How do I cut very small sticks?

[Asennad]

I just finished a dollhouse for my little 3 yr old niece. The house came out very well but I left it plain because I didn’t have the time to trim it properly. The cost of the prefabbed dollhouse parts are nuts. I thought I would cut down some SPF 2x4 into small strips for the various trim parts. I need to make various sized pieces such as 1/8 square sticks and 1/6 thick strips. I started fooling around with different ideas but haven’t been able to make what I am looking for yet.

I tried my cheap table top band saw but it will not simply cut anything in a straight line.

[Tequila]

HF makes a hobby saw that might work.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93211

[LCHIEN]

I just finished a dollhouse for my little 3 yr old niece. The house came out very well but I left it plain because I didn’t have the time to trim it properly. The cost of the prefabbed dollhouse parts are nuts. I thought I would cut down some SPF 2x4 into small strips for the various trim parts. I need to make various sized pieces such as 1/8 square sticks and 1/6 thick strips. I started fooling around with different ideas but haven’t been able to make what I am looking for yet.

I tried my cheap table top band saw but it will not simply cut anything in a straight line.

A well tuned band saw shoud be able to do the job.

[linear]

What about jointing a stick, then making a series of stopped cuts in the face, width set by the pieces you need. Then rip all of them off the board at one pass. The very ends of the stick might not yield usable parts (or you may not want to run it all the way through when ripping), but you could get a lot of usable parts quick this way I think.

[drumpriest]

I would probably make these cuts on a band saw, but you can do it with the table saw. If you use a full kerf blade, then make a cut that is 1/4" less than the width of a board already planed to 1/8" thick. So you result in a 1/8" square piece coming off of the left side of the blade. This is much safer than trying to get a 1/8" cut to the left of the blade. Unfortunately you'll be wasting as much wood as you cut.

[LarryG]

How long do these pieces need to be? For pieces that small, I personally would use my CMS, as long as I didn't need sticks over about 9" long. It would have the same disadvantage of wasting as much wood as a TS, as Keith mentions, but making the cuts would be quick, easy, and safe.

A bandsaw would be my second choice IF the tool lineup in my shop included a drum sander ... which, alas, it doesn't.

[John Hunter]

Here are the plans to a couple of jigs for cutting small strips. They work great. http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/sto...ing_blocks.xml



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[Greg in Maryland]

My father and brother are very much into building model airplanes. I recall that they would get very thin and small pieces of plywood and use a small handsaw and/or a homemade miter box or jig to cut the pieces they wanted. In fact, I think an Xacto razor blade and a straight edge would do the trick.

Here is a link with some plywood sizes and prices: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/balsawood.htm Scroll towards the bottom. Also here is a link to Xacto saws: http://www.artstuff.net/xacto_saw_blades.htm

Greg

PS Please post a picture of your doll house. I am hopeful that I will have the need to build one.

[JimD]

I do not have problems ripping little strips on the BT3100 (but use push sticks, obviously) but have had trouble with crosscuts on the CMS. Making a wooden bed out of a 2x4 scrap with a rabbet in it helps a lot.

Jim

[scmhogg]

Asennad,

For cross-cutting small pieces [for innumerable school projects] I have always used a tiny miter box and saw that came with a knock-off Exacto set. Like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miter-Box-Craft-...QQcmdZViewItem

Then, I saw this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miter-box-and-Ex...QQcmdZViewItem

Steve

[Asennad]

That woodmagazine jig looks perfect. Thanks.

Why didn't I think of that?

[John Hunter]

That woodmagazine jig looks perfect. Thanks.

Why didn't I think of that?

That is just what I thought after building one.