thibaultron

Here is a link to a video on 12 table saw jigs. The video is for a full size saw, but the ideas can be translated to our size ones. You might find them useful.

Part 002 I started working on the saw today. The first task (after I disassembled it), was to make a wrench for the blade shaft. The shaft has two flats on it to hold the shaft steady while you remove the blade nut. When new, the saw was supplied with a little wrench made out of sheet steel, shown circled in the picture below. The photo below shows the area the wrench has to fit in, with the flats circled. The space for this is too thin for a regular wrench to fit, and the Dremel part is long gone. So I made one from a piece of an old carpenters square. It is not fancy, but it works. I cut out a ¾ inch wide slot in one end with a Dremel tool with a cutoff disk, then I chamfered the other end to remove the sharp corners. The next task is to firm up the assembly that tilts with the blade and motor, to make angled cuts. The whole assembly rotates on hinges mounted on a sheet metal plate. The motor and blade assembly then slide on this plate to raise and lower the blade. The picture below shows the plate. The hinge for the assembly is one the right, and the slot that allows the motor/blade assembly to slide up and down is on the left. This shot shows the two bolts, circled in red. The saw has bolts for mounting the motor/blade assembly. The instructions say to tighten them, then loosen slightly to allow movement. This allows some slop. My idea is to put a nylon washer under the regular washers, and tighten the bolts so that there is no slop, but the assembly can still slide freely on the slippery nylon. I did not know the size of the bolts, so I bought washers for #6 and #8 screws. The store was out of the #10s. Well guess what, the bolts are #10s, naturally. I’ll stop at a different store and get some #10s. I need to buy a nut for the one screw, the factory supplied one is missing. The housing is taped and the nuts are used as lock nuts, once the bolts are adjusted. The hinge/plate assembly is tight, so there is no slop in it, though there is some flex. There is another area that allows some slop, and once I correct this, I’ll see if I have to further work on this problem. I also need to clean up the rust and add a protective coating to the steel parts. I’m a little short on funds, so that will have to wait until next payday.

On the stripe of oil on the wall behind the lathe. I bought a large piece of formica and leaned it behind my lathe, resting the bottom inside the chip pan. This kept the residue from the wall. Eventually a little got on the ceiling but that was over a few years. I use cutting oil for all my machining. There are various types for different metals, but the regular ones for steel work, if that is all you have. I never turned copper, so I do not know if there is s specific one for it.

Looks great! Wish I could get one of mine to look half as good!

The above link is for the model 580-2 (The second version), here is a link to the revised 580-2 model parts list. http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1798/1665.pdf Here is a link to the original model manual, circa 1978 http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1798/17162.pdf

Here is a link to the manual. Note that this is for the second version, circa 1990. The saws only had slight differences. You can tell a 580-2 from the first model, as it has a black background on the front panel decal. The first version had a red background. http://vintagemachinery.org/files/PDF/Dremel/580-02.pdf

grsjax, not a problem.

Thanks for all the input! For now I just need to rip planking for some dioramas and decks. I will not be doing a lot of scratch building, for now. I just need the saw for upgrading some of the woods supplied with the kits I have, and a couple of small scratch built boats I want to do. Mark, I will test the supplied blade carefully before doing any major work with it, safety first! Thanks for the link to the saw blades. At some point, if I find that I need a table saw more frequently, I will get the Byrnes saw.

