These workmen are cutting a large piece of wood with a two-handed saw. Two-man crosscut saws were primarily important when human power was used. Such a saw would typically be 4 to 12 feet long (sometimes up to 16 feet) with a handle at each end. The technique in using a two-man saw involved a sawyer standing at each end. Together the sawyers would alternate pulling the saw through the wood. Two-man saws were designed to cut in both directions. Careful tooth design was necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut. Two-man saws were known to the ancient Romans, but first became common in Europe in the mid-15th century
