We had a room in the architecture schools wood shop with about a dozen of these and it was always fully utilized, great little saws for making tiny lightweight models out of balsa wood
@@johnrichy2k6 Hey, we didn't invent the imperial system. We adopted it from the Europeans, then we get settled into it and you change to something else. It's like the two year old that throws a piece of cereal behind the couch and giggles when you get it, then proceeds to throw it again. We've caught on to the game because we know as soon as we adopt the metric system, the Europeans will switch to something else and this ridiculousness will never end.
@@pawpawstew Exactly. It's like when they took up the Chinese game of soccer and then when we started playing it they changed the name to football and told us our football isn't real only theirs is and laugh at us when we call it soccer. And don't get me started on aluminum.
@@pawpawstew interestingly the US was one of the first nations to attempt to adopt the metric system primarily through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson but the ship carrying the set of standards from France was sunk in a storm causing a significant setback and when combined with the cause of the French revolution dissuaded the us from further attempts at converting until the US had finally become more or less industrialized and the conversion would be significantly more costly and time consuming.
I'd love it if this turned into a thing where you get a tiny shop vac, then a circular saw, and just a bunch of other tiny tools to build a tiny shop lol
Well, you can (or could) get a desktop Numatic Henry vacuum cleaner which would suit it, it has all the suction power of an inhaling gnat, so goes well with the lack of cutting power!!! :P
The tiny Veritas handtools are amazing. They work too. It’s surprisingly difficult not to buy all of them. Resisting I am, but for how long? I don’t know.
Don't do that. He doesn't get enough exercise as it is. Buy him a crosscut saw instead, and put in some tiny trees. That'll work some of that pudge off.
I feel like this would be quite funny to have as my sole woodworking tool. I can imagine giving someone a tour of my shop and then showing them my woodworking area with just this tiny guy hanging out all alone in a corner.
My in-laws use one of those and one of the mini chop saws for doll house building. Works great for their needs. The houses they make are fully electrified and sell for over $10,000 each.
My shop/server room is one half of our master bathroom. We don't need 'his n hers' sinks, and never used the 'roman tub' which is just a regular tub that flares about 4 inches in the middle, with space wasting framework around it. We never used that bathroom for bathing at all. So I built my server rack over the existing tub, the shower stall became my pc carcass storage, and my workbench is the maple plywood that makes the top of the rack. I still have empty air that needs to become storage, but I'll never cut wood in there - even with dust collection it would be death for my servers.
@@Zomby_Woof you have no idea how reassuring it is to know I'm not the only one doing things like this. (My wife and I covered our balcony in glass panel windows, and we use that for cutting wood and grinding metal etc, everything that is dusty or overly smelly)
I honestly work out of my kitchen closet of my apartment. I have no other choice but to if I want to do wood working projects until I can find a garage to rent out of a work shop. So, some people really do work out of a closet.
As everyone else has said a year ago this is meant for very very small dollhouse/hobbyist balsa wood type projects. The fact it has a "finger" (lol) guard for the blade is actually really great - most of the cheap ones you can find are literally just a block with a table saw blade sticking out the top with no safety features. I'm gonna have to go through your whole channel now to see if you review any other tiny woodshop tools because you are excited as hell and I love that.
Agreed. I am a hobbyist and was looking for a small version of a table saw for cutting small wood frames and balsa wood for diorama building. I dont need a large table saw for that. But the ones I found were much better than this, but more $$ too. The best was over $300 and costs as much as a regular table saw. But all the ones I saw were slightly bigger than this too.
@@panzer948 It might be the right size for the job, but you need something you can make predictable cuts with. And a bigger table would be a good idea as well.
I didn't know this exists, and it's clearly an awful product that's bordering on being trash, but I WANT IT SO BADLY. I wonder how well it could perform with a competent motor and blade.
@@deefdragon Most modelers I know cut balsa with a small back saw and miter box, or even just cut it with a hobby knife. A little table saw like this might be useful for making precision cuts in plywood, but I'd prefer a small scroll saw: safer and more versatile. In any case you get better results cutting by hand and finishing up on the disc sander.
That face when cutting the tile had me dying, this review is exactly like your yugo review and your humor always makes me laugh. Keep up the great videos!
I bought one recently and made a couple upgrades: built a much larger frame around it with a 16x20 surface, to which I applied a plastic grid; and replaced the blade with one from Micro-Mark. Note of caution: when removing the blade be careful to turn the nut CLOCKWISE to remove it, and do so very carefully to avoid stripping it and the arbor--they are both made of fairly soft metal.
You do have to spend some time setting the saw up... blade, fence, etc. But once done, the saw is great. Fairly compact which is Nice ru-vid.comUgkxXh-4_3-ZT1fFWP91ZV7iVqzElr0lEb-a I did get an Incra Miter Gauge which takes some setup as well. The stock miter gauge can be adjusted in the miter slot with a little painter's tape... this tightens up the side to side play a lot.
