A pendulum saw or swing saw is a mechanically powered
circular saw
A circular saw is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. ''Cir ...
with the blade mounted so it can swing into the material.
Operation
A swing saw is used for
cross cutting wood in a
sawmill, or for
cutting ice off of a frozen body of waters. The saw is hung on a swinging arm, sometimes with a
counterbalance weight.
A swing saw is also sometimes called a ''cut-off trim saw'' in a mill for cutting right angle to the direction of the
wood grain. A swing saw is a very dangerous tool, even with a blade guard. Early models were driven by a
belt, usually made of
leather, that was powered by a
water mill or later a
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. Today the power source is an
electric motor or a
gas engine
A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a gaseous fuel, such as coal gas, producer gas, biogas, landfill gas or natural gas. In the United Kingdom, the term is unambiguous. In the United States, due to the widespread use of ...
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Swing saws are used to carve
ice blocks from the frozen
Songhua River for the
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival () is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. At first participants in the festival were m ...
each year.
See also
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Saw chain
The saw chain, or cutting chain, is a key component of a chainsaw. It consists of steel links held together by rivets, and superficially resembles the bicycle-style roller chain, although it is closer in design to a leaf chain. Its key difference ...
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Saw pit
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Sharpening
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Two-man saw
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Watersaw
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Diamond tools
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Ice hotel
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Ice palace
References
External links
osha.gov use of Swing Sawbtsrr.com Model of a Swing Sawflickr.com Swing Saw planswesternscalemodels.com Cut-Off Trim Saw modelThe Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, Volume 29, page 12 gbook, Pendulum saw
{{Woodworking
Cutting machines
Saws
Woodworking machines