if you already have a bench grinder you could make yourself a small saw bench.
there is no reason why you can't have best of both worlds.
just to give you an idea,this is what I found on ebay...
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I'd just like to add that anyone that claims that a hand saw does not make any noise is either deaf, or has not ever tried using one while my wife is sleeping!
This is kinda like that bumper sticker:"Give Blood....Play Rugby" except it's "give digits/limbs...make a tool do something it's not designed for"
guys even a fork will give injuries if its use wrong.
the idea above is a poor mans tool.
I've made about 20 saw benches using old motors(this is when saw benches cost over £200 back in the 1980's.
I used to work for a stairlift company,that is where I got the old motors from.
they were binned so the company let me have them.
just over a 1/4 hp.they would cut 1/2" no problem but struggle to cut 1".
always let the blade do the cutting.
I know it sound daft but folks try to force the wood through.
I sold them all and this was before ebay came along.
ideal for model makers.
its all very well saying don't dick around buying are tools cheap enough.
the very same bloke tells us don't buy cheap tools!
some of you as I know don't have regular income so its a case of make do.
I've used all kind of tools inc home made.
back in the days when I had a big mortgage,2 kids and a wife to look after with one income .
you had to improvise. and guess what I still have 8 fingers and two thumbs.
its all about paying attention in what you are doing.use a stick to push the wood through the saw not your fingers.yes its that simple.
ask yourself this do you look out the window whilst putting food onto your fork?? of course not.
treat all tools with respect.
Understood John. I for one certainly didn't want to make light of your idea or suggest it shouldn't be done. You're right, good tools are expensive and improvising is a good thing so long as nobody gets hurt. I forgot to mention earlier my attempt to convert a bench grinder into lathe to round off banjo pots. It didn't end well so I'm a bit gun shy. Certainly folks with limited means can use information like this to help them achieve what they want to build.
Oh yes, and I have injured myself with a fork!
Any spinning blade makes me scared. I still use them but let's see. A table saw gave me my worst injury and it wasn't even contact with the blade. It was "kickback" where a piece of maple took the tips off two fingers and almost got my head. They were sewn on and I can fairly well use them. I've also given myself nasty cuts with something as simple as a chisel. Lots of ways to hurt yourself if you don't pay attention. I've grown into the "only use a tool as it was intended" school of thought but I still do stuff I ought not do with tools because "I'm not a smart man" (Forrest Gump)
I made a small but sturdy box that the saw could slip into and then remove when needed. The first time I used it I found it to be jumpy, torquey and wanted to move around, even when clamped to the bench. Since there was no way of bolting it to the frame it aways seemed like it wanted to "jump out of the box" and go for my fingers.
I very quickly dismantled it and returned it to its original purpose. That was twenty years ago and I'm glad to say I can still count to 10 without using toes.
A light duty table saw, which is probably more effective than this mod or a circle saw mod (which scares the heck out of me thinking about) can be found as cheap, or cheaper with all the right guards and protections.
My list of tools I like to modify in the shop:
1. Sanding blocks
Yup sanding blocks and let's see, I snapped the tip off of a reamer so I could make the required tapered hole for a banjo 5th string peg. Oh yeah, and I ground the teeth off the sides of a file that I use for frets so I wouldn't scar up the side of the neck so much. There's probably more but modding power tools is beyond my abilities.
Don't attempt to dick around with converting or using a powertool for a purpose that it's not intended. If anything goes wrong, the shaft speed and torque generated will take off your fingers quicker than you'll notice whilst loosing your eye at the same time. Power tools are cheap, and you cant re-grow your fingers. Purpose-made power tools have got safety devices for a reason.
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