Thank you for your kind response. You can find the swivel replacement blade clamps here: www.knewconcepts.com/replacement-swivel-blade-clamps-for-mkiii-saws.php or here: www.knewconcepts.com/replacement-swivel-blade-clamps-for-mkiv-saws.php You just need to make sure that they match the saw frame that you have. You can reach out to Knew if you are unsure which frame you have.

Oh it got annealed. It just takes a lot to reduce thick silver. One thing I probably should have done prior to running through the rolling mill was to hammer it, then anneal it. I have since heard that helps close any voids in the metal, or reduce them.

About time someone said something! Lmao! Sorry .

She's about to poison everyone in you tube land What! Not with Boric acid roach powder as a flux? Wowzers Inhale that and you will have a bad day

​@@terranceborer7614borax is used as a flux for gold and silver. Mule Team borax is the same borax that's sold as flux. Check any jewelry suppliers flux, it's borax. 🤦

You can definitely melt gold in this. You wouldn't be able to smelt it as in separate it out from other metals. You would need a different operation for that. But definitely good for melting metals.

thank you I have since found this out. but these definitely are cool little units @@janearcher3834

Thank you for your suggestions. With furnaces like these you only have to worry about a heat column above the furnace. There is very little heat dissipated outward. What do you use your bucket of sand for? I have my quench water on my soldering table just out of sight. That would take any heat out of any spilled metal that got off the tile. And I do love Harbor Freight!

@@janearcher3834 Quench water is good for quick cooling metal or an investment casting but for fires you never want to use water around metal. It will cause a steam explosion, even when used on the smallest amount of hot metal. Even if the metal looks solid it can be liquid in the middle. Keep a bucket of sand or get a bag of baking soda used for sand/soda blasting and keep it in a metal bucket. If you should have a spill and something should smolder or catch fire, dump the bucket on the spill. BUt never ever throw water on a fire if there is hot or molten metal or you may end up with metal flying onto you, or spreading the fire more.

Thank you for your kind words. What I hear most from people about their frustration with the Knew is that they have a hard time getting the saw blade to hold in the screw clamp. I have never had that problem. But clearly others have. The second issue is getting the tension correct using the lever on the model I have. That, like so many things in metalsmithing is a matter of practice. Once you get it you shouldn't need to change the settings on your saw frame. FYI, Knew saw frames are used in woodworking and many other applications, not just for silversmithing. Have a great day!

@@janearcher3834 hi. I appreciate your response to my comment! I need to find a replacement for my green lion saw (yes, I thought it was attractive tool, too), or, buy a chest plate to wear when piercing/sawing a project. That makes sense, trying to master the tension. It would have been lovely for them to stay how many turns of the tension dial knob to turn for sawing metal, for instance. I can't imagine the tension needing to be different from sawing copper from silver. Then, again, I'm new to piercing and sawing. The second comment you mentioned, hard time getting the saw blade to hold in the screw clamp, are you talking about when you unscrew the bottom dial knob to take out the blade and then put it back in and re-tighten it? I'm trying to find a thorough review on the saw, and I'm only getting positive reviews. No complaints and no explanation how to avoid/fix the negative issue that you stated. Could you speak a little more about the issue of the saw blade holding in the screw clamp?.

Thank you for your question. I don't know what you intend to do with the unit or the crucible after three hours, but think of it this way. You don't want to shock either the graphite crucible or the unit. That could cause cracks or weaken it. So you can add more metal to the crucible after three hours and it will probably be okay. You can probably turn the unite back on again after three hours without any damage. I let my crucible and unit air cool until it was room temperature before putting it away. Did that help?

It’s that I have more than 3 hours of work (smelting paydirt) however the manual says after 3 consecutive hours of use to turn it off to cool down before continuing. It doesn’t mention how long.

@@annclark9277 That is probably to protect the thermocouple and heating filaments. Prolonged use can degrade them. Although that is the same for multiple uses (based on my experience with kilns). I would say just let it cool off till it is warm, not hot. But that could still take a few hours.

