Straight, precise, shallow | Joinery, miter box work | 12 to 20 TPI |
| Japanese pull saw | Straight, fine, flush | Trim, dowels, joinery, flush cuts | 14 to 24 TPI |
| Coping saw | Tight curves in trim | Coping inside corners, small curves | 15 to 20 TPI, replaceable |
| Drywall jab saw | Plunge into a panel | Outlet boxes, rough openings | 6 to 8 TPI, pointed |
| Hacksaw | Straight, in metal | Pipe, bolts, threaded rod | 18, 24 or 32 TPI |
Read the table by the second column. Someone who needs a curve does not need a better circular saw, they need a jigsaw. Cutting Halloween yard silhouettes out of plywood is exactly that kind of job. Someone whose miters keep opening up does not need a sharper hand saw, they need a miter saw with a stop block.
Power saws: what each one is genuinely good at
Circular saw
The most useful single power saw a homeowner can own. A 7.25-inch circular saw crosscuts framing lumber, rips plywood, cuts deck boards, and, with the right blade, cuts fiber cement siding and thin metal.
Its real strength: it goes to the work. A full sheet of plywood does not have to be lifted onto anything. You lay it on foam or sacrificial 2x4s on the ground and cut it where it lies.
Its real weakness: freehand accuracy. Without a guide, a circular saw wanders. Clamp a straightedge and set the offset from the blade to the edge of the shoe (usually between 1.25 and 1.5 inches, measure yours once and write it on the tool).
Depth setting matters. Set the blade so it projects about 1/4 inch below the material. Deeper cuts increase kickback risk and tear-out, and shallower leaves an uncut strip.
Miter saw
A miter saw crosscuts short pieces accurately and repeatably at any angle. For trim, deck boards, stair parts, fence rails and framing, it is the fastest accurate tool in the shop.
| Miter saw type | Max crosscut, nominal | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 10 in, non-sliding | 2x6 flat | Trim, small framing, tight spaces |
| 12 in, non-sliding | 2x8 flat | General framing and trim |
| 10 in sliding compound | 2x12 flat | Deck boards, stair treads, wide trim |
| 12 in sliding compound | 2x14 flat, some 16 | Almost everything on a job site |
The stop block is the point. Cutting 14 balusters to the same length by measuring each one gives you 14 slightly different balusters. Clamping a block to the fence gives you 14 identical ones. That single habit is what separates a tidy railing from a wavy one, and it shows up in projects like how to build a deck and how to build stairs.
Table saw
The table saw exists to rip: cutting a board along its length to a precise width. It is also the best tool for repeat parts, dadoes, and anything that needs a dead-straight, glue-ready edge.
Safety is not optional here. Use the riving knife, the blade guard and a push stick, never freehand a cut against the fence and the miter gauge at the same time, and never rip a board that is longer than your outfeed support can handle. Kickback from a table saw happens faster than a person can react.
Track saw
A track saw is a circular saw riding on an aluminum rail with a rubber splinter strip. It makes a factory-quality straight cut anywhere, including on a sheet sitting on the garage floor.
Track saw or table saw? If you mostly break down plywood for cabinets and shelves, a track saw does it better and stores flat against a wall. If you rip a lot of solid lumber to width and cut repeat small parts, the table saw wins.
Jigsaw
The jigsaw is the curve tool, and it is also the plunge tool. Drill a starter hole, drop the blade in, and cut a sink opening, a vent hole, or a notch around a jamb.
Blade selection is most of the result:
| Jigsaw blade | TPI | Cuts |
|---|---|---|
| Fast wood | 6 to 8 | Rough framing, thick stock, speed over finish |
| General wood | 10 | Most wood cuts |
| Clean wood, down-cut | 10 to 12 | Plywood and laminate with the good face up |
| Scroll | 12 to 20 | Tight curves, thin stock |
| Metal | 14 to 24 | Sheet metal, thin tube, pipe |
| Bimetal, tough | 10 to 14 | Nail-embedded wood |
The universal blade rule: at least three teeth in contact with the material at all times. That single rule explains every TPI recommendation in this article. Thin material needs fine teeth; thick material needs coarse ones.
