Byrnes model machines

Anyone with experience with the Byrnes Model machines..??? I'm most interested in the thickness sander, but info on the saw would be great too..thanks

There has been several posts in the past few weeks on this -

Click here
and here,
and one more time here.

There are other posts about it. Just do a search for "Byrnes" without the quotes.

thanks Lee..I read those..as I said I'd like to know about anyone using the thickness sander..anyone have one & use it? Advantages, disadvantages? I sent Mr Byrnes a question about the shortest length one could send thru, but have no answer as yet..as for the table saw, I'd like to hear peopl'es experiences good & bad

The Byrnes site has reviews written by ship modelers you may want to read. They went into a lot of detail on the use and functionality.

I've owned the mini table saw for several years now, it's one of my favorite tools in the shop. The saw will cut through 5/8 dense hardwood like butter, it is especially great for segmenting. PM me and I'll give you my PH number to discuss if your really interested, Jim made a few minor custom changes to mine.

Man that is a cool little machine!

Bit of a gulp on the price as I only paid $400 for the 18" Grizzly!

I have all three Byrnes machines. All very worthy and useful additions.

I have the table saw and based on it, I ordered the disk sander about two weeks ago. It is supposed to arrive Monday. I am sure the thickness sander is very high quality like the saw. The only negative comment I can think to say about the Byrnes machines is, In my opinion, Pens are pushing the envelope for the size of material you can work with, so if you ever want to make something bigger I don't think they will work well. But, I really love the table saw. It has allowed me to make things that I would never have been able to do on another power tool. I can't wait to get the disk sander and see what that can do for my pen making.

No question. Pens are probably the biggest thing you can do with these. They were intended for people who build hyper-accurate scale-model USS Constitution type sailing vessels from scratch. So there's a lot of thin plank ripping and angle cutting and all of it on wood which the saw handles easily. Plastics are another matter, but only a little.

With a little inventiveness you can expand the saw's capabilities and the best part is you have the saw to make the precision jigs to do just that. I think the results speak for themselves.

thanks all..appreciate the info & thanks Kaspar for your help also..I decided the thickness sander will wait..it does not have an auto pass thru & must be pushed..small pieces would have to go on a carrier board, just like my big sander..so not in a hurry there..but the saw & disc are calling my name

I've had a need for a small thickness sander for sometime now, I currently use a large one with the feed but it does'nt have the micro tolerance I would like to achieve with small pieces. After reading this thread from day one and pondering over a few days I bit the wallet & ordered the Byrnes Thickness Sander last night. It usually take a couple weeks before it will arrive, if the quality is anything like the table saw, I'll be very pleased and my products will improve. I'll post a review when it arrives and run a few projects on it.

mickr said:

thanks all..appreciate the info & thanks Kaspar for your help also..I decided the thickness sander will wait..

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Just FYI, here's a post from another thread on this topic:

Kaspar said:

I just got [the Thickness Sander] a few days ago - which completes my troika of Brynes Machines. Both Byrnes sanders are more for fine tuning pieces rather than heavy stock removal. The compound miter on the disk sander is very, very useful for creating certain effects.

The thickness sander is excellent for getting uniform thickness on small pieces, which is an absolute must for complicated segmentations. It's also great for leveling off veneer strips that the Brynes Saw doesn't quite nail to my satisfaction. The Byrnes Saw is very powerful and brittle acrylics get eaten up between the blade and the rip fence if you try to get too thin. With the thickness sander, I successfully achieved a .008 thickness on a piece of black onyx that the saw destroys past .03 thickness. (I used the method where you glue the strip at each end to a piece of wood, run it through carefully, then debond it.) A piece of paper is .004 thickness and I think it could get to that, if needed.

Another great use for this sander is the creation of custom "pickguard" laminates, and also for getting that last 5% of accuracy in squaring up blanks for drilling on the lathe.

It's a worthy addition.

Click to expand...

If your current sander can do all that, then you don't even need the Byrnes Thickness Sander. But if not, definitely keep it in mind.

Man, I feel like "Bob" in the Enzyte commercial!!! Can't wait to try it out!!!!

Thanks for posting the mini review Kaspar.

UGH..I just get figured what I will do and choose based on $ and perceived need for what I wish to accomplish and you guys keep telling me I need all three...UGH UGH ..in the long run I will probably succumb to "getting it all" , but I may have to decide by most useful first and get the rest later..appreciate all the imput..

I have very little space for this sort of thing and these machines have been excellent for me.

The saw is the obvious first choice. It is very precise, powerful, durable and useful. Small footprint, reasonably quiet.

On my view, the main selling point for the disk sander is the compound miter table. There are lots of great effects you can get with those compound angles, and it's useful for cleaning up an angle cut the saw didn't quite nail (note: usually that's my fault, not the saw's - although it is time for a new blade. I've cut a lot of trustone, and the saw can handle it easily, but the blades will wear out faster.)

I did not initially think I would need the thickness sander. I began to lust for it only after doing many pens, and coming to realization of how much easier segmented pens would go together with perfect parts, especially long, thin veneers. On this pen, I had to use ebony wood to get uniform black lines. I now have an order for one of those zebra pens, and this one will be all acrylic, using onyx in place of the ebony.

Get those pieces perfect every time, and your segments glue up much easier as well. Without that degree of accuracy, your segmented pens will be the sum of its pieces' imperfections. Most folks might not notice, but your fellow penturners might.

It's probably a good idea to commit to getting a tool only after you have "a felt need" for what it can do. Otherwise, you might shell out a lot of money for something that will disappoint you.

Having been so effusive in my praise, I probably should mention the one problem I found in the saw. It is no small thing, either. The Blade Safety Cover is, in my opinion, a bit of a weakness. For one thing, both the cover and the armature get in the way when cutting long and / or thick pieces. For another, the whole arrangement strikes me as a bit flimsy in construction. Make sure you keep its bolts tightened up. I wouldn't take much loss of alignment before the saw blade knocks it right off the saw.

I have actually gone so far as to remove mine, while instituting a rigorously followed safety regimen where that is concerned. "Safe-ing the Saw" I calls it: I never leave the saw running for a moment longer than necessary. I may wear out the switch, but I like having all my fingers. And if I leave the saw for even a moment, I drop the blade down into the saw. I am a blood donor, but I prefer the donation to be a controlled and beneficent process, done at a time of my own choosing.

One other thing I learned quite recently:

When I used the big blade only and I needed to make a shallow angle cut on a small piece for a segmented pen, I had to find a way to clamp it. The big blades (24 or 36 tooth) is are aggressive and the saw so powerful, that they may pull on your piece, screw up your length and mess up the cut, as well.

In this regard, the slitting blades are your very best friends.

Yes.

They are.

Use the "big" blade for big cuts, but for any segmented pieces under .5" inch (the slitting blade max clearance is .475") that needs to be super clean, esp. shallow angle cuts, the slitting blades ...well, they're like a good assassin; you don't even feel the knife go in.