Adam Savage Geeks Out Over This Precision Woodworking Saw!

Adam welcomes back to the workshop Brian Meek, owner of Knew Concepts and maker of precision woodworking and jeweler's saws that Adam first checked out over 10 years ago! This time, Brian brings some of the prototypes of their titanium fret saws to show how they were developed, as well as an impressive marquetry saw with 24-inch legs that Brian and his team have been working on for years.
Knew Concepts saws and tools: www.knewconcepts.com/
Shot by Josh Self and edited by Norman Chan
Music by Jinglepunks
Additional media courtesy of Knew Concepts
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!

[@tested]

Knew Concepts saws and tools: www.knewconcepts.com/

[@theoriginalrabbithole]

Fractal vices are super-cool tools to have but smooth jaws have their limitations, as opposed to the diagonally-knurled, serrated jaws that most bench vices come with and those fractal jaws will only grip an object from moving up and down, as well as any smooth metal surface can and when you multiply the verticle facets to better grip the object horizontally, the jaws just become 'rails' in a vertical sense, due to less gripping surface. I would suggest putting multiple metal blocks if nessasary underneath the object to support downward pressure.

[@ethan2256]

I have an idea that i believe solves a problem for people and would be a hot ticket item if we could make it affordable. it would involve metal however and I really only work with wood so I need Help.

[@NeilSedlak]

The chain drive on the vintage saw makes perfect sense. It keeps the blade in the same orientation along its entire length as you follow a scrolling pattern. You have to swing the frame around to keep it outside the wood as the blade changes directions. You can't "just twist your arm and the entire saw" if there is wood in the way!

[@scottwatrous]

Yeah exactly. It's not hard to get.

[@apcherrys7]

Also if you want to cut a long strip greater than the depth of the saw, you can then offset the frame to one side and still cut parallel to the straight edge. I have a cheap draper piercing saw where I have bent the top part of the frame so that I can cut 12" parallel strips.

[@PowerScissor]

Yeah, it was pretty weird they both didn't think it was necessary....then immediately moved to their own product using the same idea...lol.

[@muddy250]

Spot on, I was thinking the exact same thing. Up a ladder cutting fretwork you can't push the spine of the saw through the timber no matter how far your wrist will go ...

[@richardhaas1989]

I guess these guys have never been up a ladder trying to something intricate with a HOUSE in the way and you CAN'T just come in from any angle you want...

[@AristophMarloque]

I would watch Adam Savage building random people workshops in their homes until the end of time!

[@shimaki591]

I love the no nonsense attitude of this guy. No fancy marketing lingo, just honest reasoning and the product sells itself

[@jesuslivesinmytoilet]

Adam! Pleeeeaaase start your show idea to help with tiny space workspaces!!! I watch all of your videos, I have so much interest in so many "maker" hobbies, but I live in a 500 square foot studio!

[@electric_claire]

As a DIY person in a tiny NYC apartment, I'd love for you to do that show, Adam.

[@jimphubar]

Mr Finner was asking 'Can my wrist hurt less at the end of the day?' The cast iron frame hangs while working at height so you're not contending with the weight of the frame wanting to twist the saw. Also you're working on the bottom adge of a fixed workpiece so the frame is always out of the way. You would cut in situ for reasons of symetry, cutting detail after fitting would achieve this better than the other way round. He was trying to fix a pain-point.

[@danielland3767]

Maybe it's because I just woke up and looked at my phone...why did I watch Adam introduce his twin!?!

[@pete_smack]

Wake up earlier child

[@danielland3767]

@@pete_smack 🤣🤣🤣

[@Joe___R]

I have been drooling over their saws for years, especially that big one he was showing off. Glad to see them doing so well.

[@danielland3767]

17:04 Adam....that show of making small maker spaces? I'd watch tf out of that show & tested be a great vehicle for it. I'd buy cable or another service for that show.

[@JamesBinnion]

Knew Concepts tools are great. I have/had the honor to be a friend of Lee and Brian along with being an occasional tester of prototype tools. They always do their best to make well engineered tools for the metalsmith and wood worker. Thanks so much for bringing Brian in for some show and tell.

