I Need Bigger Saws!

The headstock of this uke I'm working on is oval and larger than standard. Holding it on edge to cut it thinner, it's too tall for my saws. I used a table saw to cut one side and then the other, with questionable results. Then I finished cutting with a hand saw.

I removed the table from my band saw, but it still leaves too small a space - a little over 3 1/2", and I need 3 3/4. Buying a saw with a large enough opening would cost over $400, so that's not happening.

I decided I'm not going to be cranking these tennis racket ukes out in large numbers.

Most table saws can cut around 3 1/8" at full depth, if you need to cut 3 3/4" you could do 1 7/8" from each side. It might be awkward to do on something like a headstock but you could build a jig. I cut scarfs on my table saw with a jig that's basically a fence screwed to a flat panel that slides long the top of the saw, so you can clamp the neck to the fence and slide it past the blade.

dwizum said:

Most table saws can cut around 3 1/8" at full depth, if you need to cut 3 3/4" you could do 1 7/8" from each side. It might be awkward to do on something like a headstock but you could build a jig. I cut scarfs on my table saw with a jig that's basically a fence screwed to a flat panel that slides long the top of the saw, so you can clamp the neck to the fence and slide it past the blade.

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As it turns out, that's just what I did. Unfortunately, a bit of the second cut didn't line up with the first cut, so I had to do some touch-up.

40 grit flap wheel on a cheap angle grinder will remove wood fast.