So, I ditched my radial arm saw in favor of a 220v Delta cabinet saw... I already cut 8 new fretboards from a piece of $7 Jotoba from my local hardwood supplier... I couldn't be happier...
And with my Tax refund, I was going to treat myself to the Stew-Mac fret saw, miter box, and template... but then... I saw the circular saw blade... so... for LESS money than the miter box and saw, I could use my table saw...
So... with that, I'm looking to see if anybody here has that blade, has used it, and could comment on how well it works???
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I have the saw blade and the template, I'm sure you will love it.
I use a cheap hobby saw just a leeeetle too small for the fret tangs, run a thin screwdriver through each channel once and tap it in. I'm sure that saw and miter both will work far, far better-and since my frets turn out okay i'm sure yours will be perfect...
I knew you would love it.
Hi John
Quite a while ago {2015} you posted about fret saw blades. You mentioned a "circular saw blade". But you never mentioned { in the post I saw } which blade that was. I have used a scroll saw in the past but want to move to a blade that fits my reg. table saw. I sure can NOT afford the Stew Mac blade or syst. At the now $160. US price it's out of the question for a Canadian when you ad the exchange rate. Is there another blade out there that will work that you know of??
Any help with this would be great. If you could email a response that would be appreciated as I don't get online here often.
many thanks
Rick Cole
Lone Butte B.C. Canada
anyonelse2@gmail.com
Hi, I would suggest getting the specs of the Stumac saw and contacting some saw manufacturers.
I have used that saw for years it does a great job. I mounted mine in a dedicated saw I built using a bench grinder as the drive motor, as it had the correct arbour size.
Taff
Check your favourite online auction / sales sites for slotting saw blades. You may have to shop around to get one to suit your saw. The stewmac one is 0.58 mm = 0.023 inch in the old money. One around.0.6 mm kerf should be fine. You may have to look at a few as the sites don't easily facilitate shopping by kerf size.
This solid carbide one for example
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KLOT-Solid-Carbide-Saw-Blade-Slitting-S...
Or hss for cheaper again.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16mm-Arbor-Hole-Dia-0-6mm-Thick-72-Teet...
Like Taffy said... I broke down and bought the StewMac blade. I did a lot of research, and the best I could find was about the same price, since you had to buy stabilizing discs... I've made at least 100 fretboards and it's still going strong. Any blade with a 0.023 kerf would be just fine...
You can get smaller, 3" blades here: They have .020 and .025, but I think the .025 might be a little too big... https://www.micromark.com/230-Tooth-Saw-Blade-025-Inch-Kerf-3-Inch-...
Here's a 1" diameter blade, but now you're making custom machinery
https://www.amazon.com/Tool-Company-15285-J109-Jewelers-Slotting/dp...
You can use this one, but you need stiffeners (big plates): https://www.lmii.com/fretting-tools/2713-power-slotting-system-blad...
yep, the correct size kerf I think is very important. I like a good fret tang fit every time with no time wasted getting frets to fit properly after saving time cutting the slots in the first place.
I once put a very slight buckle in one of these saws and it really messed with the slot width and I had to buy another.
Regarding the stiffeners, I would use a couple of 4" grinding discs either side of the blade.
Cheer Taff
i use this. much cheaper..
Hey, sorry for the late reply... I just saw this...
The blade is from StewMac... It's a .023kerf blade designed for fret slotting. I still use that same saw today and cut some very hard wood with it. $128 and it's worth every penny...
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Saws/Fret_Slot...
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