Thread: Looking for a small scale making setup

Gents,

Now that I have successfully made a couple sets of scales using a coping saw, dremel, and sandpaper and really enjoyed it, I'm looking for a saw and sander to make the process a little easier.

The thing is, I'm only 19 and don't know squat about tools. So I was looking for some suggestions of what is small and what is efficient. I'm living in a small condo while I'm in school, so I would like to keep it as small as possible.

I was thinking a 9'' bandsaw, and a small bench sander. I'm comfortable using my dremel with the workstation for a drill press (for now).

Let me know if I'm completely off, and recommend some models!

Thanks.

My most used tool for making scales by a huge margin is a simple Belt Sander...

Something like this

Ryobi 4 x 36 in Belt/Disc Sander - BD4600 at The Home Depot

But really any brand will do it is not like we work them that hard with the small stuff we do...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

My most used tool for making scales by a huge margin is a simple Belt Sander...

Something like this

Ryobi 4 x 36 in Belt/Disc Sander - BD4600 at The Home Depot

But really any brand will do it is not like we work them that hard with the small stuff we do...

That's the exact model I've been eying at home depot so I guess that's the one I'll be getting.

How about a saw though, will a 9'' bandsaw work alright? I'd love to be able to work with acrylics, Micarta, and G10 (which I understand is hard to cut)

I have both a band saw, and a scroll saw. Between them I would probably go for the scroll saw for this kind of work. It's much more precise. It's pretty much a powered coping saw. I have used it for cutting inlay for finger boards on my banjo's, and I haven't had to follow it with sanding. Of course for that kind of work you don't see the edges of the cut once it's inlaid.

If I had only one of them I would go with the band saw. It will plow through big material, and in the end do more than the scroll saw with less precision. I don't know how useful a 9" bandsaw would be though. Someone else should chime in about that.

I haven't made scales yet, but when I do I'm sure that the scroll saw will be my tool of choice. A plus is that you can find them really cheap used if you look around. I don't know if you're near Indianapolis, but there's a cheap one there right now.

Bandsaw hands down over a scroll saw. I've got them both as well and don't even use it (scroll saw) hardly at all. I do use the band saw all the time from cutting cutting 3/16" slabs for the scales (sanding takes them down to 18" or thinner) to making a rough cut to be finished by my sander, then ultimately finished by hand sanding. The bandsaw is just a more versatile tool versus a more specialized tool like the scrollsaw. Get the sander first, you won't regret it...

tough one for me to call here... what is your budget? I like a bandsaw, but if my only options are a wimpy bandsaw with a flimsy table and poor tracking I'd rather save my money and use a coping saw or something else and spend my money on other things

IMHO the belt/disc sander is great, and after that, I really like having a drill press... you can get a drill press without blowing a fortune too... now if you have a good budget we can change the direction of this conversation