How do you cut your blanks?

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Fish30114

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Just what the title says, how do ya'll cut your blanks? I have been using my power miter saw with a fiber blade, but that blade deflects and I get a wonky cut on the blank. I went to the fiber blade for the thinner kerf-just wondering what others are doing to get a precise clean cut on their blanks.

Thanks for any feedback/advice.
 
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79spitfire

79spitfire

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Band saw, need a new blade, but truthfully, as long as I don't try to rush it it turns out fine.
 
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paintspill

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lucky enough to have found this mini table saw and made a sled for it.
 

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t001xa22

t001xa22

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I use a miter saw with a plywood/veneer fine-tooth blade for initial cuts. I made a special back fence that closes up the gap to within the width of the blade.
 
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Fish30114

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Great feedback folks--well I don't have space for a table saw, so I guess it's a new blade for the Miter Saw. I will be getting a metal cutting bandsaw that's wood capable after the 1st of the year, so maybe that may get a try as well.
I went to the fiber blade for thin-ness as I mentioned, but also a little bit because of the cost of something like a Freud thin kerf blade. Any recommendations on a less expensive blade with a really thin kerf?
My miter saw is a 10" with a 5/8 arbor.
 
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DLGunn

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Are you just cutting to them to length? Of are you doing some segmenting? I am confused by the need for the thin kerf.

Also, as mentioned, a hand saw and a miter box is very easy to use. That is what I use when I make cuts for segmented blanks.
 
Talfalfa33

Talfalfa33

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I have a small 6 inch metal chop saw that I run a 6 1/2 inch diablo 24 tooth blade. I also fabricated a tube length gauge with stop for cutting the blanks 1/16 longer than the tube.
 

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Cmiles1985

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On my table saw, I use an Irwin 60T thin kerf blade. It was about $40, and worth every penny. With any saw, it's the blade that makes it. I would imagine that the Freud blades are substantially better, but you're going to pay...
 
jttheclockman

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Fish30114 said:
Just what the title says, how do ya'll cut your blanks? I have been using my power miter saw with a fiber blade, but that blade deflects and I get a wonky cut on the blank. I went to the fiber blade for the thinner kerf-just wondering what others are doing to get a precise clean cut on their blanks.

Thanks for any feedback/advice.
Click to expand...


Had to jump in on this. I stopped by the site to answer a PM and took a look around while I was here to see what was going on and noticed this thread. Like some times misinformation gets posted or incomplete info gets passed on. Well Don the question you started asking is one of those that if you ask 100 people you would get 100 different answers so not sure how this helps you. But with that said let me add a few things and also point a few things out.

First it does not matter one little bit what you use to cut your blank as long as it cuts. You can use a bandsaw, table saw, scrollsaw, miter saw, knife, hand saw. The thing to be aware of is you have enough material to make the kit you are doing and the lengths vary. But when cut and drilled and glued to the tube each and every blank needs to be trued on the ends to the tube. Now how close to the exact tube length you make it is again subjective. Everyone has their own method of trueing the ends but again I will say this every and I mean every blank needs to be trued.

Now we are not getting into segmenting because that is a whole other topic and not what you asked. So using a thin kerf blade is not a necessity. A carbide blade is not a necessity, a metal blade is not a necessity and so forth. Use the proper blade for the tool being used. I read people talk about using mitersaws, well info that is left out is you should use the proper blade designed for mitersaws and that is not the same as a tablesaw blade. These blades have a negative hook to them which prevents climb when using a mitersaw. You do not want to use that blade on a tablesaw because you want the blade to push the material down on the saw and not up. Also mentioned using carbide bandsaw blades. Well to me that is a waste of money unless you are doing resawing. I use a carbide blade for resawing. I use a metal bandsaw blade for cutting nonferrous metals and also hard exotics. Alot cheaper than carbide. Again how many teeth are in the blade does not matter unless you are doing precision woodworking and cutting blanks is far from being precision. Now do not get me wrong some blanks are so tight to the exact lengths that a thin blade maybe necessary to maximize the blank. Have to make that call on your own.

You mentioned you are getting a metal cutting bandsaw. Are you talking about a Kalamazoo??? If so why??? A more useful bandsaw would be a wood cutting saw with a metal blade unless you are a plumber or electrician that needs to cut metal conduits and plumbing pipes. I won't go into brands because again a very subjective topic and again it depends on what you are using it to do.

As far as thin kerf blades go there is no thinner blade than the Diablo Demo Deamon. It is a 7-1/4" blade with 24 teeth. It is designed for the construction industry for ripping and demoing things. The blade is designed to cut thru metals and stay sharp. 1/16" kerf. Any Home Depot carries it for around $17. I use it for segmenting. It is not designed to be used on a mitersaw so do not try it. I use it on my tablesaw.

Hope this helps some and do not be afraid to check out he search feature here and you will see this question has been asked and answered many times and there may even be more info in there that might be helpful. Good luck and have a great day.
 
Sandsini

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I use a bandsaw with a home-made sled, however I am frustrated by the blade wander, which really limits its use to length cutting rather than segmenting. I think I will need to get a small table saw (space is a problem) to solve the segmenting issue.
 
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Fish30114

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Jttheclockman, I appreciate all feedback, I don't have a specific reason for wanting a thin kerf, just want to conserve as much blank as I can I suppose. My miter saw is a 10" with a 5/8" arbor so that diablo demo deamon won't cut it for me (pun intended) I am not into segmenting yet, so just cutting blanks to tube length then truing them up with a pen mill, which I am headed toward truing them up on the lathe used as a disc sander... I suppose at this point reading all the feedback, I just need tips on which 10" power miter saw blade I should be looking for.

