Official Luthiers Forum!

David LaPlante mentioned the Proxxon circular saw in another thread recently, and it reminded me of another reason to buy one of these small circular saws.

If you own one, how do you like it?

And, what blades are most useful (or most useless) ? There are quite a few blades available, and though I tend to 'buy lots of spares', I don't want to waste money on blades I won't use.

Blade list below: (hasty copy&paste)

Thanks
John

28014 Crosscut blade "Super-Cut"
Ø 2 9/32" (58 mm), with 80 alternately set teeth. It is ideal for use on hard and soft wood, as well as plastic. For fast, clean cuts. Teeth are individually set and sharpened. Superior cutting power! $12.95
28011 Solid carbide saw blade
Ø 2" (50 mm), bore 13/32" (10 mm), 1/64" (0.5 mm) thick, fine toothed. The blade is ideal for cutting fiberglass sheets, non-ferrous metals, plastics and other "difficult" materials. $43.75

Carbide Tipped Circular Saw Blade 50mm
SKU: 28016
Ø 2" (50mm) x 1/32" (1mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), Coarse Toothed, 10 teeth.
Ideal for quickly cutting hard and soft woods, aluminum and circuit-boards.

Carbide Tipped Circular Saw Blade 50mm
SKU: 28017
Ø 2" (50mm) x 1/32" (1mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), Coarse Toothed, 20 teeth.
For extremely clean cuts of balsa, plywood. Can also be used for cutting PC cards and POLYCARBONATE

Carbide Tipped Circular Saw Blade 80mm
SKU: 28732
Ø 3-9/64" (80mm) x 1/16" (1.5mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), Fine Blade. 36 teeth.
Used for balsa, plywood, hard and soft woods, POLYCARBONATE, plastic, aluminum and PC boards.

Carbide Tipped Circular Saw Blade 80mm
SKU: 28734
Ø 3-9/64" (80mm) x 1/16" (1.6mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), Coarse Blade. 24 teeth.
For cutting difficult to separate materials as aluminum, hard wood, chipboard, fiberboard and plastics.
Price: $33.95

Crosscut Super-Cut Circular Saw Blade 85mm
SKU: 28731
Ø 3-11/32" (85mm) x 1/64" (0.5mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), Medium Blade. 80 teeth.
Ideal for use on hard and soft wood, as well as plastics
Price: $19.75

Diamond Coated Circular Saw Blade 50mm
SKU: 28012
Ø 2" (50mm), bore 13/32" (10mm), With 1/64" (0.5mm) layer of class "D107" diamond for cutting ceramics, as well as fiberglass sheets.
Price: $36.75

Diamond Coated Circular Saw Blade 85mm
SKU: 28735
Ø 3-11/32" (85mm) x 1/32" (0.7mm), bore 13/32" (10mm)
For clean cuts in ceramics and fiberglass reinforced plastics
Price: $63.95

HSS Circular Saw Blade 50mm
SKU: 28020
Ø 2" (50mm) x 1/64" (0.5mm) bore 13/32" (10mm), Fine Toothed, 100 teeth.
The blade is ideal for fine precision cuts in non-ferrous metal (aluminum, brass, copper), wood and plastic.
Price: $9.75

John,
Definitely get whichever Carbide tipped blades you like. I have the cross cut and rip blades (not sure of the numbers).
Also the diamond blade is great if you are working with shell. I've used it to cut shapes for both new projects as well as replicate missing inlays for antique guitar restorations.
As mentioned, the carbide blades will cut soft non-ferrous metals. My most exotic use was cutting bar fret stock from a .125" thick plate of nickel silver.

Just checked, they are the larger sized 28732 and 28734 blades.

I really didn't care for it. I ended up selling it on ebay. The motor just wasn't powerful enough for the density of hardwoods we use.

It is nicely made, but under powered IMO.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I've thought about buying that saw. There is a guy in the US. who makes a similar sized unit that the model makers speak highly of.

Thanks for the advice, folks. I appreciate it.

I did a bit more research - off in the modelmaking world...
There are two Proxxon 'table saws' - the cheaper one doesn't have blade height adjustment. (and it was the cheaper one @$120 that caught my eye initially.)
I also noticed a 'very similar' saw at MicroMark- 'MicroLux' brand, which is reputed to be the Proxxon with different paint.
Apparently the best of the bunch is the Byrnes, but it's getting up in the $500 range.
Maybe I should just save up for that hand-powered Bridge city saw (@1300)!

Cheers
John

Dremel used to make a little saw like the proxxon, now discontinued. It has an adjustable height blade.
They can sometimes be found in eBay for about $150, and Micromark carries a variety
of blades, drive belt, and some accessories. I've got one and like it alot.

_________________
Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

John,
I actually have both the cheaper Microlux saw (the 50mm blades are for this one) as well as the Proxxon which is essentially the same as the more expensive "Microlux" saw offered by Micromark.
I find both of these essential in the making of custom marquetry and inlay work for my guitars.
I use the smaller Microlux saw for sawing out rosette tiles where I want minimum loss due to kerf as well as stripping out marquetries which would simply shatter on anything bigger.
Thinking of the Proxxon as a substitute for a regular table saw misses the point I think of what this tool was designed to do, most commonly in the model making field, but quite adaptable for specific facets of guitar making.

Thanks, David- I appreciate the 'user advice'.
Have you (or anyone reading this) used either of these saws for ripping purfling/rosette-sized strips from fiber and/or veneer?

Cheers
John

Yes John, I've used the smaller Microlux saw (cheaper non-adjustable blade height) to strip out veneer for purfling.
Depending on the wood (Brazilian rosewood still tends to shatter) it works well. I don't use fiber at all but the toughness of that material would probably make it work quite well.
As for rosette sticks, I usually make veneer sandwiches for each of the color sequences in a purfling and then saw out strips to laminate up to make the "log" from which the tiles are cut.
Again the small microlux works well for this with a minimum of kerf.