Saw for Inlay Artists only

Okay, I finally bit, and dropped some cash on Knew Concepts 3" Jeweler's Saw with the cam lever.
http://www.knewconcepts.com/3-inch.php#

In conversation with Lee Marshall, seems I should've gotten the one with the swivel, for my needs. I was thinking about the 5" saw, because I actually use a 4" all the time, but I thought I'd start small first. Its still a toss up right now, but Lee may have me convinced to get the 3" swivel, rather than the 5" non-swivel version. Not that he wants to sell me more saws, just that he wants to help me fit my needs (anyone want a slightly used 3" at cost, free domestic shipping?).

Anyway, I couldn't figure out why I would want to spend about 3x more on a saw, when everyone else uses a "standard" Jeweler's saw. Well, I looked up on my wall, and I had hanging, 3 Jeweler's saws - a 3", 4" and 5". I could've bought one Knew Concepts for the price of those. But the question was "Would it be worth it?"

Of course its worth it, or I wouldn't be posting this. You can read all the reviews on his site, and I just wrote a quick article for the `Ukulele Guild of Hawai`i Newsletter.

There's another builder here that has one (or two), and I'd venture to say the cost of the saw was made up for in the first inlay that was done.

In a nutshell, this saw is like a Custom Instrument. Customs are built for the player, and can/will allow the player to become/perform better (you need a custom instrument to understand this). Yes, general statement, but mostly true. This saw is like that Custom Instrument - it is just THE right tool for the job. If you've never cut an inlay, or are having trouble, this saw will help.

I gotta run, but I'll post more comments later. Maybe that guy from Pahoa has some comments in the meantime. . .

-Aaron

This may be me being naive, but a custom instruments plays the same tunes as a bog standard one, it's the player that makes the real difference. I recently bought a jewelers saw of flea bay for around £4 including a pack of blades. It cuts in exactly the same direction as I point it! It is also adjustable to all the sizes you mention. OK, so it has bog standard fixing screws, but it takes me longer making sure the blade is in the right orientation than it does to change them!
Personally, I'll save my money.

And now from Pahoa.........
I just spent 12 hours with this saw, thanks to the tip from Kekani. As I mentioned to Aaron, I tend to change blades now when they are dull instead of when I break them. The frame is so rigid the saw will pay for itself in the amount of blades you'll save. I bought the one with the automatic tension adjuster and love it. Less time fumbling with the adjustment knobs on other saws. As Aaron alludes to in the title of the post, this saw is somewhat of a luxury but it's a must have if you do a lot of inlay work.

Those saws are utterly incredible looking! The power saw... The titanium saw... The guided saw frame... Wow! If I ever get back into doing inlay, I know where I'm going to spend some dough... To me this is like getting a really good...expensive...hammer if you're doing a lot of carpentry. An amateur would not think that spending well over $100.00 bucks on a hammer makes any sense. Ask a good framing carpenter, though, what his or her arms are worth. It's about time and comfort, and if you're saving time (and blades) and you're more comfortable, you'll do better work. Well worth it...

ukulian said:

This may be me being naive, but a custom instruments plays the same tunes as a bog standard one, it's the player that makes the real difference. I recently bought a jewelers saw of flea bay for around £4 including a pack of blades. It cuts in exactly the same direction as I point it! It is also adjustable to all the sizes you mention. OK, so it has bog standard fixing screws, but it takes me longer making sure the blade is in the right orientation than it does to change them!
Personally, I'll save my money.

Click to expand...

Its all about the mana, my friend. When my clients meet with me, they know its not just a build for me - every instrument is a part of me. As a builder, there is a difference from a mental and spiritual perspective when I know who the instrument is going to, compared to when I don't. Not that I put any less effort, or that any instrument comes out substandard, nothing like that. Its just different, and this manifests itself when you present the instrument to your client, they play it, they don't put it down. They stare, strum, stare, turn, cuddle, and all manner of things, if I've done my job right. They KNOW this instrument was build specifically for them.

I can tell you right now, my friend has two instruments, one I built for him, and one I didn't. Suffice to say, he is in his groove when he plays the custom. When he doesn't, anyone who knows him can tell - the music isn't the same. Don't get me wrong, its good, and if you don't know him, it'll probably sound the same. But if you know him, you can tell.

As for the saw, I couldn't justify spending the money on one of them. After trying it, I don't know why it took me so long. Even if it doesn't pay for itself in blades as Chuck mentioned, value is in the hands of the user. This one. . . has value. . .for me.

