Saw blade temperature gradients and lateral movement were measured on a circular gang edger under normal sawmill production conditions. Wood cutting tests were conducted to identify saw behavior under desirable operating conditions and to determine the effects of three adverse factors that are expected to cause increased sawing variation. The adverse factors were saw blade overtensioning, saw heating as a result of inadequate guide cooling, and guide movement during sawing. The third factor, guide movement during sawing, was found to be the most detrimental. Combinations of adverse factors damaged wood dimensional accuracy much more than did the individual factors acting alone.