New Concepts Jewel's Saw, WOW!!

[Joe Mendel]

I've made the decision to do more of my own inlay work, something I've always found awkward and frustrating. I've avoided it as long as possible, but finally decided to dive in. The saws I've used in the past are the standard Stew Mac type, they are OK, but recently on the ukulele underground forum this saw from New Concepts was suggested http://www.knewconcepts.com/3-inch.php#

What a difference!! It's like a generic mandolin compared to a fine custom one, both can make music, but one makes making music a joy. It's as big a difference as cutting with a dull bandsaw blade and then putting on a really good quality, brand new blade.
I haven't done any for real inlay with it yet, just practice cuts, but it feels so much better while cutting, it's actually enjoyable. As one of the guys over there said, "a good tool hurts when you buy it but a bad tool hurts every time you use it."

Here's the thread on the ukuleleunderground:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/fo...y-Artists-only

[Kerry Krishna]

Joe, What a great find! I hope the designer does really well with sales with it.
You know something I am always puzzled about are folks like the '--------' guy. He only has the second post on the thread, he has hardly read the first post, yet he dismisses every single thing about it.

" It costs money. What I have works fine. I will keep my money."

There are folks here on this Forum do that too ( RE the Tonerite threads) and in a hundred years, I will not understand. Being close minded is one thing, but I'll tell you something. If someone gave him one at no charge, he would be using it all the time AND be happy about it too. Speaking as an 'openminded' guy, it seems like a terrific tool, and I will be buying one sometime in the next year.

[Dobe]

Nice looking saws; Thanks for the UU thread link Joe-stumbled onto some pretty awsome Uke eyecandy here:

http://www.moorebettahukes.com/GALLERY.html

Give it a minute to load.

[sunburst]

" It costs money. What I have works fine. I will keep my money."

Seriously, it looks like a good tool, but I like the two best ones I have (one antique, one from a jeweler's supply) well enough to just keep using them. A good blade under proper tension is the important thing, and that frame looks like it is more than up to the job.

[mcgeorgerl]

I came across the Knew saws a couple of years ago at woodworking show in Newport, Kentucky. Granted this show was a bit upscale... need a custom made $3500 hand plane anyone?

Lee had only single table with two saws, some brochures and a demo frame that he would challenge people to flex. I thought I got a good deal when I bought the common German made adjustable version for about $10 but when I tried the Knew saw I knew (no pun intended) the German one would never again see the light of day. Honestly, I can't tell you where it's at right now.

The Knew saw is light as a feather and very well balanced. Blade changes are a snap. At the time Lee didn't offer a titanium one in the size I wanted so I ordered the aluminum version. This isn't your average pop-can aluminum either, it's the high dollar aerospace stuff. I think he now offers a handle upgrade from the file handle type to a silky smooth laminated handle.

So if you're tired of cutting inlay with one of those heavy steel jobs, try a Knew. You'll won't be sorry. And if you ever get a chance, talk with Lee... he's a hoot for an old coot.

[Tony Francis]

Not to sound curmudgeon like, but I recently had a private lesson of sorts with a local boutique custom jeweler. We were talking about tools, and when she saw my jewelers saw frames asked about them. I said had the basic type and could never get that to work, so pursued the internet until I found a beautiful antique German saw with a rabbit ear blade tension.

I was quite proud of myself, but she looked less than impressed. She said "if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't need the tension". Ouch! According to her traditional training, the saw frame is pressed into ones chest, bending the frame. The blade is inserted, and when the frame released tensioned perfectly to pitch.

I also had a lesson in correct sawing technique and bench pin design.

So anyway, what I am saying is that after looking for a better mousetrap, had a revelation of sorts when being showed how to correctly use my old mousetrap.

[Bernie Daniel]

I've made the decision to do more of my own inlay work, something I've always found awkward and frustrating. I've avoided it as long as possible, but finally decided to dive in. The saws I've used in the past are the standard Stew Mac type, they are OK, but recently on the ukulele underground forum this saw from New Concepts was suggested http://www.knewconcepts.com/3-inch.php#

What a difference!! It's like a generic mandolin compared to a fine custom one, both can make music, but one makes making music a joy. It's as big a difference as cutting with a dull bandsaw blade and then putting on a really good quality, brand new blade.
I haven't done any for real inlay with it yet, just practice cuts, but it feels so much better while cutting, it's actually enjoyable. As one of the guys over there said, "a good tool hurts when you buy it but a bad tool hurts every time you use it."

Here's the thread on the ukuleleunderground:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/fo...y-Artists-only

Did you buy just the "plain" ($47) one with screw tension or go one with either or both of the added features?

[Joe Mendel]

I went all the way with the cam lever and swivel. I think I'll be glad I did.

[slausonm]

...She said "if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't need the tension". Ouch! According to her traditional training, the saw frame is pressed into ones chest, bending the frame. The blade is inserted, and when the frame released tensioned perfectly to pitch...

I was trained in the field of band instrument repair, where we use these saws to make instrument keys in brass, nickel and silver, as well as cut steel rods. This is the technique we used to install blades. I always use my hip bone though and not my chest. Also, it should be noted that the teeth in the blade point towards you, not away. I've seen many saws in shops installed incorrectly! Never had any issues with my 25 year old $10 German made saw.

[John Morton]

The mounted version of this is similar to the die filer, a machine shop tool most commonly used to file inside corners on metal parts.
http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/pr...ategoryID=9116
The files come in square, half-round, round, etc., are held only at the lower end and cut on the downstroke. The overarm has an adjustable press foot to hold down the workpiece for filing. The sawblades work as with the Knew unit, but the upper spring/slide is designed for 1/4" wide hacksaw blades. Used machines are out there, with potential for modification. Search for images of "die filer" and you will see many home made models also.

[Ben Milne]

Out of interest, What size blades are generally used for inlay work? (I imagine it's on the larger end of the scale since we're not dealing with wa$tage i$$ues like Jewellers do).

[sunburst]

Different people like different blades. I like sort of medium small blades; 3/0. For me it is a good compromise between speed, smoothness, blade life, and control. I also have some 6/0 that I hardly ever use, and some size 1 that I use for rough work, not for inlays. Some people like bigger blades because they are faster, some people like smaller blades because they are faster... obviously different people get different results. Generally, larger blades take more force to cut, smaller blades are harder to "steer", somewhere in between most people can find what works for them. Also, some inlay techniques call for saw cuts to be used as lines in the design. In those cases, the blade size determines the line width so the blade is chosen accordingly.

[Tony Francis]

As John mentions, Jewelers blades are graded from 2/0 up to 8/0. The 2/0 is what they teach with at community colleges, but most craftspeople seem to use about a 4/0 or 5/0. They are cheap, buy a doz of each and see what you prefer. I do fairly basic inlay, disc sanded to final shape, so the coarser blades work for me. What works best will depend on what you do.

[sunburst]

Actually, they go from #14 or so down to #1, then continue from 1/0 to 8/0, getting smaller all the way.

[Ben Milne]

Thanks John. I guess one would move onto rifflers and needles from there...

Nice Looking saw, I guess the webbed frame design probably means more stability and less wobble though the tensioning feature is probably required as the old school lean-on-it-and-tighten method mightn't work so well.

[Paul Hostetter]

I use mostly 4/0 for fine work and Ought for cutting wood and bone and so on. I trained as a goldsmith and got pretty good with a standard German jeweler's saw, like Tony's friend describes, a long time ago.



The 'knewconcepts" one looks sweet, but largely unnecessary.

My usual is 3" but I have two deeper frames for special jobs. And I'm a bit of a fanatic about Rio Grande's laser gold blades.