Saws

Since we are friends I am going to inject my two bits.

X acto saws are garbage. That back also forms that tang of the saw which fits into the handle. It's just the same U shaped sheet metal crushed into a round shape. Any real amount of use and it gets weak and buckles.

X acto miter boxes aren't much use. The tolerances are about that of a wheelbarrow wheel on it's axle. 

When I do need to saw something other than wood I use Zona saws. Not fabulous, but much more sturdy and easier to control. They don't really work with a miter box because they are also back saws and the exposed blade isn't very deep.

Well G;

 that's why I moved away from them . I have gotten so frustrated with this X-acto combo I only use them for rough cutting . I have a steel Miter box, a friend made for my Japan saw and I have one dedicated to that . Thanks fo the input on this .T.B.    P.S. On the Zona . This same friend made me a new holder no thicker than a pencil clip, from top to bottom .So I have increased the depth some . 

I have had these for a long time.

JLC Saw

A razor thin (replaceable) blade held in a handle.   Very fine teeth.  Switch it end-for-end and cut on either the push or pull stroke.   It cuts a fine kerf.   It is useable to separate control surfaces,  cut canopies, and/or remove resin casting plugs.   It works great to cut fine parts from a sprue which would otherwise get thrown into oblivion using a nipper.

Pair it with a fine miter box, such as this from UMM-USA, to cut Evergreen.

I keep one within easy reach on the workbench

Rambo

Three great post in a row TB! I've been looking for the JLC saws at every show but so far haven't found them probably gonna order one off their site soon.

 

I find that either the X-acto, and especially the PE types, create a lot of friction when you cut styrene, which makes the saw action kind of sticky.  I found keeping the blade wet helps.  I didn't believe it would work, but I tried it and it does.

Thank You Ed;

 That's the one I have . I am going to pick up that Miter Box though .Looks so much more useful than mine . T.B.

Don ;

 What I find there, is to reduce the strokes through the material .Even at that size you generate heat with the movement .That's where the sticky comes from .Static electricity and Heat . Common malady here . T.B.

"I see!", said the blind carpenter, as he reached for his hammer and saw.

I am participating in the Japanese Group Build VIII, with my 1/48 A6M5 Zero. As part of my build, I am swapping the pilot with a Modelkasten figure. A little surgery is required though. 

So, today I went to the hobby store and bought the Tamiya razor saw (item no. 74111). I clamped the leg in a vice and started sawing at the knee joint. This saw cuts really well and very cleanly! Clean up after the amputation was minimal. I am impressed!

Anyone looking to get a fine razor saw, you can’t go too wrong with this from Tamiya. It’s not as fine as a PE saw but that is probably for a different application. 

I’m not affiliated to Tamiya .  Just hoping to share information on what I think works well. 

Hello!

I have a lot of saws, but I'd like to mention two of them. One of them is years old and I have made it myself by taking an old razor blade and making teeth in one of the edges with a small file. Now it's not very precise, but the thing works for over a decade now and is very thin. Just perfect for small cuts and freeing the parts from sprue when it is really tough.

Now the other saw worth mentioning looks like this:

You can fit a very thin and fine toothed stripe in it, and you can cut very complicated shapes with it. If you want to amaze your friends with a cut, this baby is for you :-)

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Tanker - Builder

...Do you have the two most common strongback saws from X-Acto with the Miter Box ? The reason I call them strongback is their bigger cousin in woodworking are called Back-Saws . These are useful BUT , notice this .When you first get them neither one fits in the Kerfs ( Openings ) in the Mitre Box. ( Old Fashioned Spelling . )...

Do you mean that the blades are too thick to fit?  Or is it that the blade is too shallow to reach the bottom of the miter box?  Because that's what I found.  The box came with a #234 blade, which has a blade 3/8" or approx. 1 cm deep.  I had to make a sacrificial base to insert in the bottom of the box, to raise the stock I'm cutting up high enough for the blade to reach.

I agree with GM, though.  X-Acto's miter box is just about worthless, except for the roughest of cuts.  The saws serve me OK; I'm still using an old #35 blade for rough cuts.  For more precise cuts, with a thin kerf, I use the CMK double-edged saw.  That serves me well when cutting styrene or resin figures for repositioning.

But yes, the Japanese make some very fine saws indeed!

Oh My Gosh  Pawel !

 Leave it to you to mention the one I forgot !

 I have one , it seems ancient .I got it to use regular Scroll saw blades in for manual scroll work .It will fit most blades too. Including the round ones ! T.B.

Hi Baron ;

 Actually I mean the slots are to narrow at first to allow the saw to fit the kerfs in the box .I have had the other problem too . I think the problem with the product is simple .The saws are steel , the box , aluminum . Aluminum is softer and over time the kerfs then get too large allowing the saw to wobble when cutting .  T.B.       P.S. The Japanese Saw was developed for sawing those thin , thin pieces for the little cork sculptures you buy as souveniers or gifts for folks .

Ed!

 You can take the tool to the grinder and carefully thin down the center pieces to a surprisingly thinner profile .As long as you don't grind through the screw holes your'e good .That will increase depth a little on both sides . T.B.

Old school...

I have a very nice little table saw that I bought on sale from Micro Mark. I don't get it out very often, but when I do I can make a lot of strip wood in any species I care to.

I set up my table saw this morning to cut some basswood for a model.

My solution for deeper cuts with this saw;  insted of using the holes in the center of the blade for norml installation,  sandwitch the opposite cutting edge just below the screw holes and tighten down. it works if you're not too aggressive with it.

That's a very useful tip.

My main saw problem right now is that my table saw is out of commision.  It is one of those cheap Chinese ones that were originally built by Rockwell.  The plastic elevation handle is stripped and will not turn the threaded rod.  I do use it for modeling work, bases and for cutting blocks of wood to size for scratch building.

I bought this saw several years ago on advice of Dr. Tilley. Micro Mark sells a cheaper one, which he had bought on his grad student budget, but it didn't hold up.

This one was priced at $ 380, but there was a 20% off sale so I paid $ 310.

I didn't get the micrometer fence adjuster. When I cut stuff I care more about holding a dimension for multiple cuts than I do the actual size, so this thing does lock down well and hold it's tolerances once I get it set up.

I tend to use drill bits to set the fence, pinched in between it and the blade. One nice little add was a set of ten clear plastic zero tolerance bed inserts. Lower the blade, screw the thing down, turn on the saw and raise the blade through it.

 " G " 

     I never thought for a minute you did things like me .Good gosh ,you just admitted it !

    I have a small Table Saw I bought at Sears and Roebuck . Oh you've heard of them . Good .Well anyway this saw was the smallest table saw I could get at the time . I make the zero tolerance bed inserts from either Polished Ash or Redwood milled to the thickness of the inset , I even have a few I have made from Lexan. 

 They work great too . the blades are 6" so it's considered small today or called a "Trim Saw"  T.B.