I'll be using them for some miniature wood working so it's on topic.
Anyone have an opinion on their power tools, particularly their table saw and drill press?
I'm looking for some tools to use for some model/slot car track building.
Got a full sized saw and bench mount drill press now, wondering if the MicroMark stuff is worth getting.
Or another brand for that matter.
Thanks
John Emmons
"when hatred calls with his package, refuse delivery..."
Make zero-clearance inserts and pick up the right blades, and the full size stuff will probably be much better.
"John Emmons" wrote in news:vBz1f.388467 $ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:
Depends on what you want to do. If you're working at the size and precision that calls for a miniature saw, nothing else will do. Having said that, if I were going to buy a miniature saw it would be either a preac or a byrnes with byrnes being the preferred by far. It's clearly the best of its' breed.
I don't know, I'll be working with 1:32 scale stuff, even the width of the table saw blade is pretty big when you're making scale buildings. For that matter, the material I'd lose in the kerf adds up when you're working with really small stock...:^)
I'm mainly interested in the drill press. I do a fair amount of work with small hobby stuff and my bench top press is too clumsy.
I've thought about trying one of the Dremel drill presses and one of their rotary tools too.
Thanks for your comment.
John
the minimill is supposed to be a good tool. get the r8 version if you can.
if I had a full size drill press I'd get a quality small chuck for it before I'd get a bench drill press.
if the point of the mini saw is to get the thin kerf, consider hand tools.
I have quite the array of dremel attachments, to include the drill press, router table, etc...
For most cutting I use my regular table saw, mitre saw, etc. I use a 1/2" strip sander for detail sanding as well as the PC hand held detail sander.
I too considered a small table saw but found that most cuts can be accomplished with a regular table saw, detail work I use my dremel for detail lines with the router table.
Jon
There are some very thin kerf TS blades.
My comment comes from experience preparing basswood, maple, balsa, and spruce stock for model airplanes and model railroads, and my past experience with "mini" tools. If it's thin enough, I'd stick with a knife and straight edge, or "stripper" for very small strips. Small MDF sleds will make full size table an band saws safer and much more precise with small parts.
You can make auxiliary tables, fences, and hold downs from MDF for the drill press that will make it wonderful for precise work. Of course, it needs to be a GOOD drill press to start with.
If you can, check out the show "Mythbusters" on Discover Channel. The shop where the show is filmed is actually a toy, puppet, and robot prototype shop. Notice that you don't see "mini" tools.
I've spent a lot of money on mini tools only to replace them with "real" tools. I'd love to help others avoid the same mistakes.
I can personally comment on the Micro-Mark table saw (Microlux model). I have used mine for over 6 years with zero problems and find it to be a real jewel, very well built and extremely accurate. I have designed and built many helpful accessories, ..... table sled, outfeed extension, fence enlarger/extender, straddle push block, enlarged crosscut guides and a few other goodies. I use carbide tipped blades most of the time but have others as thin as .020 in. I also have a neat conical faced sanding disc for extra-fine finish esp, on plywood. The biggest drawback (for me) is the limitation of distance from blade to fence but I'm working on a design for rails to increase that capacity. It' a fine machine for small, precision modeling. I have no knowledge of their drill press since I use a Sherline milling/drilling machine with it's X-Y table for my precision work, but if M-M's drill press follows the saw's quality and performance, it too is a winner. Larry Simon
One unfortunate aspect to working with quality micro power tools as a whole is . . . if you get a good one, it will cost almost as much as the larger counterparts. I've being working in scale for a while now and truly appreciate "real" precision tools. I've read about "Proxxon" tools for a while but never had one in my hands until the other day at the "Woodcraft" store; they had a drill press, the x y table, and something else on display. The drill press felt tight and had some heft to it considering its size and had a deep reach, again for scale work (cost around $130+/-???). I ended up taking home the x y table for now, and of course 3 more chisels and 4 & 4 Bessie's. When working with #50-#80 HS bits . . . a 1/64" drift or off center would be like setting a drawer knob (full size) off center by 1-1/2". A good comparison between a quality micro drill press and a dremel hobby DP, would be the same degree of precision you can expect from strapping you hand drill into one of those $19.99 holders and a real DP. For many projects in scale . . . the eye won't even notice, that or it will stand out like a turd in a punch bowl.
For general small holes, say 3/32 to 1/16" and where it won't matter if you are off by 1/128" to 1/16" . . . save your money. Or, if you are not going to drill that many holes and you still want some precision, get a pin vice or a Yankee Screwdriver Drill (Excel Blades has a good ones and are inexpensive).
Without really knowing what you are going to cut on the table saw, the other posts sounds link your best bet . . . a zero clearance insert and a thin kerf blade. If you want to trim out the dash board of a scale car, go for a quality micro saw.
A truly decent scale table saw will set you back around $375 to $450. Cheapies run around $150 to $200 and are good for only the most general of scale work.
I hope this was of some help. I do not have any connection with any of these companies for the record. If you want any more info or direction to look toward, let me know.
Patrick
Support your local Science Olympiad team and future engineer or scientist, build-n-bust a bridge this weekend.
"John Emmons" wrote in message news:vBz1f.388467$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
for very thin kerf cutting consider a jig saw. the machine isn't all that big, it has a real motor and a decent size table, it will probably cost you less to get a nice jig saw than it will to get a halfway decent mini table saw (economy of scale of manufacruer), and you will have a lot more choice of models and accessories.
You've probably never worked with small-scale stuff. 1/16" thick wood is moderately thick! 1/32 and 1/64 are not uncommon.
I own a RAS with several thin-kerf blades and a band saw, but when I want to start slicing up basswood sheets, I still run for the Dremel Table Saw. It's just the right tool because it's built to scale of the stuff being worked on it. Similar comments apply to the full-sized drill press and the Dremel Drill Press Table.
Norm
the answer is... sometimes.
full size drill presses scale down pretty well. the extra table space and quill travel are nice, and high quality chucks are available with the same morse/jacobs or r8 tapers as the big ones. the only thing a full size drill press may not do as well as a tabletop one is high rpms. the extra mass and stability is always a good thing.
Sure I have! Ever try a sharp Xacto #2 and steel straightedge? I've used plenty of 1/32" and 1/64" mahogany ply, balsa, and basswood as airplane sheeting.
The same went for the sheet styrene and bristol board I've built architectural and railroad structures with. The ruler and knife is accurate and extremely fast. Duplicates simply use the first part as a pattern to set the straight edge on the next part.
Most of the airplane parts were for compound curves, for fairings, fillets, etc... They couldn't be cut on a table saw anyway.
A trick with the knife on very thin wood is to mind the grain to prevent splitting.
Barry
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