I am sure this have been discussed many times but I cant find the answer. I need to trim a blank. What should I use to cut the blank?

Thanks for you patience.

Dremel with a small wheel personally.
But i know of folks who are very successful using compound miter saws equipped with the diamond blades like you would use on tiles.

A very fine saw

Bill - willierods.com

I use a small chop saw from Harbor Freight. I take off the fine steel cutting blade and replace it with a thin abrasive wheel. Smooth cuts, no graphite fibers

I use a Dremel tool with a high speed cut-off saw.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

[www.harborfreight.com]

[www.harborfreight.com]

This is the saw and abrasive wheel that Ken spoke of. I also use the same thing.

Roger

I use a saw designed to sharpen chain saw blades or a dremel. Wear safety glasses!!!!!!!!

jeremy

I"ve had great success cutting blanks with a sharp edged triangle file. While not as fast as the power tool route it's not a big job. I tape off the blank leaving a clear cut line. Just take care to avoid breathing any of the dust.

Now that I see that nice little power saw I think I'll get one. It looks quite handy for a lot of uses.

David -
I bought it solely for cutting blanks - but it really is a dandy little tool to have around for lots of small trimming jobs = and the price is right.

Thanks Ken. I see they also have a larger and more capable 6" wheel unit for about $40. I was thinking it would be a better deal overall. I do have a 10" compound miter saw but that's for large wood projects.

Dremel with a diamond cutting wheel.

Oh my.... larger? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh another "toy I have to have"?

I guess I will be in Corpus Tuesday buying another tool, does this ever end?
Tuesday = Payday.

I used a dremel to cut the blank I'm working on now but that little cut off saw would have been a heck of lot better.
Bob

Be careful with that small Harbor Freight cutoff saw. They advertise it as cutting 3/4" depth......it does not! More like 9/16" I know, I bought one and returned it and suggested they correct their advertisement.

I use my bandsaw

Phil "made in China" = It's ALMOST what you wanted LOL

Ken how do you neck down the arbor size difference between the two wheels?

Ron,
Cutoff wheels can be bought with different thickness, O.D. and I.D.
Example: McMaster-Carr catalog pg 2385

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
John in Wethersfield, CT

Phil,
Yes, if you leave the 2 inch blade on the mini chop saw, you will limit the depth of your cut.
But first of all, I don't use the blade for cutting blanks. If you use a blade, it is too easy to catch a tooth and chip out a blank.
That is why I remove the blade and replace the blade with an abrasive cut off wheel.
I also replace the 2 inch blade wiht a 3 inch cutting wheel. I fabricated a large guard for the saw to accomoade this larger wheel.
With the 3 inch cut off wheel, you have nearly an inch of cutting capacity.

I also removed all of the miter accessory items on the face of this table of the mini chop saw. I then used a flat sander sand the raised lettering off of the cutting table.
I only wanted to cut or chop at 90 degrees with this mini chop saw, so I didn't need or want any angle cutting ability.

I then took a small piece of 1/16th thick angled aluminum of 1/4 X 1/4 inch which I drilled and screwed down to the cutting surface at 90 degrees to the cutting wheel.
I reassembled the saw, took one cut with the cutting wheel to make a clean tight fitting cut through the 1/4 inch angle. This gives a nice tight close fitting backing to the cutting wheel.

This little chop saw is really much more efficient and effective than a band saw. I will often use the chop saw to chop up an old blank into pieces to use for rod extensions, repairs, etc. With the chop saw, it is not a big deal to cut a 10 foot long blank in the middle with a square cut. With a band saw, you need to first cut the blank at an angle to accomodate the cutting depth of the band saw, and then make a 2nd cut to square up the end of the blank.

The little chop saw also really excels when trimming up foam arbors or making fine cuts on cork. With no teeth, one can hold a piece close to the spinning wheel, without having to worry about a spinning blade taking a piece of a finger.

Good luck
Roger