Reciprocating saw
The demolition tool. A reciprocating saw cuts through wood, nails, pipe, and plaster with equal indifference, and it does none of it neatly. Use it to remove things, not to build them.
Its best trick is the blind cut: cutting a stud, a nailed joint, or a pipe you cannot see all of. Use a bimetal blade for nail-embedded wood and expect to consume blades.
Its worst habit: cutting things behind the wall you did not intend to cut. Before you plunge into any wall, know what is in it. Water lines, gas lines and electrical cable all live in stud bays. Check both sides, and where structure is involved, read how to tell if a wall is load-bearing first.
Band saw and scroll saw
Both cut curves, at very different scales.
- Band saw: a continuous blade loop running through a table. It cuts curves in thick stock, and it resaws, meaning it splits a thick board into two thinner ones. A 14-inch band saw with a 1/2-inch blade resaws material up to about 6 inches tall in a standard frame, more with a riser block.
- Scroll saw: a thin reciprocating blade for very tight curves and interior cutouts. Thread the blade through a drilled hole and you can cut a shape out of the middle of a panel without touching the edge.
Oscillating multi-tool
Not technically a saw family of its own, but it makes cuts nothing else can. It vibrates a small blade a few degrees back and forth, which lets it cut flush against a surface and plunge into a wall without a starter hole.
The signature job: undercutting a door jamb and casing so flooring slides underneath. That step appears in how to install laminate flooring and it is worth owning the tool for that alone.
Tile wet saw and other masonry cutting
A tile wet saw uses a diamond blade with no teeth, cooled by water, to grind through ceramic, porcelain and stone. Water is not optional: it cools the blade and it captures the silica dust, which is the real hazard in masonry cutting.
Wear an N95 or better whenever you cut masonry, tile, concrete or fiber cement, even wet. The dust from those materials is respirable crystalline silica and it is regulated for good reason. For the sequencing of tile cuts on a real floor, see how to tile a floor.
Chainsaw
For trees, limbs and heavy timber only. A chainsaw is the most dangerous tool on this list by a wide margin. Chaps, a helmet with a face screen, hearing protection, and gloves are the entry requirements, and felling anything larger than a small tree near a structure is genuinely arborist work.
Hand saws: still the right answer more often than you would think
Power saws own the long, repetitive and heavy cuts. Hand saws own the small, careful and awkward ones, and they own everything at 7 in the morning when the neighbors are asleep.
| Hand saw | TPI | The job it wins |
|---|---|---|
| Panel saw, crosscut | 8 to 12 | A few cuts with no power available |
| Panel saw, rip | 5 to 7 | Rare now, ripping by hand is slow |
| Back saw or tenon saw | 12 to 20 | Joinery, and every miter box cut |
| Japanese ryoba, pull saw | 14 to 24 | Fine crosscuts, dowels, joinery, flush trimming |
| Dozuki, pull saw | 20 to 26 | Precise shallow cuts, dovetails |
| Coping saw | 15 to 20 | Coping inside corners on baseboard and crown |
| Fret saw | 20 to 32 | Very tight curves in thin stock |
| Hacksaw | 18, 24, 32 | Metal pipe, bolts, threaded rod |
| Drywall jab saw | 6 to 8 | Plunge cuts for outlet boxes |
| Flush-cut saw | 22 to 26 | Trimming dowels and plugs level with a surface |
| Bow saw | 4 to 6 | Green wood, limbs, firewood |
| Pruning saw | 6 to 8 | Live branches, cuts on the pull stroke |
Push versus pull is the real distinction. Western saws cut on the push stroke, which means the blade must be thick enough not to buckle, so the kerf is wide. Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, which puts the blade in tension, so it can be very thin. A thin kerf means less effort and a finer cut, and it is why a pull saw usually beats a Western panel saw for trim work.
