Proxxon or Byrne's machines? Help me choose!

[Amihai]

Hello,
I'm debating between some Proxxon equipment and Byrne's model machines (or maybe something else?). Hope any of you with experience can help!

I plan to do mainly segmenting and other complex small work of that kind.

Proxxon FET table saw or the Byrne's one? The proxxon has a tilting arbor and is significantly cheaper. Little concerned with the 80mm (3") blades compared to Byrne's 4" ones. Will the 3" blades be able to cut reasonable thickness of stock?

Proxxon 125E disc sander or Byrne's 5" disc sander? The proxxon is cheaper and has variable speed. I'm little concerned about the build quality. Can you achieve reasonable repeatability in angles with it?

Proxxon DH40 thicknesser (which actually uses blades, not sanding rolls) or Byrne's thickness sander? The proxxon is (surprisingly) more expensive and seems little too coarse (min. achievable Thickness of 3mm) but has power feed. The Byrne's thickness sander can go as thin as 0.0X mm. Did any of you actually needed to go that thin on your segmenting work? Also the thicknesser + the little less capable table saw may actually be a good combo? (Just quickly reduce the thickness of the stock and go to the table saw)?

Also keep in mind that the proxxon I can get with much less shipping costs and import fees. So overall cost is quite significantly cheaper. That includes replacement parts, blades and so on. Many thanks!

 

[wolf creek knives]

I use the Byrne's thickness sander for my knife making. Now all of my scales are the same thickness and it's been a big labor saver for me. I like the sander because it does a great job, it's super easy to change the sandpaper rolls and the sandpaper is a lot cheaper than replacing or having to have the blades sharpened. A big plus for me is I can't cut my fingers when replacing the sandpaper (I'm a bit clumsy at times). I've got scars on my hands from changing blades on my planers. The Byrne's fits easily under my workbench out of the way and maybe takes up 1 square foot of space. Plus it's easy to adapt a dust collection system and it's a lot quieter than my larger thickness planers. Hope this helps and I hope you get the info you're looking for.

 

[jttheclockman]

Well I will weigh in on this topic but am sure there are others than can speak on this with more knowledge. I for the longest time and still to this day am of the believe that any size cutting can be done on a full size tablesaw just as well and probably better with the proper jigs and care to avoid blade. Just because the blade on those model tablesaws are small they can hurt you just as fast and probably faster because there is little safety equipment on them . The disc sander is a waste of money in my opinion because you can get a larger one for lots less $$ and do the exact same thing. Accuracy on those is easily adjusted no matter what unit you get. The drum sander is intriguing because of the size and ease of use as opposed to a large one. With a large unit you need to make carrying sleds and things like that for small pieces. So that is nice to have. Can you do without, absolutely. To me these tools are wish I had tools and not I need them to do small work or segmenting.

Now comparing the tools both have advantages. I swore off the Byrnes tablesaw because it did not have a tilting arbor and in fact I wrote the owner and told him he can easily adapt his but his answer was that extra table you need if doing beveled cuts. The Byrnes tools are WELL built and for the modeler in mind when he designed them. The depth of cut can be a situation. . Max with blade at 90 degrees is about 15/16" just shy of 1". Then it decreases with the amount of bevel you want. That is a call only you can make. Now I would never buy these tools at the price he wants. (that is me) But I put a want to buy on a couple woodworking sites just to see if there were any people who wanted to unload theirs. Long and behold I did find the thickness sander and tablesaw with all the bells and whistles except the micro adjuster. for less than half their price so had to jump on it. The shipping was alot less than what he wanted too. Now I played with them a little since I got them but never put into actual action. I have a rolling cart they are set up on along with a Festool shop vac that sits underneath so everything is right there. Will I ever use them who knows but I can say I have Byrnes tools.

I know this does not answer your question but thought I would mention I had 2 of the tools you are after. Good luck.

 

[mark james]

I'm a strong fan of the Byrnes machines. I have the table saw and the thickness sander, and for small segmenting I would buy them again without hesitation.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

I'm a strong fan of the Byrnes machines. I have the table saw and the thickness sander, and for small segmenting I would buy them again without hesitation.

