I'm looking for recommendations on good brands or sources for jeweler's saws.
I've been using what is probably an import and am frustrated by it's apparent inability to keep the blade tensioned.
I'm looking for recommendations on good brands or sources for jeweler's saws.
I've been using what is probably an import and am frustrated by it's apparent inability to keep the blade tensioned.
Mostly wood tooling but some are universal - US made with US material. FINE quality tools. But nope.
Martin
I'm a practising jeweller and have been using an Eclipse piercing saw frame for the last 40 years. It works fine for me. I've seen much more expensive ones but I wouldn't swap.
-- Regards, Gary Wooding
FINE quality tools.
Have you tried fixing it? If it's an ordinary jeweler's saw, the blade is held in place by a movable flat plate against the frame -- the movable plate and the frame must both be very parallel. Also, the fit of the movable plate against the post or screw must be LOOSE. Sloppy here is better because it allows the plate to align with the frame. Another, but less likely possibility is that the screw used to adjust the frame size is loose or worn. I've yet to see a jeweler's saw frame that couldn't be fixed by a little judicious filing of the plates and/or retapping a screw. I've got two saw-frames, probably Grobet's but the names are worn off. The newer one I bought about 55 years ago as an apprentice. The older one was my father's, which puts it about 85 or more years old. Both totally serviceable and never a slipping blade that I can recall -- unless the plates were dirty. Of course, you may not have real jeweler's saw frame. If you want to buy one, go to a professional jeweler's supplier such as Gesswein, Ritter, or I. Shors. A good saw frame is a once-in-a-lifetime, trouble-free, purchase.
Boris
The one I have I got from Brownells years back,
Stan
Thanks for the input Boris. The problematic saw is a cheap import bought at NAMES a few years ago from one of the vendors there. It's at work now, but AIR it is made of stamped steel that is poorly chromed and I'd rather spend a few bucks on a quality saw than an hour or so fixing a POS.
IAC, I've looked at the Gesswein site and would appreciate a recommendation on the saw frames listed here:
recommendation
You don't want a "fixed" frame for reasons I'll give below. The one I like best is the German, "flat" sawframe, # 187-1095 for about 10$. That looks like the closest to a traditional sawframe and happens also to be the cheapest. I can't understand why any one would by a so-called "fixed" saw frame -- especially since it costs about 4 times the regular adjustable saw frame. The "deluxe" saw frame, for $56 has several things going against it. For one, you can't adjust the frame size. This is important when you consider just how expensive saw blades are. It will be a very long time (years) before you acquire enough skill with a jeweler's saw before you wear out your blades instead of breaking them. A very long time. With blades at about 18 to 20 cents each, the money piles up. When you're learning, it is nice to be able to shorten the frame and put in a half length, broken off, blade. The shorter blade is also less likely to break. Another thing I don't like about the so-called deluxe frame is its size. It is heavy. And the big throat doesn't balance well. The narrow,
2.5 " frame is what you will use 99% of the time -- at least I do. Once in a rare while, I'll take out my deep (5" throat") frame. Get the smaller, cheaper, traditional frame for 10 bucks. Learn with thick blades. E.g., #1 or #2 -- you'll break plenty of those and it will take a long time to work up to being able to use 5-0 or finer blades. The most common reasons for breaking blades is that the stroke is not perfectly vertical -- that is, you tend to twist your wrist as you stroke. This pinches the blade between the work and snaps it off. Here are some more lessons in jeweler's saw 101.
a. Loosen both the top and bottom clamps. b. Place the blade between the clamps. That assures that there is no bend to it. c. Tighten the bottom clamp and see to it that in tightening, that you have not induced any twist -- that is the blade should still be straight. d. Put the top of the frame against the bench pin with the blade facing you and the handle on your chest and push in just the right amount -- about
1/8" is all you need. Holding it place, tighten the top clamp. e. Test the tension for a nice ping. f. One swipe through the beeswax. g. Go.Boris
Tried to thank you privately in email for the excellent writeup snipped below but suspect that the email never made it to you.
So, thanks for taking the time to write that up - it's been a huge help.
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