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Finer pitch saws<\/strong> generally produce more precise cuts than coarser pitch saws. Well, of course they do. The finer teeth make a cleaner kerf with which to track a line. They also advance the kerf more slowly<\/strong>\u00a0and thus presumably more controllably<\/strong> since each stroke is a relatively smaller commitment that can be adjusted as needed.<\/p>\n The finer pitch, all else being equal, also produces a smoother sawn surface.<\/strong>\u00a0Also, the thickness of the wood<\/strong> must be taken into account. At least several teeth should ride in the kerf to maintain control and prevent the saw from grabbing and tearing.<\/p>\n So, OK,<\/strong> we don’t use a 5 1\/2 ppi rip saw to cut dovetails in 1\/2″ stock, obviously.<\/p>\n But what may not be so obvious<\/strong> are the practical limits to fine pitch saws. In other words, finer and finer is not more and more accurate. If each commitment – each stroke of the saw<\/strong> – is too small to judge whether accuracy is being maintained, then you have to wait for a few of them to really make a judgment. In other words, the feedback is delayed<\/strong> and you can be going off course without knowing it for a while. Similarly, the corrective action is harder to judge.<\/p>\n The object is to use a tool that is <\/span>palpably controllable,<\/strong> not too coarse, of course, but also <\/span>not too fine<\/strong>. Among novice woodworkers there is a tendency to think that using the finest saw available will be the most accurate way as long as one is patient enough, but for a saw, and probably for just about any tool, it might be <\/span>too fine<\/strong> to function accurately.\u00a0Note also that the stroke speed of a coarser pitch saw can be slowed to some extent.<\/span><\/p>\n As an analogy, a good car steering wheel should be responsive<\/strong>, not mushy. The result of an input action<\/strong>\u00a0– such as a saw stroke – should give a sufficiently sensible and prompt result<\/strong>\u00a0so that the feedback loop is closed clearly and quickly. This is much of what hand tool woodworking<\/strong> is about.\u00a0In other words, if you go too slowly, you can’t tell what you’re really doing!<\/p>\n
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