What is the right saw for the job? Small stuff...

[Brandon Hanley]

What saw should I be using to cut tiny stuff like 1/4 x 1/4 x 4in pieces? I've been using my cabinet saw or bandsaw but neither seems like the right tool for the job. Should I be using some sort of sled or jig for stuff like that or adding a new tool all together like a mini table saw or tickler blade runner or something? I've even considered buying the benchtop bandsaw from grizzly and setting it up specificallyfor tasks like this since my bigger g0555lanv is setup with the 6" riser block and do it all sort of blades I can use it for everything from small redrawing to handling stuff just a bit too big for the scroll saw. Using the g0691 just feels wrong and is downright scary for stuff this small.

Hopefully there is an affordable solution, I'm a little tight on funds right now.

[Andrew Hughes]

This has handsaw written all over it.
How accurate do your pieces need to be

[Bryan Lisowski]

I would make a small table saw sled. Use a pencil to hold the off cut piece.

[glenn bradley]

This would depend on how many I had to do. If I needed 20 I would use something like this (and do). For more I would use one of my small sleds at the tablesaw.

[Rick Potter]

I am with Bryan on this.

Get a Freud 7 1/4" 60 tooth very narrow kerf skilsaw blade. Right now, HD has them two for $20. Then make a small sled for small work. You will love the small fine kerf blade for small stuff. The teeth are tiny.

Easy peasy, and cheep too.

[Bob Michaels]

If you don't mind spending some bucks Proxxon and others make mini table saws for people who do model railroad buildings. About 7 years ago, when I was interested in a mini table saw for small work such as you describe, I found a retired machinist in Florida who made these, upon special order for I think $500. Sounds extravagant but it was so precisely made that I consider it well worth the money. I don't use it often but, when I do, it's a pleasure to have. I also think the small sled with a thin kerf blade is good advice.

[Joe Jensen]

If you don't mind spending some bucks Proxxon and others make mini table saws for people who do model railroad buildings. About 7 years ago, when I was interested in a mini table saw for small work such as you describe, I found a retired machinist in Florida who made these, upon special order for I think $500. Sounds extravagant but it was so precisely made that I consider it well worth the money. I don't use it often but, when I do, it's a pleasure to have. I also think the small sled with a thin kerf blade is good advice.

I'd love to see some pics of that

[Bob Michaels]

Joe, I will try to post photos tomorrow.

[Bob Michaels]

Joe, see Dennis Tebo's post with photos further down, that's the saw. You can get an idea of the small scale by comparing it to the left and right miter slots of the full size table saw.

[Brandon Hanley]

I would want to re-saw and thickness plane the slabs to a more manageable thickness - lets say 1/4 inch like you need for the finished parts. So,to do the re-saw you'd want the bandsaw, then you could finish on the tablesaw with rip fence and / or sled. If you do go the table saw sled method make sure its a zero clearance base so you can more safely handle the off-cuts from small pieces.

that would be my first step if I planned to use it all for the same boxes, but I doubt even a quarter of one of those slabs will be used for this same design. I'd hate to turn them into small pieces that I can only use for certain projects if I don't have to.

Interesting thread. I noticed nobody recommended the GRR Micro Jig. Is this designed to do exactly what the OP needs? - or is it just for ripping?

Screen Shot 2017-11-21 at 6.09.38 AM.jpg

Only for ripping as far as I know. I have been wanting to get one for a while though since most of the instructional videos I watch on YouTube all have one and seem to swear by it for safety

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this lately trying to make a smart decision while still taking into account not only cost, but also space required, amount of use, and accessories needed to go along with each method. The more I think about it the more it makes sense for me to just get one of the incra sleds. I am kind of torn between the incra express and 1000se combo or the incra 5000 sled and a secondary miter gauge whether it be the 1000se or one of their cheaper miter gauges since the one in my Grizzly Binds in the channel I sometimes wonder if it was dropped before I bought it.

[Mike Cutler]

A mitre box with a stop.
I had to make a zillion little "accent" pieces out of ebony for our kitchen cabinets, 5/16ths square, by a 1/4" thick. My Keen Kutter Mitre did them as quick as any machine would have.

[Brandon Hanley]

I am with Bryan on this.

Get a Freud 7 1/4" 60 tooth very narrow kerf skilsaw blade. Right now, HD has them two for $20. Then make a small sled for small work. You will love the small fine kerf blade for small stuff. The teeth are tiny.

Easy peasy, and cheep too.

Do I need a special saw for those blades or can they be used in a normal table saw that uses 10" blades? Me being the amateur that I am never even considered that was possible. If so that could be a great option for me with a sled since I have a spare portable table saw from before I got the g0691. It seemed to work fine I just didn't like the fence setup on it. The blade one square to the miter slot out of the box though. And I like the idea of using a different saw rather than having to make a bunch of changes to my grizzly just for a few cuts.

As for the number of pieces I see quite a few in my future. I am a total amateur that is just getting started and hope to someday be able to build guitars but right now all of my focus is on little trinket boxes and jewelry boxes made with the incra router table set-up and I use those little pieces 4-drawer support and to glue in a square on the lid of some of the boxes to make a flat piece of wood friction fit onto the top of a dovetail box. Like the one below. Try not to laugh.

[Ole Anderson]

A zero clearance insert (ZCI) would be a good start.

[Ed Labadie]

As mentioned earlier, a Hammond Glider.

They were a printers saw.......

Ed

[Brian Holcombe]

Order of operations counts here, I would cut to width then resaw for thickness, then hand plane to a finish and finally cut to length.

This is not so hard, use a shooting board and cut to length with a handsaw.