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This is a mini-miter saw that I got from Harbor Freight for about $25. I used it for cutting small items, such as bone nuts, saddles, etc. Thought that I would give it a try for mitering curved abalone pieces for rosettes. It worked great!

hey, thats really cool man. i havent had much luck with anything other than sanding by hand. did you have any delamination of the shell? thanks for sharing.

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sweat the small stuff.

It's got a pretty fine toothed blade on it, so it wasn't a problem. I mitered 300 pieces and only had a couple that delaminated at the end. Even then, I was able to glue those two pieces back together and use them.

todd, thanks for the pic. that is exactly the method i use, but i use a sanding block instead of a file. the file would probably be the better choice, but it worked fine for me.

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sweat the small stuff.

Heath,
If you do try the miter saw, make sure that the rosette channel supports the shell on both sides of the cut. Since the kerf cut in the rosette channel matches the saw blade width, it's less likely to chip out.

I have a cheaply made from scraps rig something like Todds, but use it on the disc sander with a 280 disc on ... works like a charm, and it FAST ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I use a jig like Todd but use my Dremel with an abrasive wheel in it. Works real fast!

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA