IF YOU HAD A CHOICE

[Burroak]

Considering I'm a first time wooden ship builder, which one of the following power tools would I need the most? If any!

 

1) miniature table saw

 

2) miniature drill press

 

3) miniature disc and belt sander

 

4) miniature lathe

 

Any input is appreciated

 

Greg H.

[ccoyle]

I have completed five models without any of those tools.  Now, if you're thinking about going the scratch-building route, some of them are no doubt handy.

[vossy]

only power/electric tools i ever use are Dremel and electric soldering iron for plank bending.

[thibaultron]

Belt/disk sander, followed closely by a drill press.

[dvm27]

Greg H.,

 

I'd go with a good quality disk sander, such as the one made by Byrnes model Machines.

 

Another Greg H.

[Burroak]

Thank you Ron and Greg for your comments.

 

Thanks

 

Greg H.

[hornet]

For me the choice was too, too difficult so I bought the lot.

[shihawk]

Wait and see which you find you would use the most , I think many of us have been guilty of buying power tools that are seldom if ever used . Only buy when you are sure it will be usefull !!!!

[Burroak]

Thank you Hornet and Shihawk for your input. I love woodworking power tools. Has anyone used a cross cutting sled on a full size tablesaw to cut the small pieces before? I just wondered if the wood held up or blew apart because of the large blade.

 

Thanks

 

Greg H.

[mtaylor]

Greg,

 

The problem with many of the full-size tools is the size.  For example, a full-size table saw.  It's tough to find a blade with a fine enough tooth count that doesn't splinter the woods. Some things though, like a drill press or scroll saw (with appropriate blades), work very well. 

[Burroak]

Thanks Mark. I have done woodworking for about 30 years but most all of the projects were square with straight lines. Ship building on the other hand has very few straight lines. Ship building has truly renewed my interest in woodwork. I just hope I can live up to the talent on MSW.

 

 

GREG H.

[Julie Mo]

Has anyone used a cross cutting sled on a full size tablesaw to cut the small pieces before? I just wondered if the wood held up or blew apart because of the large blade.

I have a saw blade that fits on a standard table saw and makes cuts that could work well for certain aspects of model making. It's a 6" diameter blade with 100 teeth and a .023" kerf.  It cuts to about 1/2" deep. 

 

I made a sled for my 10" table saw to cut fret slots.  In order to create a zero clearance on the top of the sled, I had to first cut a wider slot to accommodate the wider thickness of the blade about 1/2" in from the perimeter.

Remove the fretboard holder (blue extrusion assembly) and insert whatever you need to make your fine cuts. 

 

I have thought about using this blade to make rip cuts in thin sheets of wood.  If I did that, the first thing I would do is make a zero clearance table saw insert specifically for this blade.  Even though the blade is designed to be a crosscut blade, I can see it working in woods that are the thickness of model ship planking.

[michael mott]

Greg, Noting that you have been doing woodwork for 30 years, and your question regarding a sled, I think that the sled is a very useful device they can be made quickly from a variety of thicknesses of either good quality aircraft ply or MDF the sled does not need to have more than one long guide either to the side as the fence or underneath to fit the standard slot in the table.

 

As Julie noted there are smaller blades that fit onto the full sized table saws and with zero clearance slot you have the power needed to cut through most materials. I in fact prefer the stability of my old unisaw with a small blade 6 1/4" or 7 1/4" these are inexpensive and quite adaptable.

 

Regarding the other power tools My personal preference has been a bandsaw and a drill press, Although I am also very fond of my jewelers saws.

 

Michael

[HSM]

Agreed the first power tool should be a dremel, but since you already have that, and full-sized versions of the rest....

 

IMHO the best tool to get you started ship building would be a miniature table saw. The rest of the full-sized tools can be used to make miniature stuff with some limtations.

 

Most hardware store 5" disc/belt sanders work better than the model sized versions because they have more power and rotational inertia if you are sanding frames or other larger items.

 

A full-sized drill press will work as well as (probably better than) a miniature one as long as the chuck can accept very small drill bits.