Does the Byrne's mini table saw handle all hard woods? Does it cut up to the 15/16 point you need to even segmenting for some designs? I have been wondering about how powerful these little machines are, whether they could handle hard woods up to an inchthick.

 

[hooked]

Does the Byrne's mini table saw handle all hard woods? Does it cut up to the 15/16 point you need to even segmenting for some designs? I have been wondering about how powerful these little machines are, whether they could handle hard woods up to an inchthick.

I have the Byrnes saw. I use a 4 3/8 Diablo 36T trim saw blade (Jim Byrnes suggestion), and Jim Byrnes sent me a bushing for the arbor to fit the blade. I can cut 1 3/16" with that blade. The Byrnes is powerful and has cut anything I have put through it very easily.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

I have the Byrnes saw. I use a 4 3/8 Diablo 36T trim saw blade (Jim Byrnes suggestion), and Jim Byrnes sent me a bushing for the arbor to fit the blade. I can cut 1 3/16" with that blade. The Byrnes is powerful and has cut anything I have put through it very easily.

Do you have th 12" saw then?

 

[hooked]

Do you have th 12" saw then?

The 12" table, yes. The saw is the same for the 12 and 18". The difference is the surface size.

 

[Darios]

I've a Byrnes and I'm a fan, though I don't have experience with the Proxxon to be able to do an fair comparison.

Looking at the Proxxon video it does have the advantage on the Byrnes in that the blade can be rotated up to 45 degrees. It takes an add on that's somewhat awkward to use (at least for me) to get the same effect on the Byrnes.

Sticker shock is a bit of an eyebrow raiser but having bought 'starter' gear only to have to replace it with better options down the road I opted for a buy-once-cry-once approach.
Shipping was expensive but it was well packaged. That shipping cost had a bit of an upsell effect for Byrnes as I just went @$@! it and bought all the accessories at the time of purchase.

That one inch cut max with Byrnes 4" blades is a bit of an issue, as well as the need to keep on working with multiple types of tiny screws to swap out plates is annoying. I think a 3" blade would drive me insane.

Power wise it's handled everything I've tossed at it - wood and acryllics mostly - and one of the blades you ended up having to cut through an aluminum plate to create a near-zero clearance on either side of the blade.

The winning argument for me is that I can consistently create segments like below. That dark spot in the center if where CA has come through the wood from the bottom.

 

[Darios]

I have the Byrnes saw. I use a 4 3/8 Diablo 36T trim saw blade (Jim Byrnes suggestion), and Jim Byrnes sent me a bushing for the arbor to fit the blade. I can cut 1 3/16" with that blade. The Byrnes is powerful and has cut anything I have put through it very easily.

Annnnnnd knowing is half the battle. I'll be bookmarking this and reaching out to Jim shortly. Thank you

 

[mark james]

Does the Byrne's mini table saw handle all hard woods? Does it cut up to the 15/16 point you need to even segmenting for some designs? I have been wondering about how powerful these little machines are, whether they could handle hard woods up to an inchthick.

As Hooked indicated, the blade can be easily modified for slightly thicker materials. I do not have those modifications, so I will get bust to get those!!!

My experience only... I have stalled out the motor/blade with 3/4" sticky/oily blanks (Teak, Bubinga, Olivewood, etc). But it has not been a nuisance; all machinery takes a learning curve and some tweaking IMO. I have used the saw extensively for thin stock, for small segmenting as well as 1" thick assembled segmented blocks that needed to be sliced. One positive thought; I have made many chevron blanks that I need to cut thin strips, with many small joint lines. The Byrnes Table Saw did very precise cuts without splattering the segment.

Not trying to hijack your thread with photos, but a few pickies are helpful. The last two photos are of me cutting segmented slices, and using a shop-vac suction to draw it to the side after it is cut vs it getting sucked and destroyed in the blade. Gotta love jigs!! .

