Low Noise saw (any saw ;)...)
 

Hi All,
I'm a part time paint contractor and I'm thinking of including a
laminate flooring in my services (I paint mostly condos). I have layed
a couple of laminate floors myself but I used circular saw for cutting
the laminate. Now, that would work if I work during regular hours, but
condo corporations don't allow high noise after 5 p.m. and during the
weekends, which is the time when I paint mostly. So, one option will be
to do all the prep work in the evening (carpet removal, vaccuming,
subfloor laying) and to hire someone to work on the laminate during the
day. Or, to lay the laminate after hours using some low noise saw. I
found some good looking Mastercraft mitre hand saw and it looks like
that's the best option, but I still think that it must be some other
power saw on the market that is not noisy. I thought to put the power
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Thanks in advance.

"ddt_toronto" wrote in message
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Only type of portable power saw that I can think of that would be suitable
is a chop saw and they're not known for their quietness. There's usually
other options of interest than noise.
Cutting laminates for floors needs usually needs an exact 90°. Only other
option I can think of is a handsaw for the initial cut and then some type of
professional cut off box that uses a shear to cut the last 1/4" of material
to size. There's a few high end sheer cutters of that type are used in
picture making, maybe there's some that cut at 90°.

"ddt_toronto" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi All,
I'm a part time paint contractor and I'm thinking of including a
laminate flooring in my services (I paint mostly condos). I have layed
a couple of laminate floors myself but I used circular saw for cutting
the laminate. Now, that would work if I work during regular hours, but
condo corporations don't allow high noise after 5 p.m. and during the
weekends, which is the time when I paint mostly. So, one option will be
to do all the prep work in the evening (carpet removal, vaccuming,
subfloor laying) and to hire someone to work on the laminate during the
day. Or, to lay the laminate after hours using some low noise saw. I
found some good looking Mastercraft mitre hand saw and it looks like
that's the best option, but I still think that it must be some other
power saw on the market that is not noisy. I thought to put the power
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Most portable electric saws use universal motors. That is a big noise maker
by it self. Then add a blade it the sound magnifies.
Bosch makes a different type of miter saw that might be quieter. Take a
look here.
http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=54928&I=55133

I wonder if you could put a router variable speed control on it to
dampen the sound.

Other wise, you may want to try a jig saw or battery operated
mini-circular saw with a jig to keep it cutting straight. Jig saws are
pretty quiet.

How about one of those battery powered circular saws and a good cross
cut jig of some sort. You'll still have the sound of the teeth hitting
the wood, but the motor noise should be much lower than a tablesaw.

Chuck

A decent belt-drive contractor's saw with a capacitor-start motor has very
low motor noise. It's those little ones with the universal motors that
generate all the noise. The actual cutting noise contribution will be the
same. A slow going cross-cut with a quality, fine-toothed carbide blade
shouldn't be too loud.

I've used one of those battery drive circular saws and while they are
quieter that their AC counterparts, they are still louder than a
capacitor-start motor on a belt-drive stationary saw.

Tim Ellestad

"Woodchuck34" wrote in message
ups.com...
How about one of those battery powered circular saws and a good cross
cut jig of some sort. You'll still have the sound of the teeth hitting
the wood, but the motor noise should be much lower than a tablesaw.

Chuck

If low noise is critical, I'd go with the manual miter box. I've got a
Craftsman that has done a wonderful job. It has a wooden base that I
modified slightly and will clamp tightly in a Workmate bench. It has a
"captive" blade so that once set, even a monkey could make precise cuts.
Something like:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?
BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00936343000&s ubcat=Miter+Boxes

(sorry about long url, it's a Craftsman Full Range Compounding Miter Box,
Sears item #00936343000 Mfr. model #36343 )

ddt_toronto wrote:
Hi All,
I'm a part time paint contractor and I'm thinking of including a
laminate flooring in my services (I paint mostly condos). I have layed
a couple of laminate floors myself but I used circular saw for cutting
the laminate. Now, that would work if I work during regular hours, but
condo corporations don't allow high noise after 5 p.m. and during the
weekends, which is the time when I paint mostly. So, one option will be
to do all the prep work in the evening (carpet removal, vaccuming,
subfloor laying) and to hire someone to work on the laminate during the
day. Or, to lay the laminate after hours using some low noise saw. I
found some good looking Mastercraft mitre hand saw and it looks like
that's the best option, but I still think that it must be some other
power saw on the market that is not noisy. I thought to put the power
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Thanks in advance.