Coping is worth learning. Inside corners on baseboard and crown almost never sit at a true 90 degrees, so two 45-degree miters leave a gap that opens further as the house moves. A coped joint, where one piece is cut to the profile of the other with a coping saw, closes tight and stays closed.
For plunging into drywall, the jab saw is faster and quieter than any power tool, and it is standard practice in how to hang drywall.
Saw blades: tooth count, kerf, and the three-tooth rule
The blade decides the cut quality far more than the tool does. A cheap circular saw with the right 60-tooth blade outcuts an expensive one wearing a worn 24-tooth blade.
| Circular or miter blade | Teeth (7.25 or 10 in) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Framing and rough rip | 24T | Fast, rough, fine for structure |
| General purpose | 40T | Reasonable in almost anything |
| Plywood and finish crosscut | 60T | Clean face, slower feed |
| Trim, melamine, laminate | 80T | Cleanest, slowest, chips least |
| Non-ferrous metal | 60T to 80T, negative hook | Aluminum stock and trim |
| Fiber cement | 4T to 6T polycrystalline diamond | Very long life, controls dust |
Kerf is a number you should know. A standard circular saw blade removes about 1/8 inch of material; a thin-kerf blade removes about 3/32 inch. That matters on a cut list: seven cuts across a sheet with a 1/8-inch kerf consume nearly 7/8 inch of material. Cut lists that ignore kerf come up short on the last piece, every time.
The three-tooth rule again, applied: if you are cutting 1/8-inch material, you need at least 24 teeth per inch to keep three teeth engaged. If you are cutting a 4x4, coarse teeth clear the chips and keep the blade from burning. Getting this backward is why blades bind and why cuts scorch.
Which saws to buy, in order
If you are building a tool kit from nothing, the order that gets you the most capability per purchase is:
- Circular saw. Cuts sheet goods, framing and decking. With a clamped straightedge it does 80 percent of what a table saw does.
- Jigsaw. Adds curves, cutouts and notches. Nothing else covers this.
- Miter saw. Adds speed and repeatable accuracy on crosscuts. The first tool that makes trim look professional.
- Reciprocating saw. Adds demolition and blind cutting. Buy it when you start removing things.
- Oscillating multi-tool. Adds flush cuts and in-place plunge cuts, especially for flooring and trim.
- Table saw or track saw. Buy the table saw if you rip solid lumber; the track saw if you break down sheets.
- Tile wet saw. Rent it for the one bathroom, buy it if you plan to tile more than once.
That order also tracks with the project ladder in DIY home improvement, which sorts common jobs by skill and risk.
Worked example: one bookcase, five saws
A 72-inch tall by 36-inch wide bookcase, built from one sheet of 3/4-inch plywood plus solid maple edging and a face frame. Here is which saw does what and why.
| Cut | Saw | Blade | Why this one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break the 4x8 sheet into 3 rough pieces | Circular saw with a straightedge | 60T plywood | The sheet stays on the floor |
| Rip sides and shelves to 11.25 in wide | Table saw or track saw | 60T | Needs a glue-ready parallel edge |
| Crosscut sides to 72 in, shelves to 34.5 in | Miter saw | 80T | Square, repeatable with a stop block |
| Rip maple edging to 3/4 x 7/8 in | Table saw | 40T rip | Solid stock, narrow strips |
| Crosscut face frame parts | Miter saw | 80T | Clean shoulder, tight joints |
| Cut the toe kick notch at the bottom | Jigsaw | 10 TPI clean wood | Inside corner, no other tool fits |
| Trim edging flush after glue-up | Flush-cut hand saw | 24 TPI | Cuts level without scratching the face |
| Notch the back for an outlet | Jigsaw | 10 TPI | Plunge cut, curve tolerated |
Kerf check on the cut list. Three rips across the sheet at 1/8-inch kerf remove 3/8 inch of width. A sheet is 48 inches, so four 11.25-inch pieces need 45 inches plus 3/8 inch of kerf, or 45.375 inches. That fits with 2.625 inches to spare. Had the design called for 12-inch shelves, four of them plus kerf would need 48.375 inches, which does not fit, and you would find that out at the store rather than at the saw.