 

[jttheclockman]

I have the Byrnes saw. I use a 4 3/8 Diablo 36T trim saw blade (Jim Byrnes suggestion), and Jim Byrnes sent me a bushing for the arbor to fit the blade. I can cut 1 3/16" with that blade. The Byrnes is powerful and has cut anything I have put through it very easily.

Did not know this. Good to know.

I too have the 12" saw. Any add-on is money toward total. You will see you would want different blades. The whole big advantage to these tools is the thickness of cuts because of the thin kerf. I will say it again safety with using these is uttmost. There is no riving knife. There is no hold down clamps so again sleds or devices maybe needed to get accurate cuts all the time. Kickbacks can still happen. Pushblocks are still needed. You will be making jigs for it I would be confident to say depending on what you want to do. The motor is plenty powerful to spin that thin of a blade and dry wood. These saws were designed for model building which basically was balsa wood. Good luck and if you do get the tools put up a photo. PS if buying the sander look at both models and read the difference between them. It may have a value to you to step up to the luthier.

 

[MRDucks2]

While I have only played with them I have the Proxon table saw (slightly older version) and the thickness sander.

Oddly, I am a bit more fearful of the tiny table saw than I am my Laguna F2. I am sure it is partially a familiarity thing. But, it does work nicely for its size. Planned to set up for my wife for her craft and jewelry stuff, as soon as I can figure a couple of ways to make it a little safer, for my sake. She loves it.

The Byrnes Thickness Sander is quite amazing. Again, bought it for her work but I will be using this one myself.

 

[TonyL]

I own the Byrnes table saw with all of the trimmings (sled, extensions, micrometer, extra fine blades etc.) and enjoy it very much. I do wish it had a 1" depth of cut, but I can live without it and knew about that "limitation" before purchasing it. I also have a portable TS with a sled that I created and used a very thin kerf blade..it had served be well and I can still use it, but enjoy the small foot of the Byrnes saw and its ability to make very thin cuts. It is also out all of the time and makes it easier to use more often. I have a smaller (3 -400 sqft shop) with 5 lathes, so I like the small footprint is nice in my case.

I do not own a Proxxon TS, but did look into it and was close to buying it. I forget the reason for deciding on the Byrnes. I do own the Proxxon miter saw (I know it is not a substitute for the TS), but I think their products are also very good. I would check the specs, the area that it will sit and budget and move on from there. Just one guy's opinion, Funny, I was just visiting the Byrne's site b/c I was itching for a new tool. Byrne's support is also very good. It is assembled in the USA (FL?) and well-made, but not all parts are manufactured here. Enjoy and you next purchase.

 

[TonyL]

Oh yeah, to JT's point, and Mark's warning (I called him when it arrived), upon my first cut I literally almost cut-off my thumb (really should have gotten stiches, but didn't want to frighten my wife) and the the cut stock does shoot back at very high speeds. However, I am not nearly as skilled with a TS as most of the members here are.

 

[TonyL]

I have the Byrnes saw. I use a 4 3/8 Diablo 36T trim saw blade (Jim Byrnes suggestion), and Jim Byrnes sent me a bushing for the arbor to fit the blade. I can cut 1 3/16" with that blade. The Byrnes is powerful and has cut anything I have put through it very easily.

I didn't know about that. I need to call Jim and order the bushing. Thank you.

 

[hooked]

I didn't know about that. I need to call Jim and order the bushing. Thank you.

Just to warn, it will modify the aluminum table the first time you use the blade. Jim told me this would happen, so I was expecting it. You may not expect it when you use it for the first time. You can see in the picture below, that it will cut a small slit into the saw table and extend the zero clearance.

 

[TonyL]

Just to warn, it will modify the aluminum table the first time you use the blade. Jim told me this would happen, so I was expecting it. You may not expect it when you use it for the first time. You can see in the picture below, that it will cut a small slit into the saw table and extend the zero clearance.

View attachment 348593

View attachment 348594

thanks for the heads up!

 

[KenB259]

Seems like the smart move for the manufacturer would be to lengthen the slot and table insert to accommodate ready available blades.