 

If you're kit-building I'm not sure how often you'd use a lathe for ship building. In my 30+ models I have used a lathe maybe 12 times (I have access to one at work). More often than not I can chuck a piece of wood in the drill press and use files to turn railings or whatever I need.

 

This is my experience, might not work for everyone, but it works for me!

[Burroak]

Julie Mo thanks you for the info about the 6" saw blade with a very thin kerf. Will definitely check that out for sure.

 

 

Michael thank you for the info about the sled. I use one in my regular woodworking. I will definitely make a small one to be used with a small thin blade.

 

 

HSM thank you for your info. I've researched some of the miniature Tablesaws, and some do not come with a rip fence while others do. It seems a lot of people recommend the Byrnes tablesaw or Proxxon. I have a full size tablesaw, but in order to use it I have to walk out in my shop, but I am building the ship in the house. Just a little inconvenience. I may look into getting a Byrnes or Proxxon miniature tablesaw. Thanks to everyone for responding to my question

 

 

Greg H.

[Jaager]

I just had a thought -  if you are limited in funds,  you might could get a table saw to double as a disc sander.  You could try using as saw blade blank or a worn out diamond blade - as thick as can be gotten and use contact cement to attach sand paper to one face.  By using a near zero clearance insert you can have a closer tolerance between the table and the disc than most disc sanders.  You want some gap for the wood flour.  The paper is easy to remove using a heat gun and both Lowes and Home Depot have 10X paper that stands up pretty well. I grant that it is not as convenient as a stand alone sander, but it could get you the function at minimal extra cost.

[mikeaidanh]

Money and space no object and noise not a consideration? A plane/r thicknesser. 

 

I have just come across a problem. Having managed to obtain 2 billets of boxwood 24" x 2" x 2", which are not square and are "cupped", and having only a small bandsaw and a Byrnes saw I now need to true the billets up before cutting down to size for the Byrnes.

I must now resort to finding a friendly joinery shop owner and begging a favour.

More money and more space in a sound deadened workshop. It aint going to happen!

 

Mike.

[John Allen]

Greg,

 

Drill Master 2" cuttoff saw by Harbor freight. $ 29.95. Sturdy little saw, clean cuts and angles. I have a problem with my knuckles popping when use a small hand saw and miter box. Get the extra saw blades.

 

Best little saw for the money.

 

Good Luck

 

John

[Julie Mo]

Greg, if you already have a drill press, check this out.  It's also sold at Stew-Mac, the same place that sells the 6" thin kerf circular saw blade.  It's designed as a thickness sander and works pretty well.  I'm finding a number of luthier tools cross over well into model making.

 

[usedtosail]

I would add a scroll saw to that list as the first power tool to buy. I just can't cut curves with anything else, hand or power.

[Burroak]

Jaager I have a disc/belt sander on a stand. Thank you for responding to my question

 

Greg H.

[Jaager]

Mike,

 

About the Boxwood.  24 inches is nice, but longer than you need if you are 1:48 or smaller scale.

If it were twisted,  there usually is a place along the length where a cross cut gives you two reasonably flat pieces.

 

To square it up - a bandsaw  -  fix the Boxwood to a flat board with a straight edge to ride against the fence. I use drywall screws and right angle framing braces - small round head screws will hold the brace to the carrier board. Aline the Boxwood so that the overhang at the outer edge of the carrier board will get you a straight face losing the least amount of wood. One true face.  Turn the Boxwood so that the face you cut is down.   The wood will be easier to fix to the carrier since it will not want to rock now. Get a right angle true face with the new overhang.  With two straight flat faces at a right angle, you are set to cut it with just the table and fence. 

 

The poser will be figuring out how thick to make the stock slices.  As I said, 2 feet is a bit long and awkward but certainly doable.  The Byrnes saw will take 15/16" thick stock, but Boxwood is fiercely hard. Jim has a big motor on the saw, but Boxwood is tough work that thick.  I would figure out the max thickness lumber I need and use the bandsaw to give me slices near that thickness - with enough extra to sacrifice to the planer to get 220 smooth on both sides.  Getting at least one edge 90 degree true and straight is pretty much vital also.