Oh heck yeah. Now the challenge I put to you: Build a fence and sled for it. Then you'll need jigs, and an outfeed table. The sky is the limit!!! Seriously, as a builder of scale miniatures, this would be very handy for guys like me.
I would not recommend it for modeling or small figures. The only thing it is good for is cutting off 3/8" sticks and 1/8" plywood not more than two inches wide as long as you do not care about accuracy. I wish I could return it. It will not rip 1/2 " balsa boards, but it will cut 1/2 in square balsa sticks nearly square!
I did build a sled for mine in order to cut fret slots in a guitar fretboard, a cigar box guitar fretboard... works well and reduces the time and tedium from hand cutting with a fret saw!
@@UnderDunnOfficial I actually have cut my lawn with scissors. I usually hit it with a weed eater, which takes about 3 minutes. But the battery was dead, and the wife was bitching. Knocked it out in about 15 minutes. I also edged it using my trusty chef's knife - came out really nice, though it took about 45 minutes. Used to use that knife as a hand planer too before I bought one. Don't ask about the egg beater I had stuck in my engine for a while.
Balsa is very sort of soft squashy texture so I bet it would be great for that, or maybe even obeche or basswood craft sheets for models and miniatures.
yes your right it works great with balsa. if he read the box before his review he would know that it says perfect for picture frames, moldings, plastics. i use it for crafting and it has made things awesome. i dont have to fire up the big stuff for small things. i
I got one to chop up old circuit boards. It doesn't have enough power for that either in case anyone was wondering. Gonna keep it though, 'cause it might come in handy for craft stuff - plus the cute factor! UPDATE: Ah, wait!!! The diamond blade cuts though circuit boards and ceramic body components like a hot knife through butter - really. Stay away from plastic body components like large connectors, and super long cuts - and it barely bogs down at all. The mighty-mite is redeemed!
Excellent. I was wondering about that, considering that most of the boards are glass fiber reinforced, so therefore using the tile blade makes more sense.
@@OpasJDGarage gb houses for all of his chickens on Christmas, if only he could train his rooster.Maybe next video we will see his rooster with safety glasses building GB houses for his ladies. 😆
@@JosephGodwin137 safety glasses fitted for his rooster would be awesome. A leather tool belt would push into becoming a platinum member for his channel.
@@OpasJDGarage google "safety hat for chicken", I would love to see all of the chickens running around with safety helmet, vest, and glasses in one of videos.
I fully expect a series where you develop an entire mini workshop around this thing, together with a 2 inch disc sander, 4 inch band saw, some mini hand planes, and jigs for the table saw (crosscut sled, rip fence system, etc). The world *demands* it.
You have to consider, scaled to a normal table saw, that 1/4” board is probably a 4” or 5” thick board. So it would understandably struggle. It’s probably only good for 1/8” or thinner. So, ya still useless for a woodworking workshop. Unless it’s a dollhouse workshop
I'm honestly considering something similar as I've only got a small apartment, and it'll be much lower noise. I am thinking about a few projects using strip wood glued and dowelled into composite beam style constructions, easy to get the required cuts to length
My father has been working on building architectural models. This would probably have been a lot easier on him than using the ShopSmith. Also, there's always a need to trim shims.
I've read dollhouse and miniatures magazines, and in the back of the magazine are ads for all kinds of tiny, power, shop tools made for making miniatures: Lathes, table saws, drill presses, jigsaws, etc. I even saw a tiny press brake for making tiny stuff out of aluminum cans.
"there are faster ways to cut through a tile like this like, breathing on it or, hoping it will spontaneously cut itself" made me smile to myself like a dork amazing video dude i found you from the cyclone vid but man youre amazing! i love the humor, your build processes in general and your editing is just off the charts. keep up the amazing work!!
This saw is suitable for model making, building houses, planes and boats and dioramas, balsa wood and other soft woods, greetings from Portimão Portugal.
"set me back $.15... don't like to be wasting that kind of money" after not only buying the tiny table saw BUT also buying an extra blade for it! ha ha ha had me just cracking up.
ah yes the era where tonka trucks had sharp gears, the easy bake oven used a 60 watt lightbulb, science books included experiments like "to demonstrate newtons 3rd law of motion, stand in a wagon and throw a brick backwards..."
My wife bought me one for use in my model making. I’ve cut a bunch of balsa with it. She also bought me an even more ridiculous mini lathe. Her heart was in the right place.
It did cross my mind that it looked like it's got the smaller of the two main home sewing machine motor sizes. It makes me wonder if the larger type of motor could be bodged in there? The added height would probably mean the table wouldn't lower enough to expose the blade though. :(
this is a hobby saw ( found in the hobby section of harbor freight) so I don't think its meant to be used for actual full time wood working. I use it for making miniatures. and its great.
