Tiny Tim Hacksaw
The Tiny Tim hacksaw. Another great Pasco product.
Some of the tools in my list of plumbing tools I have on my truck and have duplicates of in my all purpose shop. The Tiny Tim hack saw is one of them. This little saw gets into the tight spots where a conventional hacksaw won’t go, and it has very fine teeth so it still works well if you can only give it very short strokes. Blades for the Tiny Tim Hacksaw are inexpensive and easy to change, but also durable and sharp. Most wholesalers that have the saws have tubes of the blades also. For trimming toilet bolts so that bolt covers will fit it is great. It is controllable enough to cut the bolt without getting onto the china where a saw leaves indelible marks. The blade is reversible so it will cut on the push or the draw. It cuts mild steel with no problem, and brass easily. Like any hacksaw it may skip around if you don’t mind it well, and of course it may cut you also. So set yourself in a proper working position, and pay attention to where your hand will go if you slip or cut though unexpectedly. These fine blades have a tendency to bow back with use, partly because of the pressure exerted on them and partly because the tight spots they are used in preclude full strokes. When the blade bows back it ripples at the cutting edge and will resist a full stroke. I have used them like that and they did not break but that is not to say that they wont break. Handle all blades new and used mindful of your hands if the blade should break. When cutting threads don’t cut part way through and then bend the cut end over, cut virtually all the way through. Otherwise the top thread gets pinched down making it impossible to start a nut on it. I do however stop just shy of the last stroke or two for fear of running the back of my forefinger onto the fresh cut threads. Listen to the saw, and you will hear the note change as you approach the end. Also be careful of the sharp end thread when wiping away the saw filings from around the bolt. The Tiny Tim Hacksaw is good for cutting almost anything narrow, but may wander when cutting thicker material. So for those bigger jobs use a wider bladed saw. Finally I have had all the new, different, and “better” bolt saws that have come along, but Pasco’s Tiny Tim Hacksaw is the only one on my truck again.