I haven't used it much since this video. I have been very busy with my first job (which pays the bills). But I know from previously working with graphite and kilns that the thing that is likely to go first is the graphite mold. It will degrade faster than the unit. But they are easy to replace. ToAuto sells replacements which are relatively inexpensive and you can probably find them on Amazon as well. If the unit fails, it is likely because the thermocouple is no longer good. ToAuto doesn't sell thermocouples for this unit, but if you can find it on this unit, then you could see if one of the numerous thermocouples on Amazon would be a good replacement. Thermocouples are cheap. www.toautotool.com/collections/smelting-tools/products/pre-sale-graphite-crucible-metal-melting-ingot-mould

I used it indoors. It is as safe as the setup you create. As you can see in the video I put two layers of large tiles underneath the unit and underneath where I would pour. Also I created a wall of firebrick. The most likely problem would be if the crucible cracked and the contents ran out. Or when pouring you missed your mold and poured onto the tile surface. I would not say that there is never a zero risk of fire. But you can set yourself up for success by making sure there is nothing above the unit since there will be a heat column coming off of it, and nothing very close on the sides. Also make sure you have a heavy duty grounded extension cord that you can easily access to plug and unplug the unit. Neither the power cord or the extension cord should be underneath anything. Not under carpets or furniture, etc. You can see it in the video, about three feet to the right of the unit I have my acetylene torch soldering set up. So I have fire/flame in my studio all the time. But again it is in an environment where I have limited the risks. I also have three fire extinguishers nearby. One literally next to all this on the floor, and two at the entrance to my studio. And I check to make sure they are fully charged periodically. About aluminum fumes, there were none coming from the unit.

Thank you for your detailed explanation!❤

@@chatwitch6 If you aren't already, you should consider joining the Inspiring Metalsmiths Jewelry Facebook group. I am one of the admins there. We have lots of members who help out with metalsmithing questions as well as a place to show your work, and be inspired by other people's work. It's a very big community, so every topic is covered.

Thank you for your kind reply. And yes, a degraded or damaged crucible will ruin your equipment.

@Jane Archer Just wanted to tell you that I also had been using the wrong power cord extension. Lol. I could've just plugged the machine only with the cord supplied but my needs were different. Luckily my dad told me what kind of extension to use. Good thing I noticed the cord getting hot. And one more thing I'm excited to tell you Jane is that the ToAuto manual that came with mine is incredibly helpful. They did a great job. Thanks for liking my comment

@@ParanormalHorrorArtist Oh my! Yes, using the correct extension cord is important. And no, it should not be getting hot. That indicated too much resistance or too great a load being carried by it.

Thank you Evano!

I have 2 ozs of gold flakes to smelt, with a little black sand mixed in, any tips? Should the borax I ordered remove the black sand

Do you mean to heavy or too big?

@@janearcher3834 I think I'm trying to say too heavy. After using the heavier German saws for years I bought this Grobet and became one with the universe right then and there. Much easier. These other saws are gorgeous but I just can't give this one up. Seriously, for me it was about strength and muscle memory in the right hand. It took some time. And if the work requires 5/0 blades you are definitely going to need a lighter saw frame.

@@paulwiggins183 The problems most people have when they are learning to saw is getting the blade tension right and learning how much pressure to apply to the saw blade against the metal they are cutting. One would only need to use a 5/0 saw blade if they were cutting thin metal (22-24 gauge metal). The rule of thumb is that you want to have three teeth touching the metal at all times and not more or less. Now this is a rule of thumb and it works well for smooth cutting. However, for artistic reasons or personal preference people go outside those guidelines all the time. About the weight for beginner, that may have worked for you, but as I mentioned it isn't a primary problem for most beginners. The 3" Grobet is not a saw that is commonly used in the US, so I have not used one. It comes with a fixed and a moveable frame (like the German saw frame). The problem I would anticipate for a beginner would be the shallow throat, which is already a source of frustration for beginners starting out with a 4" saw frame. It is one reason I don't have any small saw frames. The Knew saw frame is very light, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a beginner. It is one of the more expensive saw frames and can be a little fiddly to learn to get the tension right. Here is some good information about sawing, including charts on which blades to use with which gauge metal. pepetools.com/blogs/news/what-size-saw-blade-to-use-tips-and-advice-on-using-a-piercing-saw

@@janearcher3834 In reply... blade tension is not an issue with the Swiss saw. The blade goes to the stop and no further. And the tension is correct. I've taught some beginners and there is certainly no substitute for time behind the saw... jewelry making is not supposed to be easy. And knowing how to back out of a cut is not a bad lesson to learn.

@@paulwiggins183 I look forward to trying it out.

I have them all. The times when my hands really hurt I use the Green Lion because it's large sized rubber handle demands the least grip from my hands. Thank you for your comment.

Steven, thank you for your comment. I will take that into consideration going forward.

That is correct. I don't smelt - just melt. However, this furnace can be used for smelting if that is what you need it for.

@@janearcher3834 I doubt very much that the smelting process could be carried out in this furnace.

Thank you for your comment. I did an internet search for 'Celtic knot designs'. Also Pinterest is a fantastic resource for designs and inspiration. Good luck!

