X-acto razor saw questions

Thanks, guys!

I need the blade to be as thin as the #11 because I need the panel to fit back in with as small of a gap as possible.  I've been making decent progress with the standard #11, but I'm getting a hand cramp from trying to slice through the plastic.

Ross, do you happen to know the PN from micromark?  I'll go through the site myself as I always find something I can use, but any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred

EDIT: I found the blades at micromark, but I don't know how the thickness compares to a standard #11  http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Department&ID=28  Anyone know the thickness of a standard #11?

One is a No. 13, 36106.

The others are 14347 and 14348, "No. 11 Saw Blades." 

Fred,

I would think that a saw bladed #11 would need to be ever so slightly wider due to the necessity of having teeth. A saw requires an offset to each tooth to assist in clearing out the waste material, or it will bind in the kerf.

Cheers,

Bill

LOL I did say "I would think"!

I don't have that kind in my toolkit, just the Excel branded saw, and it IS just a tad wider across the kerf, so made an assumption educated guess.

If you were really that obsessive, you would have measured and posted that information first!

Whenever I hear someone say "I would think…"

the little devil in my hindbrain pipes up with the last part of the signature line from the Tinman's song in The Wizard of Oz:

"…if I only had a brain!"

On a more serious note: These saws, being thinner, are also not nearly as stiff as a No. 11 blade. Be careful!

(Saw safety is something I've recently become painfully aware of—"If I'd only had a brain!!!" ) Must have left it at the forum…

HA!

You know what's funny? I find myself humming that song when I'm at the build table!

And my head I would be scratchin'

While my thoughts were busy hatchin'

If I only had brain! 

The Noive! 

Triarius wrote:

Bill, you should kn ow better than to say something like that around a bunch of obsessive compulsives—like me. I just measuerd a No. 11 blade=0.0195 inch. then I measuerd the "No. 11 saw blade" =0.0134 inch across the kerf. The body of the blade is even thinner…

A million thanks, Ross.  While I finally managed to slice through the plastic after 2+ hours, I am definitely going to be adding a few of those saw blades to my collection.

And, I am not reading any posts below the one I quoted lest I get that forsaken song stuck in my head

-Fred

peglegrc wrote:

I think its better to use the back side of the #11 blade point as a scrib and scribe the cut instead of cuting with a razor saw if its got to be that thin!...JMHO

I got the razor saw blades from micromark and they work beautifully.  They don't remove a lot of material width-wise so the panels fit right back where they came from - and it goes so much faster (a few minutes vs. a few hours).

Only thing I'd warn people about is how flexible the blades are.  They lack the lateral rigidity that a standard #11 blade has.  If you're not paying attention, it's easy to bend the blade.

-Fred