And obviously, others as well.

Rick Turner said:

Those saws are utterly incredible looking! The power saw... The titanium saw... The guided saw frame... Wow! If I ever get back into doing inlay, I know where I'm going to spend some dough... To me this is like getting a really good...expensive...hammer if you're doing a lot of carpentry. An amateur would not think that spending well over $100.00 bucks on a hammer makes any sense. Ask a good framing carpenter, though, what his or her arms are worth. It's about time and comfort, and if you're saving time (and blades) and you're more comfortable, you'll do better work. Well worth it...

Click to expand...

I figured you'd enjoy this one, Rick. And you couldn't have said it better.

Key points that you cannot tell about the differences unless you use it are the stiffness of the frame, larger handle, light weight, stiffness of the frame, and the light weight. The larger handle also helps. It the sum of the parts that make it for me. Yes, you could probably make one yourself, and end up spending more. Cutting inlay is so relaxing and meditative as it is, this just helps you along to that place. Chuck just sent me a pic of work done with the saw - not that any of his previous work isn't as good, but this one has joints that will knock your socks off! Unbelievable. To do what he did, in the materials that he used, well, I know what he was up against, and I know how much easier it must've been. I ALWAYS break blades in recon stone, not to mention breaking the stone itself.

-Aaron

I just realized that Lee is here in the Santa Cruz area; he can't be any more than eight miles away from me. I emailed him, and I want to check out all of his saws. I sent a link to Larry Robinson, too.

I have one of Lees saws for woodworking, and I have used it for veneer work and use it most for Dovetailing... removing the waste, it is perfect for this because you can tilt the blade 45* right and left to clear the work... I love mine and I also have a flea bay special, imo there is no comparison. Great saw.

Here's the inlaid headstock Aaron is referring to that I just finished using the Knew Concepts saw. Aaron's been a valuable resource of info to me for inlay tools including the best bits and blades to use. As with everything, using the right tools makes everything so much easier.

Point taken :O

Remember ukulian, you are playing with the big boys here That saw looks great. Pity I don't have the chops to do that inlay work. Love how clean your mitres are Chuck. is that wood/fibre purflin or plastic?

Whilst I'm not a inlay kinda bloke, I am a tradesman by day. The greatest bit of advice I've ever heard is:


A good tool hurts when you buy it but a bad tool hurts every time you use it

It's fiber Pete, some stuff I got from Gurian's sale page. I've gotten lots of unique odd bits from them in the past. This is how it looks against the koa body the headstock belongs to.

I forgot to mention it is black/white/green/white/black.

And you still can't see the join

Pete Howlett said:

And you still can't see the join

Click to expand...

You can see the joint at the top where the neck will connect but that will be covered by the fret board anyway. The rosette joints came out pretty well though. With wide purfling like this I will miter the joints using the disc on my sander. Otherwise I just use the 1/2" Exacto blade, using the back as a mirror to get the right angle.

I'll have this saw. My Zona will be loaded with larger blades for doing big stuff and tough woods while the KC will be my fine work saw. Thanks for the link Aaron.

I've got one of the fret / jewellers saws that I wish I had never spent the money on. It's a tough lesson to learn about buying cheap tools.

Now this bloke builds a saw. And my heart skipped a beat when I saw the powered one.....Gotta get one of those. Thanks for the link Aaron.

We painted this house before we moved in (the insides, that is). I bought a couple of $3 paint brushes that were so bad I was masking everything, overpainting everything...I went back to the paint shop and bought a couple of expensive Purdy brushes. Still have them - threw the others away the same day I came home with the Purdys.

Having the right - and best made - tools can make any job so much better. I finished the entire house without masking anything else.

Don't forget, folks, WE are tool makers. The ukes we make are the tools of the uke players' trade and art. You want to make crappy ukes and sell them cheap? Or do you want to make tools worthy of professional level players? Lee, the saw maker, is the equivalent of one of us pros; he's the real deal making tools for good craftspeople.

And yeah, that powered saw is a thing of beauty.

Lee and I have been in touch, and we just missed each other at a concert here in Santa Cruz this past evening. I'll catch up with him this week and report in. His shop is all of ten minutes from mine.

I've also been in contact with Lee, and sent him a link of this thread. He's such a humble guy, I'm glad to have supported his business, and hope those of you that do business with him feel the same.

I think his saw is great, I wanted to share.

Pete, this may be the one tool that gets you to do an inlay. Never say never. . .

-Aaron