The names sound close, but these two saws do different jobs. An undercut saw trims the bottom of door casings and jambs so new flooring slides underneath. A toe-kick saw cuts old underlayment flush to the inner wall of a cabinet toe space. Here is when to use each.
Undercut saws: door jambs and casings
Cutting flooring to fit around a door casing leaves a gap and a lot of fiddly cuts. Undercutting the casing lets the flooring tuck underneath for a clean look.
- Hand saw. The Crain 336 Hand Undercut Saw has a 12" replaceable high-carbon steel blade with 10-point teeth on both sides. It needs no power and works well for a few doors. Replacement blades are the Crain 335.
- Power saw. The Crain 835 Heavy-Duty Undercut Saw has a 6-1/2" blade that undercuts doors in place and reaches inside corners. It has a dust control port and a threaded rod height adjustment. It comes with a carbide-tipped blade and a masonry blade for undercutting hearths. A diamond blade (No. 822) is available for tile and stone. Max cutting height is 1" and max cutting depth is 1-5/8".
If you do one or two doors, a hand saw is enough. If you undercut many doors or cut through harder materials, a power saw saves time.
Toe-kick saws: underlayment under cabinets
When a new floor goes in next to base cabinets, old underlayment can be trapped under the toe-kick. A toe-kick saw cuts it out so the new floor can go in cleanly.
The Crain 777 Toe-Kick Saw cuts flush to the inner wall of a toe space. A hinged adjustment plate has five depth settings for common underlayment thicknesses: 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4". A clutch can disengage to reduce kickback. The No. 787 carbide-tipped blade cuts wood, with a maximum floor thickness of 3/4". The No. 789 diamond blade cuts tile, with a maximum floor thickness of 3/8". The toe-kick area must be at least 3-1/2" high and no more than 4" deep.
Which one do you need?
- Flooring ends at a door. Undercut saw.
- Flooring ends at base cabinets. Toe-kick saw.
- Both on the same job. You may want both, and they use different blades.
Wear eye and ear protection and use dust control. Both saws throw a lot of dust, and cutting tile or masonry makes silica dust. Browse all of our undercut and jamb saws, or contact us if you want help picking one. If you are removing flooring first, see our guide to floor scrapers and blades.