Small crosscut saw for instrument making

[Mr Eddie]

If you want the hot setup for a small / model makers saw:

http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/index5.html

Not cheap but extremely well made.

Lonnie

[Timberwolf]

If you want the hot setup for a small / model makers saw:

http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/index5.html

Not cheap but extremely well made.

Lonnie

Now that's what I'm talking about!!!!
..Great tools for model engineers, instrument makers!!!

[DaveBeauchesne]

DCottrell:

Not sure if these fit the bill, and I quickly found the UK site, ( http://www.zonatool.co.uk/ ), but these ZONA saws cut on the pull stroke, are quite fine toothed, and are very reasonably priced - like ten bucks for the larger one I am used to. 

I cut several dovetails in Kingwood with mine ( nasty hard stuff ) and several ebony odds and sods, and it is still going fine. Lee Valley used to sell them, but I can't find it right now ( on the Canadian site anyway ).

Just a thought - give one a try ( of course, no affiliation etc. ).

Dave B

[Derek Cohen]

I repair instruments daily for a living and have been looking for a useful small crosscut saw.  I need to cut small pieces (1" or less) of very hard wood, like ebony.  Think violin pegs, nuts, saddles, etc.

I have gotten along with the Olfa razor craft saw (with the big yellow plastic handle), but that dulls too quickly.  A dozuki makes a nice cut but it cuts a little slowly and it wanders (probably operator error) and the blade will bind in a hardwood kerf. They also dull quickly.

I have a nice 14ppi Lie Nielsen crosscut saw, but the cut is too coarse and the set is a little wide for the detail work I need to do. Too much cleanup.  

I was looking at the Veritas crosscut saw that is 15ppi and a .020" plate. Anybody have experience with the LN and the Veritas and can compare?

Any suggestions?Either for an existing saw or to refile and reset an existing saw? (Although, the time it would take me to do this would take me away from my bench, where I charge $60 per hour, so a $90 saw is worth more than 2 hours reshaping the teeth on a saw I already have).

I would not be looking at any of the Western saws mentioned. The saw of choice is a thin blade, high tooth count. 

The one I use is a Zona Razor Saw, with 32 tpi. You could get even higher for smoother sawing in thin pieces, but I find this one does the job and has a good balance with speed.

Here is a link to an Australian site, but they are available around the world. Look at the specs. There are others on the site ...

http://www.hobbytools.com.au/zona-razor-...erf-32tpi/

Lee Valley also sell them, but I cannot see the same ones as I have:  http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.as...at=1,42884

Regards from Perth

Derek

[DCottrell]

Thanks for all your input. The power saws look excellent, but I am working with pieces less than 2" long and need all my fingers. I have tried all those razor saws and they bog down in ebony (kerf is too small) and go dull rapidly.

This weekend, I purchased a nicer dozuki than what I had before. This one is all in Japanese with a woodpecker as a logo, and it seems to work well. The dozuki I had used previously was one with a reddish brown stained handle and was about 3/4 the size of this new one. The new one has a blade of .012" (as opposed to .008") and works well in ebony that is 1/2" thick. No chipping like on a Western saw. I think I have a winner, but I'll see how long the sharpness lasts.

[hbmcc]

Your best bet will be fine pull saws, with impulse hardened teeth. They can't be sharpened as the metal is probably harder than the file to be used. Mine live an incredibly long time. I cut Ipe, Verawood, even balsa. If you feel they dull quickly, clean the wood surfaces; they may have abrasive deposits.

[Sawdustd]

I have been thinking about your question and here's my response and recommendation.
       1.  The difficulty in "driving" any hand saw, western or Japanese, is the ability to drive it accurately in two "planes" at the same time.  Doesn't matter how sharp the saw is or how many teeth it has,  if you can't drive the saw, you'll never be satisfied with the cut.   That ability takes years, literally, to develop.  Ask anyone who makes hand cut dove tails.
       2.  My solution to hand cut dovetails is using Lee Valleys' dovetail jig which clamps to pieces and has a magnatised face which keeps/holds the sawblade flush with the side of the jig.   Hey, the magnet drives the saw accurately while I do the push pull.
       3.   Therefore, I think you need a helper to drive your saw, call that a Miter-box saw.  Looking on Amazon, I found this. https://www.amazon.com/Jorgensen-64005-P...JC7T39MA4Z  The frame will "accurately" drive the blade.  Mitered angles can be set.  The clamp, absoultely essential, holds the piece in place during the cut.  It comes with a 13"  x 14 tpi blade and an 18 tpi blade is available.   It doesn't take up a lot of bench space but would need to mounted on a plywood base which can be clamped to a workbench to keep the frame from moving while making a cut.   All for less than $30.   Suggest you give it a try.   If that works out, you might consider upgrading to a Nobex Miter saw later on which has a Japanese blade option. 

Dave

[rwe2156]

Woodcraft has a detail saw w/ miter box that works well.

[enjuneer]

Have you tried a mini-hacksaw, like the one made by Zona? It will accept narrow or wide blades with 32 tpi teeth. Since they are made for metal, they should hold up well to tough woods. The blades have a wavy-style set to them so that the blade does not bind.

I have a vintage 6" hack saw frame fitted with Zona blades. It is surprising how versatile it is for cutting wood. The resulting cut is very smooth.

Here is Zona's web site.