The reason I am getting a metal cutting bandsaw (actually a variable speed) is because I am a developing knifemaker, so cutting steel is a necessity. The saw I am considering is wood & metal capable... so thanks everyone for the feedback, Oh and BTW I did try the search feature with several different wordings and was unable to find anything--I generally have poor luck with the search feature here. :rolleyes:
 
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jfoh

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To cut blanks to length I use a band saw with a jig to hold the wood and trim to perfect length plus 1/16". The extra amount can be easily adjusted but that works for me.

For segmenting I use my table saw with a series of jigs to make all the cuts as repeatable as possible. The jigs hold the wood, keep the blank aligned for the cut and most importantly my fingers out of the way. The devil is in the details as they say and in segmenting making every cut exactly like the last keeps all the lines and all the inserted segments exactly as they should be. My blade of choice is a 1/16" carbide blade that gives perfect cuts with no tear out. I set the cut to end 1/16" short of cutting the blank through. This keeps the blank from shifting when gluing the inserts. You just need to start out with a square blank and keep the blank square.

But to be honest you can cut a blank any way you want. Just keep your fingers out of the teeth and go slow. Easier to trim twice than to make a series of oops repairs.
 
79spitfire

79spitfire

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Sandsini said:
I use a bandsaw with a home-made sled, however I am frustrated by the blade wander, which really limits its use to length cutting rather than segmenting. I think I will need to get a small table saw (space is a problem) to solve the segmenting issue.
Click to expand...

I have a Ryobi band saw that has the same problem. It becomes more acute as the blade gets worn. When the blade is fresh and new it cuts nice and strait.
 
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ofd8001

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First, I'm a new guy to pen turning, so I'm still experimenting, but here is what works so far:

For two piece pens, I'll use a compound mitre saw to cut the blank in half. Then with a little jig I made appropriate for the style pen, I'll cut the halves to a closer size on the band saw.

Then I'll insert the tubes favoring the mitre saw end and finish them up with a barrel trimmer or rotary sander.

It's probably a little more work than necessary, but I'm happy with the results.
 
jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Fish30114 said:
Jttheclockman, I appreciate all feedback, I don't have a specific reason for wanting a thin kerf, just want to conserve as much blank as I can I suppose. My miter saw is a 10" with a 5/8" arbor so that diablo demo deamon won't cut it for me (pun intended) I am not into segmenting yet, so just cutting blanks to tube length then truing them up with a pen mill, which I am headed toward truing them up on the lathe used as a disc sander... I suppose at this point reading all the feedback, I just need tips on which 10" power miter saw blade I should be looking for.

The reason I am getting a metal cutting bandsaw (actually a variable speed) is because I am a developing knifemaker, so cutting steel is a necessity. The saw I am considering is wood & metal capable... so thanks everyone for the feedback, Oh and BTW I did try the search feature with several different wordings and was unable to find anything--I generally have poor luck with the search feature here. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Don

Let me first say and say it once again it does not, does not, does not, matter what blade you buy for cutting blanks.Blanks are small bits of wood. You do not need a perfect clean cut on the ends because again they will be milled and trued to the tube. So buying a precision blade for cutting blanks is a waste of money. tell me you are doing woodworking and other fine carpentry work then cuts do matter. Doing segmenting work you again would want a better quality blade. Buy any thin kerf blade that is designed for the type saw you have. All miter saws are not the same. A sliding miter saw is not the same as a fixed based saw so when people use general terms it is very difficult to answer questions. I get the wanting to conserve as much material as possible. If that is the case then use a bandsaw and stay away from a miter saw. The only thinner blade than a bandsaw blade is a scrollsaw blade. Here is a site that explains the different blades and their uses very well. Saw Blades 101 / Rockler How-to There would be too much info for me to type so I post a link. Makes good reading. By the way you can not go wrong with the Freud line of blades. Now you can get into many different types of blades for the different types of woodworking and you can spend lots and lots of money but you get what you pay for.

Again you talk about a metal cutting bandsaw but you did not answer my question if it is a Kalamazoo you are talking about or a typical bandsaw with a metal blade. Which to me would be the more logical saw to buy and more versatile. Cuttting metal on a wood bandsaw is nothing new. but they make strickly metal cutting bandsaws that cut at a slower rpm. Again the proper blade is needed as with all cutting tools.

As far as the search feature goes here, there are 2 ways of finding past threads. Use the Search box on the right side in the blue header or use the Google search on the left side of the page which is a more exact search tool.

Good luck in your search and happy tool shopping. We can never have enough tools.
 
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Fish30114

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Well, I am looking at a Grizzly metal and wood capable variable speed bandsaw. I'm several months out from that purchase though, so I will probably get a new blade for my Miter saw, it is a Delta 10" fixed position multiple angle capable power miter saw. It takes a 10" blade with a 5/8" arbor. So far I have been using a fiber blade, but this one is very thin (.040 thick) I think, and it deflects when going through a blank, so it is giving me wonky ends where I cut them off. I realize that this all gets sorted out when you use the pen-mill to square the blanks up to the tubes, it's just a peeve of mine, I like square cuts! I suppose I'll be trying a few different blades for the saw I own, until the band saw gets here.
 
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TonyL

TonyL

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Hi Don:

Assuming your question was: How do you cut your blanks?"

I use a miter saw with a carbide blade or a table saw with a carbide blade and sled equipped with hold-down clamps.

If you are asking: "What is the best way to cut blanks?" I don't know.

Thanks for asking your question; I enjoy learning how others do things.
 
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