So Jon how's the saw work, cut up any more vases 'cause I'm waiting for it to get sent. You and Shamus don't toooooooooooomuch scratchbuilding so I should be able to cut your stuff in no time NOT
Still recovering from the beating from that last vase! I hope to try my hand at some scale lunber Monday or Tuesday night, my next modeling nights
I'm sure it will work better than the old 10" saw I was using, because this one accepts the smaller blade and the motor has a good bearing. When it comes down to it, teh bearing (and the blade) is what makes the saw. With the old saw, I had to tilt it to get the 3" blade to protrude :curse: and the bearing is shot :curse:
I next cut a slot into a sheet of styrene, just a hair larger than the blade. I did this by lowering the sheet onto a running blade. You should find a safer way.
Next we add the fence. If you use a different saw and want to use it's own fence, you want to make sure the thin basswood won't slip under it. Larger table saw fences I've used wom't work, and this saw didn't have a fence, so I use angle iron.
I didn't set the little saw on the big saw to make fun of it, it was just convenient Next we add a guide that keeps the wood down flat on the table without getting our fingers too close to the blade. A metal block works well, but you could even use wood. I set the height as low as I can and still let the wood slip under easily. If you skip this step, it will work, but this makes the cutting easier, safer and much faster. just clamp it to the angle iron.
The old table saw did 1/16" wide cuts on 1/32" thick basswood, no problem. The new one has a better blade, and I immagine I could cut 1/32" wide if I tried. So far only cut 1/8" cuts as we seem to have a basswood shortage here at The Knobb
I have a habit of using calipers for most measurements, except when I am using a scale ruler. They are just so handy, and nowadays you can get a decent pair for $15, so you don't have to pamper them too much. I compared this $15 Chinese set to a several hundred $$$ digital set with half thousanth resolution, and I was able to call out identical measurements that the owner of the expensive set called out. 10 years ago, you needed $100 for a mechanical one.
Can you raise and lower the blade on this machine? If yes, that is a safer way to cut through the styrene top sheet - just slowly raise the blade through it.
Also, did you consider a featherboard(s) to keep the piece being cut against the fence and/or deck?