Miniature Saws: I see a lot of talk about miniature saws. Well I use the Preac table saw and feel it is the best investment for your money. It is precise, quiet, and as safe as you will find for miniature work. I purchased mine from Smaller than life after taking a furniture course from Pete and Pam. I also have a dremel and Vanda-lay industries offers a duplicator, lathe, and mill using the dremel but I never gave them a second thought. I lost the URL long ago. They have a gang saw attachment for either the saw or milling machine (not sure which). I opted for the Preac because I tried it and knew it worked as advertised. I never felt comfortable using the saw blade on the dremel. The saw blade on the dremel does not have a diameter large enough to extend past the body of the tool and if you were to put a larger blade on it and run it full speed I don't know if I'd want to be in the room. The dremel is very noisy also. Now that said, I find my saw is capable of most chores I want to do. However even it falls short on the rare occasion(no tilting arbor) . The point is I feel if the Preac with a wealth of attachments comes to the wall on occasion then an adapted Dremel with limited fixtures and support will fall short much more often than not. Earth & Tree carries the Jarmac and Tom can probably answer all your questions. I suggest you talk to people like Pete at Smaller than Life or Tom at Earth & Tree (or your local dealer) that know what demands are put on the miniature saw before investing any money. A saw is more than holding something down and spinning a blade!!. If you want to extend the capabilities of your Dremel buy the flex shaft for it. It won't give you a saw but it will open up a whole world of new uses. Another Idea is a club could pool their money and invest in a saw. How to share it would be the problem. I think temporary access to a real saw would be more productive and safer than a jury rigged setup. I bought a Dremel lathe, tried it and was disappointed. I waited a year and purchased the Sherline. I was lucky in that the old Dremel came at an inexpensive price so I was able to determine I liked working with a lath and got to make a few items without risking a lot of dollars.

Here's my list of key things to consider:

Safety- even miniature power tools can inflict damage.

Support- will they be there if you need help and advise ?

Usability - I have a friend bought a lathe and now can't find chucks. What options and tools are available?

This list represents the things that some do not consider, but will surely take the fun out of a purchase.

Bill

Microbrushes: are available at Nancy's Notions. They are great people to deal with. They mostly carry stuff for the seamstress, quilter, etc., but they also have some craft type things. They have a paper catalog that you may obtain also. I have ordered things from them several times. She is in Beaver Dam, WI. http://www.nancysnotions.com/ Another company you might like to try is Clotilde's. http://www.clotilde.com She carries all sorts of sewing and craft items. I think she is out of Florida. Two others you might like are Home-Sew and Newark Dressmaker's Supply. They are both out of Eastern Pennsylvania. Home-Sew has an online catalog and Newark has a paper catalog, but you can order online out of the paper catalog. http://www.homesew.com/ http://www.newarkdress.com/

Marcie

Microbrushes: can be purchased from the MicroMark Catalog p. 70 of Winter 2000 catalog(1-800-225- 1066) Web address: http://www.micromark.com

Priscilla

Gluing resin: I have had good luck using JB Weld to glue resin to resin, it is available in hardward stores.

Nancy Clark

Power tools; Smaller Than Life carries the line Preac table saws, Sherline metal working lathes and Carbatec wood lathes and duplicators. We also present workshops using the table saw at a number of shows and at our shop in New Hampshire. There is also a complete line of hand tools for the miniaturists on our web site. Sorry, no shopping basket, just the phone and good old reliable e-mail.

http://www.nh.ultranet.com/~smallife

Pam & Pete Boorum, On Sebbins Pond, Bedford NH

Gluing Jig: The gluing jig you described sounds like the one from Earl Stoddard. I got mine from Scale Designs, but have heard you can order direct from him. Earl P Stoddard, 328 Bear-Christiana Road, Bear, DE 19701 or http://scaledesigns.com

Rose Stout

Earl stoddard makes the gluing jigs in two sizes and he also makes a wonderful chopper.

Jean in Maine

Glueing jigs: I have used small strong magnets on a metal sheet to free form any jig I needed for gluing.

DrBob in Delray beach, FL

Squaring jig question: Another suggestion is to use Legos. I keep a supply of them (stolen with permission from my 29 year old son's Lego collection) in my toolbox. They can be clipped together in numerous ways to fit any project. Break 'em down and they are very portable. I bought a few more the other day from the dollar store. 25 or 30 fake legos for 1.00.

Carrie in Smithville, TX

Gluing Jig to fit in toolbox: A simple gluing jig that will fit in a toolbox is to use Leggo or any of those other clip together plastic bricks kids use. The give you nice square angles to support the item you glue but break up to fit in a plastic bag, or can be scattered into odd spaces in the toolbox. Make them into an L shape and use any handy object as a weight to apply a gentle pressure (or try using two Ls and a rubber band around them).

Sandra Monk

small gluing jig from scrap Plexiglas: We make up the small gluing jigs that we use at our workshops from scrap Plexiglas. If you have a shop that deals in Plexiglas in your area, they will be glad to make you up one from pieces you purchase from their scrap bin.

