tools for scratch building

Table saw is most useful for long straight cuts of wood to make strips or cut larger pieces down to size as needed.

Hard to cut long and straight on scroll or band saw without fancy guide attachments.
 
i have the one from model expo which i haven't used yet , is this one good enough to get me started , i doesn't have a rip fence but it does have two slots on the table which has a sliding protractor , how would i modify it to work so that i can cut strips of wood , or am i wasting my time with it?
if this tool is ok for now , what should i try and get next , i'm thinking scroll saw , any recommended ones for long term use?
 
also some people say the proxxon tools are great others say don't get them , what are the arguments fore and against?
 
i found some articles on making sleds for table saws that look promising ,now i know they are called sleds!
 
ANTHONY, MY BAND SAW $124.00 HAS A FENCE AND A MITER GAUGE CAN RIP MOST STRIPS AS TABLE SAW, JUST GOOGLE IT UNDER MENARDS 9 INCH TABLE BAND SAW, AND YOU CAN SEE IT OR JUST UNDER PERFORMAX. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE DON
 
HI I USE THE STANDARD BLADE IN MY BAND SAW THE PERFORMAX TAKES A 62 INCH BLADE AND I USE 14TPI FOR STRIPS AND GENERAL WORK IF I RE-SAW MATERIAL I USE A I USE A 6TPI. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE DON
 
Anthony1 said:
i see , so the right tool for the job at hand
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Yes...you are spot on. A mini table saw (I have the one from micromark) is used to cut planking and decking strips from a billet plank (for example a 1/4" x 3" x 24" billet plank). You would need to set up the saw with a cutting fence to guide the cut for the strips. So a good table saw to cut up a few hundred planking strips is worth its weight...anyway I find that cutting my own planking strips saves up to 75% of the cost of precut strips from online sources. You can buy 1/4" x 3" billets online. Two issues concerning cutting planking strips...you need a saw with enough power torque that it won't slow down while cutting, and a low curff saw blade. The cutting fence needs to be precisely set to prevent binding the saw blade.

Or...you can take it step further and buy a very large rough billet (for example a 6" x 12" x 36" rough plank...I call them logs myself) and cut it down, shave it with a planer, and finish sand it with a belt sander. But then you need all those tools as well! The only time I use a regular table saw with a ten inch blade is to cut these very large billet logs into smaller strips suitable for planning.

The first power tool set I would look at is an extensive Dremel collection. Several Dremel tools and a large selection of various sanding, drilling, and cutting bits. Dremel also has various tool accessories that are helpful...for example I have a mini drill press rig that holds a Dremel tool to use as a drill press.

A small bench top band saw is good for cutting frame pieces. But you can use a good scroll saw as well. In fact if you had to choose either/or I would go with the scroll saw.

Power sanding tools are helpful but not critical. Spindle sanders, circular and strip sanders, etc., can speed up sanding chores but I have used a Dremel tool with a drum sander bit just as effectively (one secret is to cut out pieces very carefully to reduce the need for power sanding). I have both sanders and rarely use the disk/belt sander combination and use the spindle sander more often especially to define curved pieces.

I hope all this is helpful...where to start? Start with a Dremel collection and go from there...
 
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YOU CAN FIND DREMMELS ON EBAY UNDER ROTARY TOOLS, I HAVE MANY, MANY, YOU CAN FIND USED DRMELLS AS LOW AS $20.00, IF ANY THING GOES WRONG NO BIG DEAL. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE DON
 
i have a dremel setup as a hanging pendant drill with the flexible shaft attachment , it gets used quite a bit, i also have the model expo table saw but i need to make some kind of sled so that i could use it for cutting small planks , i have seen some designs for this online and it doesn't seem too difficult ... we shall see, so my only real question is , band saw or scroll saw what makes them different from each other? any recommendations
 
Hello Anthony,

Please check this discussion, BTW, if you search for bandsaw or scroll saw (upper top corner), you will be surprised how much material you will find. Good luck!

Best scroll saw

Hello guys, I have already long time thought to buy a new scroll saw. Now I have an old Delta 40-560 saw which I am not at all satisfied. Or perhaps I just cannot use it properly. But what is the best and easiest to use scroll saw? I am sure you guys out there have a lot of experience about...
shipsofscale.com
 
Anthony1 said:
do you use a different blade for modelling ,
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Yes...for a band saw you should use a very narrow, low curf blade. 1/8 inch blade if you can find one. For the mini table saw a very fine tooth, low curf blade is nearly critical for fine cuts of, for example, 1/16 planks.

(Edit) The exception on a blade for a bandsaw is when you need to cut straight plank stock from a larger billet...then you need a wider blade...3/8 or 1/2 inch to minimize blade drift. Donnie mentions this in his post below and I wanted to repeat the issue here as well.
 
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Anthony1 said:
also some people say the proxxon tools are great others say don't get them , what are the arguments fore and against?
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In my experience there are three key factors to consider in a mini table saw for cutting planking strips...motor power, ability to set cutting accuracy, and lack of what I call drift. The better quality saws have both a high torque, well powered motor and the ability for very accurate and precise settings that do not drift once locked in. Proxxon are high average tools but tend to be underpowered and can drift over use. Micromark are average acceptable but also tend to be underpowered and it is difficult to get very precise settings. Byrnes saws are very high quality for these factors...high torque motor, accurate settings, and no drift once locked in. Others may have different criteria to judge a tool but in my experience these three factors are the most critical.
 
Jimsky said:
Hello Anthony,

Please check this discussion, BTW, if you search for bandsaw or scroll saw (upper top corner), you will be surprised how much material you will find. Good luck!

