So are we all agreed that sawing....

[Bridge]

That reminds me of a Edgar Allen poe book i read when I was like 9, of a death by torture of a guy strapped down on a table, with a big axe swinging back and forth from the ceiling dropping lower each time it swings..

A pendulum? I think I remember reading that story. Was he in a dark black room with a hole in the center?

Something like that, it was a long time ago

It's called "The Pit and the Pendulum" (excellent story).