Mark and Sharon Stockton

PVA glue: PVA stands for Polyvinyl acetate. Franklin adhesives makes one called Multibond (they are the Titebond manufacturers). It is a cross-linking polymerizing glue. Elmer's Carpenter's glue is a PVAC glue, which as I recall means it catalyzed (has to due with the curing).

Tom Berkner

PVA glue ( Polyvinyl - acetate ) glue or 'white glue' as it is sometimes called is one of the cheapest and most convenient glues on the market. It is a ready made emulsion of PVA suspended in water that sets when the water evaporates or is absorbed into wood. It's also an excellent non toxic wood glue with an almost indefinate shelf life as long as you keep it in reasonable warm conditions. You can also get PVA glues modified to prevent clogging abrasive paper, which is better for sanding.

Peter Cook

Heat Gun: I use mine to dry paint (low setting and careful) and to remove old paint (dries it and loosens it from the wood - again, very careful!).  I can't really visualize it for bending Plexiglas - a better way is to make a hot wire on a board (protect the wood) with two thin pieces of wood on each side.  This gives you a straight line of heat and the plexi is heated and bent along this 'path'.

Jacqui in Hilo, HI

Glue Used on Credit Cards: There was an article on this in one of my rubber stamp magazines.  They are called glue dots and two companies were mentioned.  One is Nasco's Arts & Crafts

1-800-558-9595, www.nascofa.com and the other is Uline 1-800-958-5463, www.uline.com   Nasco's was described as medium tack and has a yellowish tinge.  Uline's comes in either low or high tack and is clear.  There was a sample of the Nasco brand in the book and it did leave a grease mark on the paper.

Rita in Maine

Aging fabric, plastics and woods with files: I don't know how many of you use files in making miniatures. I use them  for almost all phases that require finishing. Wood, plastic, metals etc.  I even use them on fabrics to age them. This brings me to my hint.

Many things clog up files and many people toss the file when it seems to be useless. I find mine plugs up with solder or lead when I am working those metals. Also I find them plugging up when I am finishing the edge of wood or a piece that has been glued.  Many times super glue or epoxy get into the teeth of the file or even rust.

There are brushes called file cards that are available to clean files. These are  flat wire brushes with very short bristles on them. Supposedly they take out the dirt and stuff. I find these don't always work.

Here is my hint. Use a short length, about two inches, of 1/4' brass rod. Chuck it into the handle for and X Acto saw. File the end to a flat wedge shape.  Not a cone.  Now hold on flat side so most of the point and one side is in contact with the file teeth, sideways. Push the brass back and forth across the file, with the length of the file teeth until the file makes a bunch of little ridges in the brass. You will notice as these ridges form they ride in the teeth grooves and cleans all the trash out.  It even works to remove  heavy rust from the file. In the end you have a clean sharp file again. I have used this method to save some really bad looking files I got at a Flea market with box of other tools.

Bill Hudson, Eugene, Oregon

Cutting Angles: I have the MicroLux scroll saw. It has the attachment for cutting angles... I couldn't figure it out either until my cousin's husband, who makes beautiful real size furniture for his home, came to visit and showed me. First you set the angle on the gizmo (it kind of looks like a protractor) and tighten the knob on it. Then you put the wood in place and, finally, you slide the attachment in the groove that the saw has on the right hand side of the table. When you slide the attachment the wood will automatically take the angle set by the gizmo.

Nertha

Faux tacky - put some white glue into an open jar and leave the lid off for a few days - the white glue thickens and you can control just how thick you want to make it. When it is about right for 'tacky' put the lid back on!

Another use for white glue is to make something that looks just like blackened metal (a little like wrought iron). You cut your pieces out of brown paper bag, coat it on both sides with the glue (messy) and move it back and forth through a candle flame. When it is bubbled and dry, repeat (3 times) and while it is still warm (careful of fingers) shape it as you wish. When it is cooled you can leave it as is or coat it with RubNBuff and you will have a great antique effect. We used to make flower petals like this and then attach the finished blossoms to drift wood. I am sure this could be adapted to minis.

Jacqui Marlin

Brad Nailer and Air Compressor: http://www.grizzley.com http://www.amazon.com (yes the book people carry lots of tools and only charge $5.95 for shipping) Also look in your local classified ads under tools. That's where I bought my first one.

Tom Berkner

Gluing Foundation: I would suggest getting a bottle of Weldbond (this is its brandname). It's excellent, and somewhat more tacky than wood glue (yellow). While you're at the store picking up the Weldbond, also buy different widths of masking tape. This is what will give you freedom from standing there for 25 minutes until the glue sets. The Weldbond will also have to set, but because you'll have the masking tape holding the corners together (do this to both the inside of the corner and the outside) it will set tighter and there will be less movement. Also, if you have Lego building blocks around, build a bunch of the larger and wider ones up in a stack and use that inside the corner areas you are putting together after you have glued and taped. Just fit it in, readjust your 90 degree corner and don't take the tape off for a good long while. When I'm gluing, I use masking tape to even hold down the window frames while they are gluing. I'd rather have to sand/repaint a small area that has the masking tape left (which doesn't happen too often unless you leave it for days and days) than to have corners out of whack and crooked window frames. Never use hot glue!

Joy Perkins in Pointe Claire