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Dedicated Fret slotting Tablesaw
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Author:  PaulB [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:52 am ]
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On saturday I bought one of these little toy 1/2 Hp table saws. It only cost $AU68 which is about $US50 and has a two year replacement warranty. I really wished I'd bought some dark glasses with me when I picked it up tho , nobody at the hardware store takes you very seriously if you buy this kind of thing (That's not a tablesaw!, THIS one over here, is a table saw!)

I put one of Shane's fret slotting blades in it and it works great for the cheap little tool that it is. I'm in the process of making a cross cut sled for it that I can set up like Sylvan's jig, and I'll use it as a dedicated fret slotting station, not bad for less than $US100 including Shane's blade.

I'm sort of hovering in between hanging my head in shame for buying a cheap little toy of a tool, and being buzzed 'cause it does exactly what I want it too, and does it very well, even though it took about three hours of tinkering to get it to do it.

Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:20 am ]
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Okay, now, you have an audience. We want to see some slotted boards buddy!

Paul, I'm getting set up to do boards too, but planned on using my regular joetablesaw.... But we want to keep an open mind. Where are the miter guage slots so the sled can remain in alignment through the cut.

Hopefully, you've thought it all through. Heck, if some one can put in rosettes with a two dollar tool, why not cut slots with a hundred dollar one.

I'm still waiting on Lee Valley to send me my blade stiffeners. I may have to cancel and have a machinist make 'em? You using stiffeners?
Author:  crowduck [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:21 am ]
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In the USA $49 from Harbor Freight.

CrowDuck

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnu mber=93211
Author:  Cocephus [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:47 am ]
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Chris, have you had a chance for any hands-on with that critter? I have a Harbor Freight not too far from here.
Author:  PaulB [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 10:54 am ]
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Bruce, the sled has long runners that index against the sides of the table, I was a bit worried about how accurate this was going to be, but everything is lined up now that I've shimmed the motor a little, and test cuts have been perfect. That's where the three hours of tinkering went - making everything square and straight. Don't worry, I've thought this thing through pretty thouroughly.

I was going to set this up on a "proper" table saw, but I seem to spend more time setting things like this up, and not so much time building guitars. I figure if I can have dedicated stations set up for each stage of building it's got to be a real time saver.

I don't have stiffeners yet. There were some 3" stiffeners that came with the saw, they help, but 5" stiffeners would be better.

I'll post some more pics once I've got it set up and cutting slots.

Author:  hoosierukes [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:11 am ]
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I've seen the harbor freight model and don't thick that it's up to the job.
Author:  Don A [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 1:14 pm ]
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I'm with Geoff on this. I bought a similar combo set (saw and disc sander) and the quality was really shabby. I think you would be better off looking for a used Jarcom or Proxxon kraft saw. I found a resonably priced Jarcom on ebay but haven't had a chance to set it up. However, I was warned that the old dremel table saws were way underpowered. I'm just trying to stear you clear of the same buying mistakes that I've made in the past. Quality has its price.
Author:  paul harrell [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 1:31 pm ]
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             I've been thinking of doing this because my table saw (an Inca) has a metric arbor, so I need to get an inexpensive saw to slot with or find someone who can bore out a blade to the size I need. The regular blades I use are Forrest and they will bore them out for a small fee. Does anyone know of a shop that might bore out one of the StewMac blades?

                        Paul Harrell
Author:  John Elshaw [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:27 pm ]
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How clean and true does the Harbor Freight saw cut? I'm looking for a dedicated saw to cut small pieces like braces, and more importantly, rosette tiles. I would need a thin kerf blade. Do you think it is accurate enough to cut small 2mm strips from a rosette log?

Thanks!

John
Author:  RussellR [ Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:55 pm ]
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HI Paul

I know Shane at High Mountain Tonewoods, was looking to put a group buy together on metric fret slotting blades, so it might be worth dropping him a quick email.
Author:  Brock Poling [ Mon May 01, 2006 1:19 am ]
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In the MIMF archives there is a discussion about using a HF tile saw. As I recall the saw is about $60. They set it up for just this purpose. I think the idea is to remove the top, put an MDF top plate in place then install some tracks that are parallel to the blade so you can install a cross table.

The initial set up looks a little tricky, but the process seems fairly straight forward.

Author:  L. Presnall [ Mon May 01, 2006 3:35 am ]
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[QUOTE=PaulB]
(That's not a tablesaw!, THIS one over here, is a table saw!) [/QUOTE]

Reminds me of the Crocodile Dundee line..."That's not a knife...THIS is a knife"!
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Mon May 01, 2006 3:51 am ]
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Paul, Shane is in Ottawa for the rest of the week, i'll be meeting him on wednesday so if you want me to deliver him a message, just lemme know!

I too have a small contractor TS and put Shane's Blade on it with a stiffener thingie and it was just fine, i think Shane is gonna post a plan to build the fret slotting carriage.

Serge
Author:  Don A [ Mon May 01, 2006 7:31 am ]
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For jeweler saw blades, check out MSC. They can probably fix you up with the kerf and arbor size that you need. Also do a search of the Archives and search for Pegasus Guitar and you will find what Bob recommends.

