tool pr0n

 For some time, I have wished I had a slitting saw + arbor for the mill.  Slotting saw?  (there is some debate over which is which) 

 Anyway, I've wanted to cut keyways in a shaft for instance.  I've wanted to make deep grooves.  Try making deep grooves with an end mill.

 Also, the arbor can be used with gear cutters too.  And probably some milling cutters I'm not even aware of.

 And hey, if you've ever needed to make your own heat sink with thin fins, this is how you do that - stack a bunch of thin saws with spacers on the arbor. You'll need a power table feed and patience... and ideally a lot of emulsion coolant... so you won't catch me trying it any time soon.

 I've been eyeballing these for more than a year.  I chose 22mm over 1in kinda arbitrarily because when I shop for saw blades, I see more available with a 22mm hole vs. a 1in hole.

 Now, I find I'm making something which would be seventeen times easier (I measured) if I had the darned slitting saw.

 Did I evaluate other options? Yes! Option one was to cripple myself trying to do the same work badly, with a hand saw.  It would have taken days or weeks, including time for recovery in between.  This is not a hand saw job.  Option two would be a five thousand dollar band saw.  Which I haven't got room for even if some rich uncle gave me one.

 So I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on a cheap Chinesium sample and see how bad its runout is, since they don't specify runout until you get into the hundreds of dollars for non-Chinesium versions. Will it be useable?  We'll find out tomorrow.  It will certainly be returnable.

 It's well under $50 for the package which is ridiculously low compared to name brand, but even that is a bit of an ouch in the wallet.  I hate being retired, unemployed, and broke.

 Update: Hah! I can check the runout of the arbor tomorrow, but I won't get to play with the saw until Sunday.

 

 Random thought: this probably won't fit in my existing collets-n-arbors holder mounted to the side of the mill; it will probably stick out too far and hit the table.  Another item to go in a drawer and get scratched up because it's in a drawer with other steel items.  Offends my delicate sensibilities, it does.

 Honestly, this is all Inheritance Machining's fault, as he has helped me start caring again about the quality of my work.  It's not my fault I'm spending money, it's his.