Byrne's saw advice needed.....

[CPDDET]

I'm seriously considering purchasing a Byrne's saw. But the array of attachments is dizzying, at least to me.

 

Perhaps those who have experience with this tool could expound on which attachments would be the most useful to start with.

 

Dave

[Landlubber Mike]

I like the sliding table and the expanded fence.  I haven't used the tilting table yet, and rarely use the micrometer stop.  Get a bunch of blades and zero clearance inserts.

 

One thing to consider if you have the budget and the space is to buy one with an expanded table top.  Not sure if Jim is still making them, but with the wider top, you don't have to remove the fence when you need to switch to the sliding table for cross cutting.  I ended up swapping my table top for the bigger table and it was worth it for me. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Landlubber Mike

[Thistle17]

I agree with Mike on the crosscut sled it is an excellent accessory. As I posted before regarding the tiling table and I must qualify once again I have never used it. However intuitively I am troubled by the "mechanics of the piece being cut tendency to "fall" in the direction of the blade. I would never do so on my full size table saw and as a matter of safety I never cut say a 45 degree cut with the piece trapped between the table and thetilted  saw blade. Rather I cut the angle on the opposite side of the blade.

 

I am open to being corrected so please I invite feedback to the contrary.

 

Joe

[Borden]

Sounds like my Rigid miter saw, would work better for the angle cuts, beast that it is, the throat space is adjustable and it will cut very fine with the 100 tooth blade. 

I also have a sliding top table saw with angle support have to clamp all wood to the angle support with much of an angle being used on strips.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Borden

[Bob Cleek]

It's probably the case with most that making beveled rip cuts is a rather rare occasion. If necessary, it is a relatively simple thing to tape or temporarily glue a strip of wood beneath the edge of the piece opposite the side to be cut such that the strip raises the piece to be cut enough to angle the cut. Few will need the tilting table. Do get the fence extension. The fence is only 1/8" high. It's nice to have a bit more height in some ripping applications.

 

Definitely get the sliding table. It's easy enough to make one yourself, but not to get it with the miter gauge and all CNC cut to tolerances tighter than a gnat's *** like Jim does. The "sled" really almost doubles the usefulness of the saw and there isn't a lot of sense to building your own with most likely sloppy tolerances compared to the factory-made one, which is as accurate as the rest of the saw.

 

The micrometer fence adjustment can be done without, but for the money, why would anyone want to It's handy when you want to make minute adjustments. It's a machine that's really made to provide 001" accuracy and that isn't likely to be easily achieved with any certainty without the micrometer fence adjustment.

 

I'd suggest spending the few bucks to get the bag of spare screws, etc. They are really tiny and even though I've not yet lost one (knock on wood) it's bound to happen at some point. They aren't hardware store items and you'll pay twice the cost if you have to order them afterwards once you factor in the shipping costs. The same goes for blades. Get a selection when you get the saw. It can all ship together and save you a few bucks in shipping over buying them piecemeal. You can make your own zero clearance plates, but for eight bucks a piece, I don't see how it's worth anybody's time to do so, and certainly not to the perfect fit you'll get from the factory-made ones.

 

Making your own rip taper gauge is a piece of cake, but for only $40, Jim's machined one is just so "cute," I couldn't resist it. Chalk it up to a "pride of ownership" thing, I guess. I've yet to use it, but I'm considering trying it for mast tapering the next time I have occasion to get out some spars. I don't know if that will work, but my thought is that if I can accurately taper four sides of the stick, getting out a very accurately tapered spar by rounding off the corners in my drill press vertical spar-turning lathe set-up would be a lot easier and faster. 

 

In short, aside from the tilting table, one might as well buy all the optional stuff! Seriously. Just down three or four shots of the good stuff and go all "drunken sailor" on it. SWMBO ("She Who Must Be Obeyed") will never notice the difference anyway.

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Bob Cleek

[Bob Cleek]

On 2/19/2020 at 2:39 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

I like the sliding table and the expanded fence.  I haven't used the tilting table yet, and rarely use the micrometer stop.  Get a bunch of blades and zero clearance inserts.

 

One thing to consider if you have the budget and the space is to buy one with an expanded table top.  Not sure if Jim is still making them, but with the wider top, you don't have to remove the fence when you need to switch to the sliding table for cross cutting.  I ended up swapping my table top for the bigger table and it was worth it for me. 

I don't believe the extended table top is any longer an option. It hasn't been listed on the website in a long time. 

[Landlubber Mike]

1 hour ago, Bob Cleek said:

I don't believe the extended table top is any longer an option. It hasn't been listed on the website in a long time. 

I would ask him.  I ordered mine last year and I think he had a few extra on hand at the time.

 

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, Landlubber Mike said:

I would ask him.  I ordered mine last year and I think he had a few extra on hand at the time.

 

I'll check and see! Thanks!

[Thistle17]

The larger table is still available but not advertised. I inquired about 6 months ago and he would supply it. The rub as I recall was that I had to ship my present table top to him for the rework. I have yet to do so as it is in use for a project. I still wish to do it but can't free up the top. As Mike says check with Jim.

Joe 

[Landlubber Mike]

Yes, I bought mine around that time and had to do that.  It was a pretty quick turnaround.  Well worth it I would say, especially if you are going to use Jim's sliding table.