You all probably dont care but does anyone know a trick to log back into an instagram account..? I was dumb forgot the account password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me!

@Bruno Taylor Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

@Bruno Taylor It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thanks so much you really help me out :D

@Samuel Byron Happy to help :)

Thank you Lauren. As a beginner, if you haven't already, you should consider joining the Inspiring Metalsmiths Jewelry Facebook page. We have lots support for beginners there, and lots of inspiration from talented and accomplished metalsmiths from all over the world. Watching KZbin videos is one of the things we recommend for beginners. There are so many excellent metalsmiths who have made excellent tutorials here. Good luck.

Seems they have fixed that

Yes, they have done a factory fix for that. Now those little plates have grooves in them to grab the blades. But if you have a LP frame which doesn't have grooves on the little plates, you can grind or file grooves into them.

@@janearcher3834 I’ve also seen that there is a secondary little bit of metal threaded up and over the aluminum frame at the bite.. I’m sure for grip, and to protect that pretty aluminum frame

I did notice a difference. The least time was used with the Knew Concepts saw because it is so quick to undo the saw blade when moving the blade into a different hole to cut out. Also it did have the fewest broken blades. The next quickest was the Green Lion Saw. It had the next fewest broken blades. It also is easier to change out the saw blade. The German frame took the longest. Mostly because you have two joints to tighten or stabilize, and it had the most broken blades.

Which styles of KC would you like me to compare? I do plan on making more videos. I am going through cancer treatment this year so things are drawn out a bit. I have a couple in the works right now. Thank you for your kind words.

Also, while the German saw frame is basic, it is good to have around for that reason. In case something goes wrong or you can't find your main saw frame (it does happen) it is a good backup. Or have some other saw frame as a back up. I still have my German saw frame hanging around. I am thinking of getting the Green Lion because it is beautiful, and I like beautiful tools.

@@janearcher3834 Just noticed your reply. I'm keeping off social media lately to try to preserve (what's left of) my sanity. I was wondering if there was any advantage to the swivel version of this saw. I tried a German type saw, but I have limited mobility in my hands, and I found changing the blade difficult. Wishing you best of health - I have a niece who is a cancer survivor. ❤️

I'm not clear on the question. I didn't design anything. I just review four saw frames. Could you rephrase your question?

Sorry. I was referring to your Knew concepts saw. Mine is old. It worked well for several years but I can no longer keep the blade taught. I have tried replacing the knobs but that did not solve the problem.

@@AnnMeyer Ah, I see. I purchased my Knew frame about 5 years ago. I don't know how or if it has changed since it first came out. But I strongly urge you to call them and tell them what is going on. They are very responsive. Or you can email them. It may be that you need a part replaced.

Jane Archer Thank you

@@AnnMeyer You are welcome. Let me know how this works out.

Thank you for your kind words. I will pass on the suggestion about knurling the handle on the Haymaker. I think that is an excellent suggestion.

Yes there will be. But I am undergoing treatment for cancer at this time and it is just taking me a lot longer to do than normal. The next video will be on soldering hold downs and soldering aids.

Oh my where does the time go? I'm sorry I didn't see your comment earlier. I'm glad you are learning about the different options for saw frames. I have several different ones myself because sometimes I just feel like using a different one. Sometimes I need a different one. I like tools in general and do kind of collect them. Especially beautiful ones.

Generally I use the German sawframe or Grobet. Only been in the trade since 1976. 😉 Have a great day.

@@utooth8114 Interesting. Your comment reminds me of a comment by a very talented Navajo/Dine jeweler, Mike Perry. He said he only uses the German saw frame and sees no need to look further for a different frame. If it works, why change? I get it. I recently bought the Green Lion frame. Not only have I coveted it for its design, but I am having problems with my thumb joint, and the large rubber handle is so much easier for me to grip when it is inflamed and in pain.

You are absolutely right about the Grobet... the only saw I would recommend for a beginner.

My Knew frame is the 5" Mk.IV HEAVY DUTY FRET SAW WITH LEVER TENSION. I just have not needed the swivel feature. Knew Concepts also has distributors on all continents.

My bad, my Knew Concepts frame is actually the 5" Mk.III FRET SAW WITH LEVER TENSION, not the heavy duty saw!

Yes, I put a new saw blade in when I started with the next frame. That is the only way to evaluate each on par. I broke two saw blades with the german saw, one with the Green Lion, none with the Knew Concepts, and one with the Haymaker.

Jane Archer Thank you!

I agree that saws are a personal preference. Hopefully the reviews help people make decisions about which one to choose since most people will never get the chance to 'try one out' without buying one - other than the inexpensive German saw frame.