this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025
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Woodworking

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Probably several months ago I watched some woodworking video on Youtube, and the video was sponsored by this strange saw contraption that I'm having no luck googling. Maybe I dreamed it up and I've got something worth patenting, I don't know.

The most concise way I can explain it is, imagine if the table saw had been invented, but power tools and circular saws hadn't. Or, think of the journey you go on when making a circ saw into a table saw, and then go on that journey with a frame saw.

This is a stationary tool that holds a straight blade in tension, the blade doesn't move, the stock is secured to a guide which slides on rails, and can be positioned to make various different cuts.

I thought "huh, I'll look that up later to see if it's worth a damn" and now can't find it again. Might have dreamed it.

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[–] OrderedChaos 1 points 2 days ago

Like a table saw sled?

[–] AMillionMonkeys 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

It's either that, a knockoff of that, or the thing that's knocking off that I'm thinking of.

Edit to add, I would swear the thing I saw works on a similar principle, but was a different shape. It had a more open, diagonal frame, and I think they mentioned it being Japanese. Visually it reminded me a bit more of a Shopsmith, or a Bowflex.

[–] wjrii 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I can't think of what else it would be. It seems to be a precision piece of kit, but Christ on a cracker that's a lot for a glorified jig that can only work with stock that could be handled as hand-work by most whose preferences lie in that direction.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I recently picked up a Ryoba pull saw; I don't have room in my shop for a band saw and the only real way I've had to resaw boards was on the table saw, which blows away 1/8" before planing, so figure at least 3/16" of board gone by the time you've sawn and planed, plus it's a pretty strict limit of 6.5" of board thickness. My theory was a Ryoba has such a thin blade that it would allow more efficient use of resawn stock. But it's not easy to do. I suppose a frame saw is in order.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

This sounds a lot like a video by Matthias Wandel who builds a lot of custom tools but also sells building instructions.

[–] wjrii 3 points 4 days ago

LOL @ the notion of Matthias not including a motor in a home-built tool.

If it is what I think it is (thanks for the link, @[email protected]), Matthias had some opinions.

Can you build a wooden Jointmaker pro?

People keep emailing me about building a "jointmaker pro" (Google it). But that would be silly to reproduce. The jointmaker pro could be improved on considerably by replacing the straight saw blade with a continuous rotating one. And then motorize that saw blade. But ... An improved "jointmaker pro" has been available for decades, and at a fraction of the cost. It's called a table saw. The "jointmaker" is a pet peeve of mine. "pro" is a misnomer. It's a tool for hobbyists with too much time and money. You won't see any professionals using it. The one thing I admire about the jointmaker pro is how well it's presented. Very slick. I admire the guy's marketing skills.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

It was a sponsor spot unrelated to the content of the video. I watched a video on building a workbench or something, And now for a word from our sponsor: This contraption.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Is it like the head of a band saw mill but the stock moves instead of the head?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

When you say the blade doesn't move, do you just mean it doesn't articulate, and moves in one direction like a scroll saw? Or is it still and you manually move the stock against the blade?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

You manually move the stock against the blade. The blade might be movable to set a bevel angle but in operation the blade is held perfectly still and the stock is moved across it.