Part 001 I looked at my available options for a modeling table saw. The contenders are: 1. The Harbor Freight type 4” table saw (many similar types of this basic type of saw). 2. The Proxxon table saws, the cheapest is in my price range, the others cost enough that they are almost as expensive as the Gold Standard Byrnes table saw (see below). 3. The old Dremel 4” table saw. 4. The Byrnes table saw. The best and the Gold Standard, but well over my present funding level at about $500 with shipping. I hope to get one of these in the future, but that is at least a year or more away. The Harbor Freight type table saws are poorly built, and the blade height adjustment is by raising the table, on I’m sure poorly fitting leg/slides. It also does not have a fence. The saw blade slot is cast integrally with the table. This prevents you from cutting thin pieces, as they will tend to be pulled down into the slot. On a regular table saw the blade comes up through the table in a removable insert. If you are cutting thin pieces you replace the insert with one with a thinner slot. In many cases you put a solid plate in and run the blade up through the insert, giving you a zero clearance fit. Of course you need a carbide blade if it is a metal insert, but you can make a thin wood insert from hobby plywood for a regular steel blade. I can’t imagine the Harbor Freight type having good enough tolerances on the table slides for this, even if you can attach something to span the slot. Prices on these range from about $40 to over a $100. The cheaper Proxxon saw has a fixed blade height, also no insert, and only a 2” diameter blade. It does however come with a small plastic fence that does not span the full depth of the table. Prices range about $125 to $200. The Byrnes saw is built more like a machine tool, rather than a saw, and has a large array of available accessories, but it comes with a matching price tag. If you have the money get this. The Dremel saw is no longer made, but is available used for about $125 to $225,with shipping on Ebay. It has a blade that can be raised from under the table, as in a standard large table saw, and the blade can be angled also as in a standard saw. The blade is belt driven and the motor is more powerful than the Proxxon and HF type saws. It does come with a fence that spans the whole depth of the table, and a miter gauge. It has a removable insert. The base is a thick plastic, but durable. There are some accessories available in the aftermarket, but the sources are drying up. The blades and belt are still readily available, though. I chose this route as it falls within my price range, and has more standard table saw features, including a blade insert. My saw did not come with a blade protector, some of the later models did. The blade raising/tilting mechanism is not as sturdy as I would like, the miter gauge is a bit loose in the slots, and the fence is not the most robust, however. I will attempt to remedy some of these faults as this build log continues. The saw is eminently usable, though. This log will not be a regularly updated one, but I will relate all my experiences with both using and upgrading it as time goes on. Here are pictures of the saw as I got it. The first shot is the top. I noticed when I was editing the photos, that I had a visitor. I’ll have to fog the shop, this week. This is the front with the blade raising and tilting controls. These are the same types as a standard table saw. The power switch is on the lower right corner. If you look closely you will see that both front mounting lugs are broken off. The seller did not pack the saw well, and I guess the box got dropped at some point! Both lugs were in the box, though. I assume that they were still attached when it was packed, otherwise I’m sure they would have disappeared before the unit was sold. I’ll glue them back on with epoxy. I am not sure what type of plastic the base is molded of, so using a plastic cement may not work. If I had to guess, I would say ABS plastic. Here is the “guts of the saw from underneath. This is also similar to how a standard table saw is built. Notice though that there is no back to the saw. At one point there was an aftermarket back available, with a vacuum outlet, but they are no longer sold. I will make my own back for mine. Note that the rust is not atypical, the metal parts were not painted when built. It does not affect the operation of the saw. The saw ran well when I plugged it in, with the belt running smoothly. To start with I will disassemble and clean the saw mechanism, using the tips on this site. https://karincorbin.blogspot.com/2009/07/ye-olde-dremel-table-saw.html I will also need to come up with a support for the back of the blade mechanism when making fine cuts. This support may have to be removed to tilt the blade. I have to think more on this idea. Until the next part, thank you for reading my thread.

Frank, wonderful model, and thank you for bringing us on the journey of her construction!

The way the roll feeds is also determined by if you have cats (or dogs)! If you do, you set it up to feed from the back, this helps prevent the pet from convinently unrolling it for you!

Great Idea!

Thanks for the link!

Welcome to the group Legodude!! Nice work on your model! I'll be be following your build.

Thanks Chuck!

Frank, an innovative solution!

Been using the Dremel version of grsjax's sander for decades, it is indeed a workhorse. I wrote a log on improving the disk table a while back Modifications to a Dremel Belt/Disk Sander You'll have to do a search, I don't know how to paste a link to it.

Craig; Thanks for the ICE link!

The resin used for autobody work, does not attach well to wood. Check out the epoxy resins used in marine applications. Those are designed for wood. Having said that, in the past I have used the Bondo type resins, and they have performed well on my models. I think the heat gun may be too hot, a slow gentle heat may be better.

I scan the large plans on my regular size scanner, allowing a generous overlap. I scan them using the "Grayscale" option, rather than "Color", at 300DPI. For a more detailed scan for smaller sections, I scan at 600 DPI. All the scans to be combined should be at the same resolution. I remove the scanner cover, so that I can move the plans around freely, and use the separated cover placed on top of the plans, to hold them flat on the glass. Some of my scanners have had the top attached such that the hinges on the cover interfere with reusing it this way. Then I find some other object to use. A book, or even a piece of foam board, cut to the right size. After I get every thing scanned, I use the old MS Photo Gallery to combine the scans using the Panorama function. I find that it does a much better job than the Photoshop one. If that does not work for the scans (make sure you scanned with the generous overlaps), I align the scans in my CAD program. As far as distortions, use the advice above. Microsoft no longer offers the MS Photo Gallery as a download, but if you do a search for "Photo Gallery full download", there are sites that offer a download for it. I've saved a copy, and use it when I change to a new computer, have to fix a crash or failing drive.

I had to, several years ago, set a hull in my car's hatch back and park in the sun for a week to get the resin to set. The car stank for about two weeks after I took it out, but the resin finally set.

Thank you for the service you have provided, and enjoy your family!

While a Type IX, for those Kindle readers the following book might be of interest. It is about the capture of U-505 by the US Navy in WWII. The book is written by the Task Force commander who lead the capture. Amazon has a free kindle edition. Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea: The Daring Capture of the U-505 Amazo

If the "bottom" holes are used for a tenon, perhaps the upper hole is an upper eye, for securing the other end of the rope used in the pulley system.

Great work Frank! The dredges look fantastic!