Titivating a miniature chop saw

[mklotz]

I use this miniature chop saw often while building models. I added two improvements to it that make it easier to use.

As built, there is no indicator to show where the blade will touch down on the material being sawn. Trying to hold your head flat on the bench and squinting under the descending saw is at best uncomfortable and looks damn silly. My fix was to cement a thin strip of wood to the fixed jaw of the vise; once dry I simply dropped the saw and cut it off. Now I have a very visible indicator to show where the blade will strike the stock held in the vise.



Many of my jobs, such as the miniature saw horses in the pictures, require cutting a number of pieces to the same length. This would be a lot easier to do if the saw at a stop against which to place the stock so each cut is the same length. I puzzled over how to build a simple stop until I disabused myself of the idea that the stop had to be parallel to the vise jaws (as is the case for a horizontal band saw). In the base of my saw were two holes meant to be used to screw the saw to a bench or whatever. It was a simple job to enlarge these holes and tap them 6 x 1 mm. Then a chunk of 1/2 x 1/2 wood was drilled so it can be clamped on the outfeed table. It was made long enough so it can be used as a stop when the vise is rotated to different angles.



Probably fifteen minutes of work to make a good tool a lot more pleasant to use.

[old_toolmaker]

Marv,
A very quick and handy cutting aid. That was an issue just waiting for a solution.

[DIYer]

Thanks mklotz! We've added your Mini Chop Saw Modifications to our Model Making category,
as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Mini Chop Saw Modifications by mklotz

tags: saw, modification, stop

[clavius]

Nice straightforward mod to that little saw. I like the cut line indicator, so simple and effective. Some version of that would be useful on any similar cut-off machine. I'll probably add something like that to my old power hacksaw. Much easier than lowering the blade to see where it touches the stock while sliding the stock back and forth trying to line it up and then clamping it, a process that takes at least three hands.

Marv your posts are almost always something of a high-water mark around here. I always make a point to read them because even if the subject of the post is not something I am specifically interested in there is a high probability that I will, at the very least, learn a new word-of-the-day. Thanks!

[mklotz]

...
Marv your posts are almost always something of a high-water mark around here. I always make a point to read them because even if the subject of the post is not something I am specifically interested in there is a high probability that I will, at the very least, learn a new word-of-the-day. Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words. I try to keep my writing efforts helpful and concise (although my wife thinks I fail on the latter). Languages are something of a hobby for me and yes, I'm a stickler for spelling and grammar.

As for interesting words, here are a few useful for shop work...


antigodlin - lopsided or at an angle; out of alignment

bricolage - something constructed using whatever was available at the time

lethologica - the inability to remember the right word

lethonomia - the inability to recall the right name

nugatory - of no real value; trifling; worthless

oniomania - an uncontrollable desire to buy things

titivate - make small improvements to


and here are a few that are useful when describing the people with whom you interact...


cunctator - procrastinator; delayer

logorrhea - excessive talkativeness

ultracrepidarian - noting or pertaining to a person who criticizes, judges, or gives advice outside the area of his or her expertise