Edit...sorry the link wouldn't work so go to MSC and search on jeweler blade.Don A38838.6898958333
Author:  PaulB [ Mon May 01, 2006 9:39 am ]
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[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
In the MIMF archives there is a discussion about using a HF tile saw. As I recall the saw is about $60. They set it up for just this purpose. I think the idea is to remove the top, put an MDF top plate in place then install some tracks that are parallel to the blade so you can install a cross table.

The initial set up looks a little tricky, but the process seems fairly straight forward.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks Brock, I'll have to go check that out. The mob that make this saw also have a tile saw that looks remarkably similar.

This isn't really a 'take it out of the box and start slotting' kinda deal, there's plenty of work and thinkin involved. I've had to make a bunch of mods, and I haven't ruled out making another tabletop with mitre slots just yet. I've got a boxfull of leftover bits and pieces, and I'm sure the saw's warranty is pretty much toast.

I guess the bottom line is that this saw is a bit of a joke, I can't imagine using it "as sold" to do any serious woodworking. But as far as fret slots, it has enough power, I have the right blade, it just needs some serious mods to get it to an acceptable level of accuracy, and that is something that's totally achievable, just a matter of thinking outside the box.

As for arbor sizes, I was going to buy the next saw model up in the price range, but the arbor on that one was 30mm (way too big for Shane's blades). You can use an arbor that's smaller than the hole in your blade by putting in an appropriate sized bush, but unless you want to bore out the hole in your blade you can't use a saw with a bigger arbor. I shopped around for a cheap saw that had the right sized arbor, that was the main limiting factor in my purchase.
Author:  Miketobey [ Mon May 01, 2006 9:48 am ]
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Hartville Tool has good price on stiffeners-2 sizes. MT
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Tue May 02, 2006 5:53 am ]
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[QUOTE=Miketobey] Hartville Tool has good price on stiffeners-2 sizes. MT[/QUOTE]

Mike, you got a link? tia
Author:  Arnt Rian [ Tue May 02, 2006 6:44 am ]
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I have a regular cabinet saw with an unusual arbor size (20 mm). I use the Stewmac fretsaw blade and had a local machine shop ream the 5/8" hole up to 20 mm for next to nothing, so that is no big deal. BTW, I believe OLF member Mark Swanson was the one with the HF tile saw (but I could be wrong!), perhaps he has some advise on this.
Author:  crowduck [ Tue May 02, 2006 8:53 am ]
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[QUOTE=John Elshaw] How clean and true does the Harbor Freight saw cut? I'm looking for a dedicated saw to cut small pieces like braces, and more importantly, rosette tiles. I would need a thin kerf blade. Do you think it is accurate enough to cut small 2mm strips from a rosette log?

Thanks!

John [/QUOTE]

This might work for your rosette tiles.
MicroMark Item Number:50304


CrowDuck
Author:  crowduck [ Tue May 02, 2006 9:02 am ]
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I don't own a HF saw, but do have one similar by Dremel which is now discontinued. Haven't tried fret slotting, but it comes in real handy for little jobs. If price is no object there's the 'king of miniature saws' from MicroMark,
Item Number: 80463 at $344.

CrowDuck
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Wed May 03, 2006 12:31 am ]
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I expected someone to bring this up, but no one has. End Play in the motor. IF there is significant travel in the arbor or shaft, you will likely not have a good slot?

Just as we need stabilizers to run these thin blades for slotting, we need tight tolerance on end play. (the right/left movement in the shaft)

The proof is in the puddin' though. Set it up and try it. It could be that a .005" end play, might be just right, due to the tendency of a saw blade to cut to one side or the other. Say it's cutting left .005", most likely all slots will be cut .005" left of the marks.

But if the variance means it cuts a wiggly line with .005" is that acceptable? Just an unknown until the various setups are tried and evaluated.
Author:  Brock Poling [ Wed May 03, 2006 12:46 am ]
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On these small hobby saws (like the micro mark) they all claim to use a blade with 3 1/2" diameters. Do you think they could handle the 5 - 6" fret slotting blades?

Author:  Don A [ Wed May 03, 2006 1:42 am ]
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It probably wouldn't be worth going for the larger blade with these saws. At the least you would have to make a new top and the worst the blade wouldn't fit in the case. However, you can buy jewelers blades from 1-6 inch diameter at MSC. Bob Gleason uses these blades all the time for cutting frets and kerfed liners in a full size saw. I'm betting one of sponsors uses them on his fret slotting jig as well.
Author:  PaulB [ Wed May 03, 2006 10:53 am ]
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The saw that I bought is a little bigger than the US saws that have been posted here. The standard blade that comes with mine is 203mm diameter (8"), and the table is 16" wide by 20" deep.

I was very careful to check if there was any movement in the motors shaft, I would have sent it back if there was. It all seems nice and tight, everything runs square and true. Hopefully it will stay that way.
Author:  Don A [ Wed May 03, 2006 1:42 pm ]
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Paul, I actually looked at the saws you bought when I was shopping for one. I'm sure it has plenty of power and will work just fine. The only reason I didn't purchase one was the power supply issue here in the states (they were all made in the UK). Show us some pics when you get it set up.
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