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Wondering if anyone has had any luck using a dozuki "Z" saw as a fret
slot saw. The Z is pretty popular in the US (as dozukis go), sold by
Woodcraft and a few others. The blade thickness (going by the ads, don't
have a dial caliper) is .012". With the teeth set slightly, I figure that puts
the kerf at least in the neighborhood of .023".

Of course, what I need to do is measure the width of the kerf of my saw. I
just don't have a set of feeler guages. I'll see what I can find in Autozone
next time I'm there.

Jay

I have the one LMI sells with their slotting jig. I prefer the older one. I find in those really tight miter boxes the blade flexes and you end up with fret slots that vary in their width.

For me the older one gives more consistant results.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=ecklesweb] The blade thickness (going by the ads, don't have a
dial caliper) is .012". With the teeth set slightly, I figure that puts the kerf at
least in the neighborhood of .023".
Jay[/QUOTE]

I'd be very surprised if the set is that much. Usually Dozukis only have .004"
to .007" total set.

Cheers,
-Dave

The japanese saw I've got is (I think) a Douzouki, sold as a Haussanme Crosscut saw (UK web store), kerf's dead on, but it can flex in a tight mitre box. Requires a very zen, gentle sawing attitude, but it works like a charm now I've got the feel of it.

Dave, you were right about the set. I managed to borrow a set of feeler
guages and a dial caliper from my dad, and the kerf for my saw is right at
0.018". Would I have trouble if I tried to set a fret in a kerf that small?

Jay, you'd be in for an unacceptable amount of compression. It needs to be at least as wide as the fret's tang, without barbs. In ebony perhaps even a bit 'roomier' than that.

Brock

I think we discussed this before and at the time I thought the Japaneese saw deflected too much, I have the same saw that Mattia has and have experimented a bit more with it, what I've found is you need your guides as tight as possible to allow the saw to move, and then if you use a really light touch, not actually trying to cut, just letting the saw do the work it cuts straight. My version has no depthe stop and I have to be careful as this thing goes quickly even in ebony.

I should add I have the stewmac Box and not the LMI one I know you have.

[QUOTE=RussellR] Brock

I think we discussed this before and at the time I thought the Japaneese saw deflected too much, I have the same saw that Mattia has and have experimented a bit more with it, what I've found is you need your guides as tight as possible to allow the saw to move, and then if you use a really light touch, not actually trying to cut, just letting the saw do the work it cuts straight. My version has no depthe stop and I have to be careful as this thing goes quickly even in ebony.

I should add I have the stewmac Box and not the LMI one I know you have.[/QUOTE]

+1

Exactly how I do it. Basically, I watch the cut. Once the teeth dissapear, it's deep enough, pretty much. Cuts through ebony like it was mahogany.

Hi Mattia

I don't know if this is any good to you, but I devised a little clamping system for my Stewmac box as I noticed there was a tiny bit of side to side movement when slotting.

Here is a pic.



The little wooden blocks that go into the box have cork stuck to them, I did think I should add a Cam arangement to them to make it quicker, but I haven't quite got round to it yet, and it is pretty quick anyway.

Fancy! I just use a pair of cam clamps :-)