Tenon saws were used to produce precise cuts in wood.Fair conditiontenon saw, cutting timber, wood saw

Tenon saws were used for fine precise cutting usually across the wood grain.Fair condtionsaws

Article transcribed from the Bendigo Advertiser, 20th August 1986.Handwritten copy of a report in the Bendigo Advertiser 19th, 20th and 21st August 1894 of an explosion and fire at the South Belle Vue Mine Enginehouse. Water pressure was a problem with their fire fighting efforts. While this was happening a messenger came to say the Engine house at the True Blue Mine was also on fire. Both fires were believed to be deliberately lit. A resident saw a man carrying a lighted torch through the bush. Notes prepared by Albert Richardson.document, gold, south belle vue mine, south belle vue mine, true blue mine, fire at the south belle vue & true blue mines, angus kennedy, mr r woods, capt houston, national ins. coy, mr cottie

The tips of each cutting tooth of a saw are bent (set) slightly away from the plane of the saw. Alternate teeth are set (and sharpened) in opposite directions. The set helps prevent the saw binding in the wood by cutting a kerf (the slot in the wood) that is slightly wider than the saw's thickness. Too little set and the saw binds; too much set results in more work to cut the wider kerf and could lead to too much side movement of the saw and a curving cut. The saw set gauge is used to measure the set of the saw tooth. The amount of set can be from almost nothing in dry hardwood to perhaps 1mm for some softwoods. The spider has three legs of the same length and a longer fourth leg. On a flat surface, the three short legs contact the surface while the long leg is just shy of the surface by the degree of 'set'. The spider is placed such that the three short legs are on the face of the saw with the longer leg touching the tip of the tooth - the tooth is bent to match the gauge.metal spiders used to set the teeth of crosscut sawsforests commission victoria (fcv), hand tools