How to change a junior hacksaw blade?
How to change a junior hacksaw blade?
The junior hacksaw is a great tool for all trades people and DIYers to have close to hand. Typically the blade of a junior hacksaw needs replacing if used regularly to ensure you can make the cleanest cuts. This how to guide explains how to change a junior hacksaw blade.
Please note: How this is done may vary depending on the make and model. One method is shown below.
How is the blade attached?
A junior hacksaw has a small removable blade mounted in a metal frame. Like all frame saws, the blade must be held taut in order to cut efficiently.
Junior hacksaw blades have a small pin on each end. These pins are designed to fit into two slots on the arms of the hacksaw.
One slot is located at the end of the frame furthest from the handle. The other slot is located on a small metal bar on the handle.
When the thumb wheel is turned, the metal bar pulls the blade tight, stretching it in the frame.
Step 1 – Removing the Blade
Hacksaws with a Thumb Wheel
To remove the blade, locate the thumb wheel and turn it in an anti-clockwise direction.
The thumbwheel controls the blade tension.
Turning it in an anti-clockwise direction pushes the metal bar forwards, releasing the blade and allowing it to drop out of the slots.
Hacksaws without a Thumb Wheel
Some other designs of junior hacksaw has a simple metal frame which holds the blade in the same way, using two slots on the frame’s arms, into which the blade fits.
Step 2 - Compress Frame
To remove the blade, grip the hand in your dominant hand and place your other hand over the end of the saw, holding the blade loosely. Use both hands to push both sides of the frame inwards towards each other. This will cause the blade to slacken and come loose.
Step 3 - Installing the Blade
Turn the thumb wheel in an anti-clockwise direction until you are able to place the blade into the two slots on the body of the saw.
Place the blade in the frame with the teeth pointing away from the handle, towards the end of the saw.
This is sometimes easier to do if the junior hacksaw is upside down.
Once the blade is in place, tighten it by turning the thumb wheel in a clockwise direction. This will pull the metal bar back, stretching the blade taut in the frame.
To insert a blade, you must compress the frame as shown above, then slot the blade into the arm of the frame, before releasing it.
If your saw has a protective cover to go on the end of the blade, ensure it is replaced when the blade is renewed.