Best scroll saw

Hello guys, I have already long time thought to buy a new scroll saw. Now I have an old Delta 40-560 saw which I am not at all satisfied. Or perhaps I just cannot use it properly. But what is the best and easiest to use scroll saw? I am sure you guys out there have a lot of experience about...
shipsofscale.com
Click to expand...
I am not sure what the best would be...I have a 16 inch deep Craftsman bench top scroll saw. I also have a Dremel scroll saw for small parts. What makes a scroll saw is the quality of the cutting blade which includes the right blade for the material you are cutting and enough throat depth to manage what you want to cut. An average saw can do well with a quality blade that is correct for the material where a high quality saw will perform poorly with a bad, incorrect blade.
 
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I have a micromark bench sander and the thing needs to seriously be (RPM) dialed way down. The little DIY rheostat is not going to work. You have to buy something like a vari-ac. I can't afford one right now. This is something that is on my wish list

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When you scratch build, you are going to be buying bulk wood planks. They could be 3" x 24" x 1/4"[thick]. Now, with this being said, what are you going to be cutting?
  • You will be using a mini table saw that has a good fence and miter gauge so that you can cut LONG straight strips for your beam work.
  • You will be using a power scroll saw do that you can cut your frame patterns since they have lots of complex curves.
  • I do not have a band saw. A band saw would be good to have if you are cutting out from large billets of stock to CUT DOWN to manageable sizes. Then the bandsaw would need to have at least 9" clearance and have a very stable fence and a very wide blade so the blade would not wander, but give you a clean straight cut. Go back to the two most important: the mini table saw and power scroll saw. I have a Ryobi.
  • you say you have a bench sander and I understand about the parts getting so small they fall into the gap of the sander. With this, you need to manufacture a jig that will hold the part to keep it from falling through. The scroll saw you can get your fingers quite close to the blade as long as you are not shaky and manage the part that way. The mini table saw usually comes with blank plates that you can make what is called a ZERO gap plate that will not allow any parts to fall into the saw. It is a solid plastic plate that first, you lower your blade all the way down into saw. Mount your zero clearance plate. Turn on saw, and gently raise the blade until it cuts through the plastic plate. Now you have just made a ZERO Clearance plate that nothing will fall down into.
  • usually, power bench sanders are way too much RPM and really needs to either have a built-in RPM adjustment or buy you the VARI-AC that I mention above.
  • Lastly, if you have to reduce the thickness of any lumber you are cutting, then you will have to buy a SANDING PLANNER. I bought mine from Micro mark. The only problem is that the vacuum port to hook up a shop vac has the output port mounted in the wrong position and blocks the viewing of the wood exiting out of the sander. But this is just a little annoyance.
  • Lastly, in the long run - I highly suggest a metal lathe and eventually a Mill. Do not buy a wood lathe. A metal lathe will cut wood too and you can manufacture your own metal and wood parts such as yards and mast.
  • all these things are not grossly expensive, but do kind of add up. Or you could get into hunting and fishing and go buy a nice bass boat for about $32,000 so, with that said, this hobby is not as expensive as it seems.
By the way, I also love Astronomy and photography. Let me say that anything that has glass in it is going to be outrageously expensive. I hope some of the post help you in making your decisions.. I also suggest perhaps joining the Blandford Group. But, this scratch build is not a "put it together" situation.
At some point, Gilles Korrent is going to be introducing "scratch building canoes" - you can wait for that if you wish as it is a little less intense than the Blandford.
 
Anthony1 said:
i have a dremel setup as a hanging pendant drill with the flexible shaft attachment , it gets used quite a bit, i also have the model expo table saw but i need to make some kind of sled so that i could use it for cutting small planks , i have seen some designs for this online and it doesn't seem too difficult ... we shall see, so my only real question is , band saw or scroll saw what makes them different from each other? any recommendations
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For scratch building a scroll saw is probably better suited for the type parts you would need to cut. A scroll saw blade is much smaller than a band saw blade which facilitates cutting sharper, more complex curves that a band saw. It is easier to control your cuts with a scroll saw. A band saw is fast and more difficult to control the cuts. I have both. A Craftsman benchtop band saw and a Craftsman 16 inch benchtop scroll saw. I find it easier to cut a frame part from a flat plank with the scroll saw. The band saw will cut out the part but it is harder to maintain the curves with the band saw. In reality...perhaps minor differences that really are only resolved with personal preference. Which one depends on what type of cutting you need to do. If you are just going to cut long straight strips from a plank then the band saw is better. But if you need to cut out a lot of smaller parts, for example a frame set, and If you can only get one for now, opt for a scroll saw first.
 
The Power tools I use all the time are:
Byrnes table Saw with extended fence
Byrnes thickness sander
Harbor Freight spindle sander
Harbor Freight disc sander
Dewalt scroll saw
Ridgid shop vacuum

Use the following some times:
Ryobi band saw
Ryobi (full size) table saw
Harbor Freight drill press
Dremel 40
Foredom rotary tool
 
thank you all , great information and now i have another shopping list , like you said most tools aren't too expensive but they do add up , i looked at the model expo table saw that i have and i'm not sure its up to the job for cutting planks ,it does have a use for cutting small angles etc but i think i need to get a decent one if i want to move on.
first the i think i will look into getting a scroll saw .
 
Anthony1 said:
assuming i have all the hand tools i need for ship building , what power tools would be good for scratch building, not necessarily the cheapest , just want to get an idea of what i would need to fit out a workshop , if and when i get around to having one .
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anyone used a dewalt dw735 two speed thickness planer , is this unit too big for modelling?
 
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