Knew Saw

[susieq]

For those who prefer not to use, or do not have a knew concept, which saw do you use?

I am still having trouble sawing straight (or following any drawn pattern) with the saw that came with my cookies student starter kit. I am using vallorbe blades, get a really nice ping from it once inserted but when I saw it is impossible to saw straight with it. It wants to curve. In class on Thursday I let it do its own thing as I was just cutting a small strip and it went in a very nice anticlockwise arc. So, I got one of the class saws, which looks very similar to mine, took the blade out of my saw, put it into the class saw, got a really nice ping from it and hey presto, nice straight line. Continued to use class saw with no problem, changed to a different blade as I needed to cut a piece of thick copper, no problem cutting at all. At the end of class, took out the blade before returning class saw to its cupboard. Got home, put blade back in to my own saw to finish off what I had been cutting in class, got a really nice ping and ..... back to curvy cut, straight line impossible.

So, is it case of getting what you pay for?

Thanks Susie.

[Dennis]

Perhaps you could send us a picture of your own frame, Susie. Does it look like the one at college? Does the one at college have a maker's name?

I still think in my heart that a little more tension would do the trick for you. I bought an old used frame 110mm deep, when I started twenty years ago, so that would be no help to you now, but having a deeper throat (distance from blade to back) also makes it less stiff to tension.

Dennis.

[susieq]

Perhaps you could send us a picture of your own frame, Susie. Does it look like the one at college? Does the one at college have a maker's name?

I still think in my heart that a little more tension would do the trick for you. I bought an old used frame 110mm deep, when I started twenty years ago, so that would be no help to you now, but having a deeper throat (distance from blade to back) also makes it less stiff to tension.

Dennis.

Thanks Dennis. Neither mine nor the college saw have names - they look like yours but 3" depth. Says made in Germany on it. Mine looks like this one:

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-735

The college ones look the same. There is a cheaper similar one:

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...rcode-999-3059 but mine has the rounded end of the more expensive one above.

The only thing I have noticed, looking at your photo, is that your frame seems to be a near perfect rectangle with the blade in. Mine is definitely off square once the blade is in and tensioned. Maybe my problem is with the tightening of the adjustable screw at the top and the length I have it set at so when I push in the handle to tension the blade I'm forcing the blade out of line. Will have a play and report back tomorrow.

Susie

[Patstone]

Its funny you say that yours isnt a rectangle when you tension the blade, neither is mine and I also bought mine from Cookies but not as part of a kit. I have also been thinking about buying a Knew saw as I have the same problem as you, just cant saw to a straight line, I absolutely hate with a passion piercing anything, if I can cut it with snippers I do and tidy it up after. Trouble is some silver is too thick to cut this way. If I cut some "D" wire, it never ends up straight, and I was putting it down to only having one eye when it may be my saw after all, I rarely have trouble with anything else now. Sometimes my tubes cut out with a burr for setting pointy stones is not quite upright, but I can normally get it right before its set.

[theresa]

Strange, but I have exactly the same problem when sawing - sometimes the cut is perfect, other times it goes at a terribly angle no matter how much I concentrate. My sawing hand is 'relaxed' so no pressure exerted. I cut my tubes now with an inexpensive little cutter that I bought online, you insert tube and turn a wheel which slowly cuts it, leaving a slight bevelled edge which can be easily filed level.
I still haven't bought a 'Knew Saw' yet! Spent my funds on Gold Foil instead....

[Dennis]

Hold it up and see whether the metal of the bow is twisted? I'm quite sure the answer is there somewhere, if only you can suss it out. The saw does have to go out of square as you increase the tension though. Dennis.

[Patstone]

That sounds a useful tool, I want one. Will it do all sizes of tube.

Strange, but I have exactly the same problem when sawing - sometimes the cut is perfect, other times it goes at a terribly angle no matter how much I concentrate. My sawing hand is 'relaxed' so no pressure exerted. I cut my tubes now with an inexpensive little cutter that I bought online, you insert tube and turn a wheel which slowly cuts it, leaving a slight bevelled edge which can be easily filed level.
I still haven't bought a 'Knew Saw' yet! Spent my funds on Gold Foil instead....

[Patstone]

Just looked at my frame and it is about 1 mm out of line, so put it in vice and bent it back. See if that works.

Hold it up and see whether the metal of the bow is twisted? I'm quite sure the answer is there somewhere, if only you can suss it out. The saw does have to go out of square as you increase the tension though. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

I cut my tubes now with an inexpensive little cutter that I bought online, you insert tube and turn a wheel which slowly cuts it, leaving a slight bevelled edge which can be easily filed level.

One of this type of thing?
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tube-cutter-3-28mm/49428

[Patstone]

Is it ok, I use a tube cutter jig http://www.cooksongold.com/category_...ry=tube+cutter at the moment which is good but have to make sure the saw is going to cut it straight which I have a problem with at the moment.