Horizontal Bandsaw

http://www.southern-tool.com/store/l..._bandsaws.html

http://www.southern-tool.com/store/m..._bandsaws.html

A guy had a small one at a job site a few years ago. Don't
remember the name but it was easily carried by one person.

Normally used for metalwork.

Quiet compared to any circular saw.

"L M" wrote in message
...
ddt_toronto wrote:
Hi All,
I'm a part time paint contractor and I'm thinking of including a
laminate flooring in my services (I paint mostly condos). I have layed
a couple of laminate floors myself but I used circular saw for cutting
the laminate. Now, that would work if I work during regular hours, but
condo corporations don't allow high noise after 5 p.m. and during the
weekends, which is the time when I paint mostly. So, one option will be
to do all the prep work in the evening (carpet removal, vaccuming,
subfloor laying) and to hire someone to work on the laminate during the
day. Or, to lay the laminate after hours using some low noise saw. I
found some good looking Mastercraft mitre hand saw and it looks like
that's the best option, but I still think that it must be some other
power saw on the market that is not noisy. I thought to put the power
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Thanks in advance.


Horizontal Bandsaw

http://www.southern-tool.com/store/l..._bandsaws.html

http://www.southern-tool.com/store/m..._bandsaws.html

A guy had a small one at a job site a few years ago. Don't
remember the name but it was easily carried by one person.

Normally used for metalwork.

Quiet compared to any circular saw.

Grizzly has those too.

Low cost solution. I used one for metal work. But they came in handy for
cutting many other materials. Just buy the right kind of blades.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...=images&num=2&

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...mnumber=G8692&

This is the one I used for many years as a general cut off saw. Mostly for
metal but almost anything else you could think of too. Just because it was
there in the shop.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...emnumber=G1010

Upscale wrote:
"ddt_toronto" wrote in message
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Only type of portable power saw that I can think of that would be suitable
is a chop saw and they're not known for their quietness. There's usually
other options of interest than noise.
Cutting laminates for floors needs usually needs an exact 90=B0. Only oth=
er
option I can think of is a handsaw for the initial cut and then some type=
of
professional cut off box that uses a shear to cut the last 1/4" of materi=
al
to size. There's a few high end sheer cutters of that type are used in
picture making, maybe there's some that cut at 90=B0.

Seems the best way to me, if pricey. Cut nearly to length with a hand
miter saw, then shave to exact length with the Pootatuck Lion Miter
Trimmer. It does do squaring. The clones out there may also do
squaring. I think Grizzly distributes one.

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
to size. There's a few high end sheer cutters of that type are used in
picture making, maybe there's some that cut at 90°.

Seems the best way to me, if pricey. Cut nearly to length with a hand
miter saw, then shave to exact length with the Pootatuck Lion Miter
Trimmer. It does do squaring. The clones out there may also do
squaring. I think Grizzly distributes one.

They would work with wood, but that laminate is pretty tough stuff. It will
kill a carbide blade in short order. Do you think a trimmer can handle it?

Thanks guys for all your replys. I'm thinking of testing this Bosch
power hand saw (I didn't even know that something like this exists):

http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=54928&I=55133

"ddt_toronto" wrote in message
Thanks guys for all your replys. I'm thinking of testing this Bosch
power hand saw (I didn't even know that something like this exists):

http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=54928&I=55133

Didn't you say you wanted to do flooring? It mentioned a maximum mitre of 3
5/8". That's about 4" at 90°. There's flooring that's wider than that. Not
saying it won't do what you'd need, but I'd examine one very closely.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Charlie Self" wrote in message
to size. There's a few high end sheer cutters of that type are used in
picture making, maybe there's some that cut at 90=B0.

Seems the best way to me, if pricey. Cut nearly to length with a hand
miter saw, then shave to exact length with the Pootatuck Lion Miter
Trimmer. It does do squaring. The clones out there may also do
squaring. I think Grizzly distributes one.

They would work with wood, but that laminate is pretty tough stuff. It w=
ill
kill a carbide blade in short order. Do you think a trimmer can handle i=
t?

I'd guess the trimmer will handle it, but sharpening the cutters might
become a career. Still, it will do the job, I'm reasonably sure.

ddt_toronto wrote:
Thanks guys for all your replys. I'm thinking of testing this Bosch
power hand saw (I didn't even know that something like this exists):

http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tool...=54928&I=55133


How will you rip the pieces to width along the wall?

