Laugh about my saw blade

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constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Laugh about my saw blade

I like to make my guitar sides 1/16 inch thick and use a table saw to cut the slots in the neck to receive them. I find that the table saw blades that proclaim to leave a 1/16-inch kerf are actually around 0.07" instead of 0.0625" thick. I have a carbide-tipped one and several all steel ones that are like this. The steel ones were very cheap (around $10 each) and it occurred to me that I could adjust the thickness of one by running it through my Performax 16-32 drum sander. I was hesitant because I didn't really want metal filings in the sander and the idea of possible kickback with a sharp blade occurred to me. But I figured, what did I have to lose? It's a cheap blade and a used sanding belt that didn't cost much either. So, standing to the side of the machine and taking very light cuts, I did the job and it worked okay. Except the conveyor belt on the sander was a replacement one that I had installed ten years ago and is made of rubbery plastic. Which melted in spots due to the heat generated from sanding and conducted through the metal. As I was working I thought the melted areas, which were dark, were just metal dust that I would remove later. They weren't. And the conveyor belt which cost $100 ten years ago now costs $175 to replace. Some cheap blade I made. I just thought you would enjoy laughing at me.

_____________________________

Ethan Deutsch
www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 2:58:01

RobF

Posts: 1611
Joined: Aug. 24 2017

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

Ouch!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 3:06:29

ernandez R

Posts: 742
Joined: Mar. 25 2019
From: Alaska USA

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

but what about the saw blade, did you get it thinned down to .055” or thereabouts?

I fret slot with my small bandsaw but but had to thin the blade some, I used a 2” sanding disc on a small 90 deg die grinder, fired up the bandsaw and went at it. I kept asking myself if what I was doing was really dumb or not. I got through it without any blood but hope this blade lasts me the rest of my life sort of fretboards, just turned 58 and I’m not that fast so I should be ok.

HR

_____________________________

I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy,
doesn't have to be fast,
should have some meat on the bones,
can be raw or well done,
as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.

www.instagram.com/threeriversguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 4:15:50

estebanana

Posts: 9357
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

quote:

ORIGINAL: constructordeguitarras

I like to make my guitar sides 1/16 inch thick and use a table saw to cut the slots in the neck to receive them. I find that the table saw blades that proclaim to leave a 1/16-inch kerf are actually around 0.07" instead of 0.0625" thick. I have a carbide-tipped one and several all steel ones that are like this. The steel ones were very cheap (around $10 each) and it occurred to me that I could adjust the thickness of one by running it through my Performax 16-32 drum sander. I was hesitant because I didn't really want metal filings in the sander and the idea of possible kickback with a sharp blade occurred to me. But I figured, what did I have to lose? It's a cheap blade and a used sanding belt that didn't cost much either. So, standing to the side of the machine and taking very light cuts, I did the job and it worked okay. Except the conveyor belt on the sander was a replacement one that I had installed ten years ago and is made of rubbery plastic. Which melted in spots due to the heat generated from sanding and conducted through the metal. As I was working I thought the melted areas, which were dark, were just metal dust that I would remove later. They weren't. And the conveyor belt which cost $100 ten years ago now costs $175 to replace. Some cheap blade I made. I just thought you would enjoy laughing at me.

First I can’t tell whether you mean .070 or 0.70

There is a way to grind the kerf width and sharpen the teeth on a table saw blade using a dremel tool or an angle grinder with the blade chucked into a device that you can it spin in.

Sorry to hear you melted your belt.

I fret slot with a hand saw…

_____________________________

https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 5:40:37

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to ernandez R)

quote:

I fret slot with my small bandsaw but

but what about the saw blade, did you get it thinned down to .055” or thereabouts?

That is very interesting, HR. I didn't realize that anyone cuts fret slots with a bandsaw. It's hard for me to imagine a good way to do it. I got the blade thinned down to 0.0615" and will try it out today.

Stephen, thanks for mentioning that sharpening device. I suppose a 0.7" kerf would be good for using the Romanillos wedging method of securing the ends of the sides to the neck, but that would be for a dado set.

Speaking of such devices (as that sharpening system), I once saw someone use a tiny circular saw blade attached to some kind of auxiliary arm on a lathe to cut slices from a rosette log. I wish they were still around so I could find out how to do that (not that I have a lathe) because being able to cut tiles from a log more accurately would save me a lot of trouble. I use a crude miter box with a dozuki.

_____________________________

Ethan Deutsch
www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 15:35:39

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

UPDATE: Well, the whole thing proved to be an exercise in futility (stupidity?) anyway: I tried the blade on scrap and it produced a kerf that was narrower on the deep end. Which is to be expected due to the improbability of adjusting the sanding drum to be perfectly parallel to the conveyor platform. I guess it's good to break up the monotony and have something to write about....

_____________________________

Ethan Deutsch
www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 3 2023 19:58:18

ernandez R

Posts: 742
Joined: Mar. 25 2019
From: Alaska USA

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

I’m not doing the standard Spanish neck rib join process.

I glue my fretboard to the neck assemble before it goes on the guitar so it’s easy enough to use the band saw.

I saw the slots while the neck edges are still parallel and I slot a fence to come up from behind to work as a depth stop. A couple sets of adjustment screws to dial in things: two pick op the back of the table to set the fence/slot depth and two to set the depth from edge to edge so it’s the same on each edge of the fretboard.

I bring the blade tension up some-kinda a zen thing but if you don’t it will make a wavy slot in relation to blade tooth pitch.

Harder to type than do.

I just make sharp pencil marks and eyeball it into the blade. Takes about 15/20 minutes to set up and 2.5 seconds a slot.

All on my 1972 craftsmen 12” with a 1/4” 6tpi blade I think. The blade kerf was like .028” or something like that but the blade was .020” I just worked it until it made the kerf I wanted, .021??? Not sure about the numbers at the moment.

I only use straight fret wire and prefer a loser slot, I set them in linseed oil cause that’s what I like.

To be honest it was what I had at the time I built my first guitar so I used it, then I just kept at it. I looked into all the other options and none were any better than what I was doing.

I haven’t jacked one up so bad it needed the big plane… yet ;)

In another life I made tools in a machine shop using grinders and what SF mentioned about using a stone mounted on a dremal makes sense. Just clamp the saw blade in the saw but use it as a fixture only and mount up the dremal and just rotate the blade around by hand only cutting the blade .003” at a time if that cooling with a squirt bottle filled with water. Laughing cause it might be easier to just make thicker ribs and be done with it ;)

HR

_____________________________

I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy,
doesn't have to be fast,
should have some meat on the bones,
can be raw or well done,
as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.

www.instagram.com/threeriversguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 4 2023 2:34:07

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

Luthier Richard Brune has informed me that he has half a dozen table saw blades in various kerf widths, including fret slotting blades, custom made for him by Peerless Saw company in Ohio at reasonable prices. https://www.peerlesssaw.com

_____________________________

Ethan Deutsch
www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 5 2023 16:04:53

Jim Frieson

Posts: 19
Joined: May 28 2014

RE: Laugh about my saw blade (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

You could always take a diamond plate and rub it on the teeth . I have done that and did reduce the kerf but the cutting quality will be impaired .
Too bad it is now a pain in the neck to send parcels outside of Japan via Japan Post.
Carbide tipped blades I use here are 1.1 . 1.2 , 1.6 and 1.8 mm .
I use 1.6 and 1.8 blades for the neck/sides kerf .
I have ten 1.2 mm blades I use most .
I sharpen them with a simple jig .