Sometimes a tool is a toy and a toy is a tool. This new tool is a bit of both!
I don’t feel the warm and fuzzy feelings for power tools that I do for a good hand tool. Though I appreciate the functionality of power tools, I feel a few steps removed from the work I’m doing when using machines. An exception might be when I use a bandsaw to resaw wood. That’s a lot of fun! Otherwise, there is noise, sawdust, and scary sharp things moving very fast, and that doesn’t make me happy in the way a fine chisel or plane does.
Still, machinery has its place, and I do have a few basic woodworking machines that help with some tasks.
Though remarkably versatile and practical, table saws are not tools I enjoy using very much. I have a portable table saw that makes a few tasks easier, but it is too powerful, loud, and scary to fit in my comfort zone.
To make life less scary and more fun, I have considered buying or making a miniature table saw for a few years but never got around to it. My thinking was that a small model makers table saw would be perfect for making binding and a few other tasks.
Recently, while researching the two brands of miniature table saws I was considering, I learned of a third called Jarmac. The Jarmac table saw was made of mostly aluminum and steel rather than plastic, and that appealed to me.
After shopping around, I saw one on eBay and decided to place a bid, and I won!
It is a nice little machine, though I have not yet thoroughly road tested it. The saw takes a 4-inch blade and the arbor of the saw is half an inch; an uncommon size blade. The blade that came with the saw was not in good shape, though I think I can sharpen it and make it usable again.
I found a 4-inch carbide blade that fits the saw and works well for crosscutting, though it is not very useful for ripping. I just found a source for a thin, hollow ground blade that should work better for ripping and have it on order. The motor on the saw is rated at 1/16 horsepower, and such a small horse will be happier turning a thinner blade!
Changing the blade was an adventure. A previous owner had overtightened the nut that holds the blade on. The nut is proprietary to the saw and made from aluminum, and removing it without ruining the nut or the saw was not easy. I had to buy two new wrenches in sizes I didn’t have, use some WD40, and gently but firmly try to free things up. After an hour of thinking, tinkering, and occasionally uttering words not suitable for print, I got the nut free, and though the nut looks a little rough around the edges, it still works.
This is a fun little machine that I can put on the bench when needed and put under the bench when not needed. I placed a dime in front of the miter gauge to give you an idea of the actual size of the saw. Perhaps the next mouse I catch in the live trap will be interested in apprenticing, and I can have it make binding in exchange for peanut butter and cheese.
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