Fig. 174 shows how to saw off poles on the bias, as a woman would say, or
on an angle, as a man would say. Suppose, for instance, you want to cut
the poles to fit the dormer over the veranda shown in Fig. 171. Measure
off the height of the middle pole, then the distance along the base from
the middle pole to the corner at the eaves. Next fit the poles you are
going to use closely together to cover that distance; hold them in place
by nailing a plank temporarily across the bottom ends; then place another
plank at the point marked for the height of the middle pole, run it down
to the bottom plank, and nail it temporarily along this line. Now take
hold of one end of the saw, as the fellow does in Fig. 174, and let
another boy take the other end of the saw; then by working it back and
forth along the line you may saw off the protruding ends of the poles.
Proceed in the same manner along the base-board. You will then have half
the dormer poles all nicely tacked together and cut in the right shape so
that they may be evenly fitted in place, and after they are secured there
the marking planks may be knocked off. Fig. 175 shows two boys at work
"pit-sawing." They are sawing planks from a log, which is rather hard work
but not unpleasant. I know, for I have tried it when I was up among the
moonshiners in the mountains of Kentucky. Fig. 176 is from a sketch I made
up in Michigan, where two men were sawing down a tree as they frequently
do nowadays in place of chopping it down with an axe; this tree, however,
was first notched with an axe so that it would fall in the right
direction. Fig. 178 shows the peculiar teeth of one of these two-handled
saws. It is not necessary for you to be expert on the sort of teeth a saw
should have; any saw that cuts well for your purpose is the sort of saw
you need.