Mini table saw?

[Cozzer]

This chap uses a Harbor Freight Mighty-Mite saw with a specialised 4" blade, as shown in his video.
(Here, if you want - )

There are various alternative jobs available on a certain auction site, but wondered if any of the contributors on here could recommend a particular brand/model? The problem is that I can't see it having many other uses, so dead expense to an extent...

Ta in advance.

 

[M_Chavez]

I've looked into this a few years ago (things might have changed since then) but there were no viable options in the UK.
The only option that offered any degree of accuracy was some severely overpriced & underpowered jobbie from the USA, which after shipping and taxes worked out about the same as a used decent quality cabinetmaker saw.

My solution in the end was to get a small Axi "craft" (these days it looks like their "workshop") level table saw (from memory £500 at the time...Not sure if it lives up to that price tag in all honesty) and make a sled for it for fine work.
With the sled I am 100% happy with what I'm cutting, but on its own the saw is far from accurate. My main constraint at the time was floor space - otherwise I would have bought a real saw.

 

[Cozzer]

Hmmmm....thanks for that, M_Chavez.
I've a lot of gear - including a good quality ally fret ruler/template - but don't really want to use a bog-standard mitre block, even with the correctly-kerfed hand saw!
I've seen all sorts of "solutions" to blade wander, including more than one using skateboard bearings!

Looks like a re-think is on the cards!

 

[Ollie78]

Proxxon make a little table saw, its probably expensive but wil be properly engineered. Try second hand.

If you are actually using it for cutting frets then it might be overkill, I have made fret slots with a thin kerf Japanese saw with no problem (measure 4 times cut once ).

Ollie

 

[Cozzer]

Proxxon make a little table saw, its probably expensive but wil be properly engineered. Try second hand.

If you are actually using it for cutting frets then it might be overkill, I have made fret slots with a thin kerf Japanese saw with no problem (measure 4 times cut once ).

Ollie

Fret slots, yes.
I know about Proxxon - I've one of their OFV router bases, but have to say that I'm not too impressed, quality-wise.
Sounds like their older stuff was/is good, but perhaps the newer products aren't quite as well made....?

 

[M_Chavez]

For fret slots why not just use a regular table saw? You can get "proper" full-sized blades with a thin kerf specifically for slotting.
Just make sure you only cut once and lift your blank when pulling back the sled. Cutting there-and-back will give you a wider slot [Still not the end of the world].

I've had 3 different proxxon-branded toys over the years and neither of them worked properly or lasted very long. Their mini table saws might be different, but I won't be buying one.

Cutting fret slots with a hand saw? Ok if you're a masochist... It works if you have loads of free time or only cut a couple fretboards a year...but in that case you can just buy them already slotted. A well-built hand-slotting jig will set you back £150 at least. That's a lot of pre-slotted fretboards.

 

[Ollie78]

Fret slots, yes.
I know about Proxxon - I've one of their OFV router bases, but have to say that I'm not too impressed, quality-wise.
Sounds like their older stuff was/is good, but perhaps the newer products aren't quite as well made....?

You could be right about the quality dropping it does seem to be common. I looked into fretting methods recently and found some incredibly small router bits for the purpose but in the end I just do it by hand.

If I were to be doing fretboards for a living I think I would buy or make a system like the bridge city jointmaker pro, not sure they do a slim enough blade but I can imagine it would be easy to set up an indexed attachment and very quick to cut.
Jointmaker Pro

Would be good to make other precise guitar bits as well

Ollie

 

[Orraloon]

Depends on how many fret boards you will be cutting. For the 2 or 3 a Year I do then a gents saw with a depth stop does me. As M_Chavez said there are fret cutting blades for full size tablesaws but even then I think you would need to be doing a lot to justify the cost.
Fret Slotting Table Saw Blade - StewMac
Pax Guitar Fret Saw | Carbatec
Those mini tablesaws as you have noted would only be good for that one job and I have an inkling you would be lucky if it even did that job well.
Regards
John

 

[M_Chavez]

Stewmac blade seems a bit pricy. I got my from some German shop for about £60 (that was a good ten years ago...adjust for inflation) and the guy had a selection of kerfs for different fret wire. Can't recall the shop name and no guarantee that he's still in business, but do shop around.
https://shop.rall-online.net/epages...=FacetedSearchProducts&SearchString=table+saw
For hand saws, there's no need to buy a special saw. It's very important that the saw is very sharp, and the tpi is very high, so re-sharpening that by hand is tough. You can get a bahco 10" gents saw for £15 and gently hammer down the kerf to your liking. The saw will be good for a while, but as soon as it feels blunted, chuck it and buy another one.

Your kerf width does not have to be perfect for the frets, I hope you know that. And I do hope that you lock the frets in with CA after installing them. Some old-school Spanish luthiers pride themselves on not gluing the frets in. Good - if you do repairs, it gives you a stable fret re-levelling job flow, and you can charge double because it's a famous Spanish name on the sticker inside the box.

 

[BearTricks]

I’ve seen people online using the Festool one but it’s very expensive for what it is.