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

(Remove -SPAM- to send email)

Contractors have been getting ripped off for years now by a
conspiracy. The only thing that's generally available to us today are
devices that spin things like carbide-tipped saw blades with big motors.

But what do you think cuts the saw blade itself? That's right, a
laser! Have you seen the kerf on the anti-vibration cut-outs in the
Freud? Astoundingly clean, accurate, lightning fast, with a .5mm kerf.

So, take that new miter saw with the laser sight. All they need to do
is get rid of the motor and the blade and boost the laser power. How
hard can that be? I just did all the design work right there.

* Never needs sharpening!
* Totally quiet... no moving parts!
* No sawdust... just a little puff of smoke.

The laser could even match the color mark of the manufacturer
(e.g. yellow for dewalt, red for milwaukee, green for hitachi)

Well, you can see how this would kill lots of industries overnight, so
they'll never let us have them.

In rec.woodworking ddt_toronto wrote:
Hi All,
I'm a part time paint contractor and I'm thinking of including a
laminate flooring in my services (I paint mostly condos). I have layed
a couple of laminate floors myself but I used circular saw for cutting
the laminate. Now, that would work if I work during regular hours, but
condo corporations don't allow high noise after 5 p.m. and during the
weekends, which is the time when I paint mostly. So, one option will be
to do all the prep work in the evening (carpet removal, vaccuming,
subfloor laying) and to hire someone to work on the laminate during the
day. Or, to lay the laminate after hours using some low noise saw. I
found some good looking Mastercraft mitre hand saw and it looks like
that's the best option, but I still think that it must be some other
power saw on the market that is not noisy. I thought to put the power
saw in the bathroom, but noise is too strong even then. Any idea which
low noise saw can be used for laminate besides hand saw?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, no kickback either! I hadn't thought of that...but I'm sure that
will be on the first brochures when they start churning them out.

Scorching? By the time these things come out, all wood will be MDF
and need to be painted anyway :-)

Seriously, though, the *pulsed* lasers that do LASIK eye correction
DON'T SCORCH (they vaporize the wood before it burns)... they could
make a stopped, flat-bottomed hole in wood that looks like that you
made it with a forstner bit on your drill press but with 0.0001"
accuracy and no brad-point left in the bottom if you add a modicum of
CNC technology.

And, if you wanted to thru-drill, that's another good thing... ZERO
TEAR OUT!

One of the best uses is making those damned square mortise holes --
nobody's every pefected that satisfactorily. And even if you do have
the el-cheapo scorching version of the laser, we don't care a lot
inside a joint.

The price of anything initially (in "prototype" quantities) is quite
costly... but you can go to the dollar store and get a laser pointer
now for a buck... when they first came out they were a hundred bucks!
And don't forget, with a pulsed laser, the power is concentrated in a
short burst resulting in *much* lower wattage.

It might seem dangerous by today's standards, but again, look at the
LASIK lasers... they're a foot from your eyeball pointed directly at
your eyeball!

Brad nailers and Hilti guns have quite a "range" too, and probably
seemed scary when they were first invented.

In rec.woodworking PC Paul wrote:
Well, you can see how this would kill lots of industries overnight, so
they'll never let us have them.

I'll bite.

Cutting wood by essentially burning it away is a bit different to cutting
metal... I guess for studwork a bit of scorching wouldn't matter so much,
but for fine furniture? No thanks.

Also, the systems I've looked at in a quick google (up to 450W CO2 Lasers)
can only cut a max of 1" thickness. And a 450W laser is a hefty bit of kit
with a hefty price tag. Although I see EBay has a 3500W laser setup on
Buy-it-now for only $249,995.

Not to mention that saw cutting is only dangerous to people within reach of
the blade plus a bit for kickback. A high powered cutting laser would be a
danger to anyone in a pretty wide range, even if it was initially contained
inside the workshop. Want your dozy neghbour to have one?

(in MOtKe.173577$9A2.125878@edtnps89) said:

| So, take that new miter saw with the laser sight. All they need to
| do is get rid of the motor and the blade and boost the laser power.
| How hard can that be? I just did all the design work right there.
|
| * Never needs sharpening!
| * Totally quiet... no moving parts!
| * No sawdust... just a little puff of smoke.

Hmm - more benefits:

* Self cauterizing... losing a limb doesn't mean you'll bleed to
death.
* Large capacity/range - 3500W model cuts "to infinity and beyond."
* Doubles as lawn mower/tree trimmer/pet groomer/grill starter.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html