From what I’ve read about, and seen on this type of saw a mini table saw is intended for small projects like miniatures. Miniatures are made with bass , birch, and other thin types of craft woods.
Absolutely historical I love it!!! I feel the need to use my in the mail 20% coupon from harbor freight to go get one just so I can have a tiny table saw too!!!!!
for scale work, the material you are putting through it would be equivalent to two inch material on a regular table saw. Look at how much saw blade you are taking on with the material as you would a 1/2" plywood on an 10" blade. so basically, it would be best for 1/8" material at best.
You are not allowing for true scaling ratios, so your statement is incorrect. Scaling is not a simple ratio in this case, it is logarithmic . The smaller saw is actually more powerful than 1/15th the power of a regular table saw. I think the main problem with this is the blade, but you are right, it will not rip balsa wood thicker than 3/8" and a large table saw will not rip 8 inch thick balsa wood.
I inherited something similar. Tried to use it once. The blade guard was loose, hit the blade and exploded. It actually walks around if it’s not clamped down. Without the guard, it’s now absolutely terrifying. It’s basically a hobby saw for cutting microwood. 1/16” plywood and such.
The perfect xmas gift for your kids. I'd plan a couple trips to the ER with them, just to be a "good parent". Keep those plastic baggies and ice handy, you will need them! ;)
I've seen these used as an alternative when cutting fret slots in a fingerboard for a guitar. They have made a small sled that uses the sides of the table instead of the slots in the table top. Uses a 4" jewelers blade for fret slotting. People are just trying to get around having to pay $150 for a fret slotting blade from stew-mac. Or $140 for a precision miter box with a pull saw with a thin kerf.
when i was a kid my dad got me some kinda multi tool, it had a lathe an could turn dowels an stuff, had a nasty lil table saw an it had a guard on it that made it so it could only cut balsa wood... so i took that guard off an in two days i just about cut my thumb off, an i put that guard back on it lol. this thing remind me just of it to man, stay blessed !
In a place where I used to work, we had a similarly tiny table saw made by a company called Proxxon. We used it with a carbide tipped blade to cut PCB prototypes (before components were placed of course). It had quite some bite, but you had to be careful, as sometimes the tips went flying off the blade. Quarter inch plywood was also no problem at all.
I have one, it's kind of awesome for the size. I've ripped a full sheet of 3mm ply down with it once, by making a "tablesaw table" with that in the middle. Served me well for ~10 years because I never had enough space for a full size tablesaw. Proxxon at least has a decent mitre guage, the blade tilts and it really is "just like a tablesaw, but smaller". Also ten times the price of the toy above.
It needs it own place with mahogany fence/dust collection at the miter station! Or you could by a second one and turn it into mirror dice on the bus so you can enjoy it’s cuteness in stereo :-)
Excellent video! When you first showed it, I was thinking...wow, I need one of those! I live in a small apartment with no space for a regular table saw. I use my little 9" bandsaw for cutting everything, and it's really annoying not being able to rip to a consistent width, to crosscut beyond a very limited length, or to be able to make dados. I thought this tiny saw would be my solution, but you quickly showed me that was not the case haha.
I have to admit that I was extremely disappointed when you said that you weren't going to cut a tile with it at the beginning, and overjoyed when you actually cut a tile with it at the end.
I see similar saws on Amazon. They're marketed to dollhouse furniture makers and balsa wood modelers, ultralight duty stuff. HF seems to just badged a generic one unaware that it's for those purposes.
Just made for tabletop craft projects using soft wood. A German company makes tabletop power tools that are very precise but are quite expensive. It comes with a rip fence, tilting blade & adjustable miter gauge. Costs as much as a portable contractor saw.
this table saw is actually meant for use with balsa wood and other soft woods for modellers and crafts, it's not a carpenters saw or contractors tool for heavy work.
because of its quietness and compact size i might be picking one of those things up i’m a retired Woodworker by trade and. i live in Assisted Living facilities now and i simply just don’t have the area for a full size shop equipment any longer
I hope one day someone heavily modifies one where its actually powerful enough to do regular tasks of a table saw; although due to it's size, it would still be impractical.
My mom is getting one for her craft room. Her crafts use thinner material, and she is hoping this will help her get a straight edge on a lot of that...
We actually had one of these - different name, almost identical format - that one of my Scoutmasters bought thinking it'd be great for Pinewood Derby, some 30+ years ago. It handled balsa wood great. It choked on the pine blocks for the racers. Thanks for the nostalgia bump!
This must be how popsicle sticks are manufactured. I imagine there’s a massive sweatshop somewhere in the world where there’s rows and rows of these table saws manned by factory workers pumping out popsicle sticks 24/7. I wonder where they get their mini belt sanders to shape the corners.