Solid stock takeoff. The maple edging and face frame come to roughly 34 linear feet of 3/4-inch stock at an average 2-inch width. Converted to board feet, that is 34 feet x 12 inches x 2 inches x 0.75 inches divided by 144, which is 4.25 board feet. Add 20 percent for defects and cutoffs and buy about 5.1 board feet. Run your own list through the Board Foot Calculator and it does the conversion and the waste factor together.
Saw safety, briefly and seriously
- Kickback is the main event. It happens when the blade binds and the tool or the workpiece launches back. Support both sides of a cut, never let a cut-off piece pinch the blade, and keep the riving knife installed on a table saw.
- Eyes and ears every time. Saw noise sits in the range that causes permanent hearing loss with repeated exposure.
- Respiratory protection for masonry, tile, concrete and fiber cement. Silica dust is the hazard, and it does not announce itself.
- Both hands on the tool, and know where the cord is. Cordless removes one of those problems.
- Let the blade stop before you set the tool down. A coasting blade will walk a circular saw off a bench.
- Structural cuts are a different category. Cutting a joist, a stud in a bearing wall, or a roof rafter can require engineering and a permit. Notching and boring limits for joists and studs are set by code, and cutting past them is a real failure risk. Check with your local building department before you cut into framing.
FAQ
What are the main types of saws?
Two families. Hand saws include panel saws, back saws, pull saws, coping saws, hacksaws and jab saws. Power saws include circular, miter, table, track, jigsaw, reciprocating, band, scroll, tile wet saws and chainsaws. Within power saws, the blade motion (spinning, reciprocating or continuous loop) determines what kind of cut the tool can make.
What saw should a beginner buy first?
A circular saw. It cuts sheet goods, framing lumber and decking, and with a clamped straightedge it makes cuts nearly as straight as a table saw. Add a jigsaw second for curves and cutouts, and a miter saw third when you start doing trim and repeat-length parts.
What is the difference between a circular saw and a miter saw?
A circular saw is portable and goes to the work, which makes it right for full sheets and long rips. A miter saw is stationary and the work comes to it, which makes it right for accurate, repeatable crosscuts and angles on short pieces. Most shops end up with both because they solve opposite problems.
What saw cuts curves?
A jigsaw for curves in place and in sheet goods, a band saw for curves in thick stock at a bench, and a scroll saw for very tight curves and interior cutouts. For curves in trim molding at an inside corner, a coping saw is still the standard tool.
How many teeth should my saw blade have?
For a 7.25-inch circular blade: 24 teeth for framing and speed, 40 teeth for general work, 60 teeth for plywood and finish crosscuts. For 10-inch miter saw blades, 60 to 80 teeth. The underlying rule is to keep at least three teeth in the material at once, so thinner material needs more teeth per inch.
Can I use a circular saw instead of a table saw?
For most home projects, yes. A circular saw with a clamped straightedge or a track handles sheet goods and long rips well. A table saw is better for ripping solid lumber to exact widths, for narrow strips, and for repeat parts, because the fence stays set and the workpiece moves.
What saw do I use to cut tile?
A wet saw with a diamond blade for straight and angled cuts, a tile nipper or an angle grinder with a diamond blade for irregular shapes and holes. Water cooling keeps the blade alive and holds down silica dust. Wear an N95 or better even with water running.
What is the safest saw for a beginner?
A jigsaw, by a wide margin. The blade is small, the tool does not kick back the way a circular or table saw does, and the cutting speed is low enough to correct course. The most dangerous tools on this list are the table saw and the chainsaw, and both deserve dedicated instruction before first use.
Related: Convert your cut list to lumber with the Board Foot Calculator, and figure sheet goods with the Square Footage Calculator. For projects that put these saws to work, see how to build a deck, how to build stairs and how to build a shed. For where to start, read DIY home improvement.