 

My condolences about how much of this rare wood you will lose to waste and kerf to get usable stock.

[Landlubber Mike]

Interesting seeing the responses here.  I have a Dremel but rarely use it.  On my current builds with lots of scratch building, I found myself using the scroll saw quite a bit in the beginning cutting out curved parts for the hull.  Now I am using the table saw a lot to cut planks along with other things requiring a straight edge like the various deck items (frames for gratings, bitts, etc.).  Above all else though, I think I have used the disc sander the most though.  I could never get straight lines by hand, even using those sand-it type jigs.

 

So, if building from a kit, I'd probably lean toward a disc sander.

[mischief]

Small drill press

[GLakie]

Money and space no object and noise not a consideration? A plane/r thicknesser. 

 

I have just come across a problem. Having managed to obtain 2 billets of boxwood 24" x 2" x 2", which are not square and are "cupped", and having only a small bandsaw and a Byrnes saw I now need to true the billets up before cutting down to size for the Byrnes.

I must now resort to finding a friendly joinery shop owner and begging a favour.

More money and more space in a sound deadened workshop. It aint going to happen!

 

Mike.

Mike those cupped billets you have can be trued by you, and all you need is one flat board, temporarily glued to one side, getting it as close to parallel as you can. Then using your fence, shave off what you need to make the other side flat. Remove the guide board and repeat on the adjacent side. 

Edited December 3, 2015 by GLakie

[mikeaidanh]

Thanks Jaager and GLakie for your good advice. I may try your solutions but first I am going to research the bench top planer/thicknesser market here in the UK. If I can imagine that this scenario is likely to come up more frequently then a "proper" tool may be the way forward.

On the other hand I do like the idea of making do with what I have but the trouble is that my band saw is a Proxxon and very lightweight.

 

I would be interested to hear from any UK builder who has experience with this problem .

 

Once again, many thanks for your responses.

 

Mike.

Edited December 3, 2015 by mikeaidanh

[GLakie]

I see your dilemma Mike, as that Proxxon Bandsaw probably won't be big enough to squeeze 2" material through. There are some nice 10" Bandsaws out there, and right now, around Christmas, is a good time to shop around for them.  A bandsaw will be handy for slicing sheets as well, with the right blade.

[Jaager]

Mike,

 

I was working off your saying that you would find a 3rd party with a real bandsaw.  Your bench top saw is not up to the task, is my thinking.  I guess you could find some species of wood tougher than Boxwood, but not many.

 

Check the Net for a woodworking club or such in your town.  See if there is a member with a 14" saw who will help you.   In a reverse situation, I would want the person making the request to supply the blade and leave it with me when done. You would need to find out the size blade that their saw uses.  I am very partial to the Wood Slicer Resaw Blade.  For ripping seasoned wood - especially like Boxwood - it is as about as good as it gets. It is thin, sharpe, almost no set to the teeth and 1/2" is wide enough.  I don't think a wider blade reduces blade wandering, it just costs more.  I am guessing that the import hassles make it an impractical choice for you. From what I have determined, I think the blade that Highland uses is an import from France, so whatever the Wood Slicer really is may be available in the EU under a different name.

 

A bladed planer is a wood waste expensive way to true up a board.  To keep from losing too much stock, you would need to fix the Boxwood to carrier - similar to what a bandsaw would need -  two problems here are keeping whatever you use to mount the stock away from the planer blade and would the addition of the carrier make the result too thick for the planer.  If you use a sanding planer - the throat opening and max stock thickness will likely be a problem. 2 inches is already too thick for my thickness planer to take.

[GLakie]

You can cut really nice veneers with a bandsaw Mike, and a Rikon 10-305 like mine, with a "Woodslicer" blade, will work just fine. They're $300, not on sale, and this time of year, if you shop around, could be considerably cheaper. As an extra, they also come with a 5-year warranty. 

[Julie Mo]

I give a thumbs up to the Woodslicer blades.  I have several of them and, when sharp, they leave almost no saw marks and cut very true.  The do dull easily but, for the woods used in model building, they would probably last a while before they need resharpening.