[@woutervanbelleghem8676]

OK, Adam, please read this : I have a tiny little appartment, and it's like a mancave. But I struggle with my neighbours in two ways: 1) I have 3D printers, but they are to noisy and not moveable for say, and b) everything is everywhere, so the dream of having a smallspace-shop has always been my to-get-to goals, where I never seem to arrive at. Thinking more recently I need a big shop somewhere, but it is expensive an not for a home-maker. So, about 17:14 in this video, you were talking about doing videos about and for the small maker and in small spaces? Well, I could need all the advise you can give, and strongly vote for those kind of videos. Except, I'm small and probably quite alone. So yeah, keep up the good work!

[@dl950]

I first bought the 5” aluminum frame saw, and although it does provide greater linear strength than legacy jewelers/coping/fret saws, just as he said, the torsional strength was about the same. So, I bought the titanium cage saw and man it’s been great. It is ~3x the price, but the others will break blades after 1cm. Also, anyone looking for blades, even though Knew Concepts suggests the pegas brand skip blades, if you’re cutting mild steel or metals then I’d suggest the Herkules White Label blades. They also have sizes up to 14 which are about 1/8” thick, non-skip toothed and case hardened. They cost $60 for 144 blades, but they will last you a decade. Just don’t over tighten any blade, find the correct tension by plucking the blade, aiming for a nice resonance tone; ‘singing’

[@KnewConcepts]

We recommend the skip blades for dovetail work. In wood. For metal, you definitely want jeweler's blades of one stripe or another. We stock (and recommend) the Herkules white labels, but any of the name brands will work well.

[@patrickday4206]

I'm a finish carpenter used to be a goldsmith I like this saw but really couldn't justify the buy

[@Flibster]

Great to see him back again with the finished saw, and what a thing it is. I don't have a use for one myself, but I really, REALLY want one.

[@hraefn1821]

You have an engineer's soul my friend. Same as Adam wanting an object just because of the sheer brilliance of the engineering.

[@lumpyren]

I would so pay for a show like Adam describes. "Home maker rescue". It's a brilliant idea and if it's not adam doing it but instead being the director/production and someoen else I think that is an amazing idea to add to tested's channel. heck even as a subscription only.

[@jamesmaddigan8132]

Making miniature maker spaces, a show I'd watch that. Clickspring's space is amazingly small.

[@babbagebrassworks4278]

Yep, I think is brain is bigger than his shop. Clickspring is so inspiring yet also depressing "I will never be that good...." So I spend a lot of time thinking about making CNC machines that will do that for me.

[@brianbecher5781]

There is SO MUCH to love about this video!!

[@j.r.millstone]

So its basically a hand powered scroll saw that's way more accurate. I want one.

[@halfstep67]

For only $2400, you can own one.

[@zachmoyer1849]

@@halfstep67 700 for the smaller one which is not bad really

[@BernardManansala]

OG Tested subscribers will remember Adam saying... "I can't wait to see that." 10 years later it finally pays off.

[@donevans1884]

Wow what a saw , they are fantastic , Adam i love your enthusiasm for not only your work but the work of others , you have always been on my very small list of people i would love to talk to , brilliant video . thank you both .

[@ModBotArmy]

This was a great video. I have briefly touched on things you can do to help but I enjoyed the breakdown of each. Awesome job 😊

[@duanehill4911]

I finally figured out why I keep bingeing your videos. It's not just that I'm terminally fascinated with tools and their uses - it's that you make me feel unjustifiably young in spirit. Thank you!

[@jesuslivesinmytoilet]

Brian is awesome and charismatic as hell! Please bring him on the show more often!

[@elcorado83]

Is he the guy Adam said was a possible alternative to Jamie Hyneman when they thought he might leave Mythbusters?

[@wolfe1970]

The guy doesn't even understand the concept of a coping saw, theres a million and 1 reasons why you need a coping saw with swiveling ends, its like hes trying to reinvent the wheel and take credit for it

[@jesuslivesinmytoilet]

@@Randomname183 wow!

[@davidneel8327]

Adam, you should look at the ships saw used during the Tally Ho boat restoration.

[@Psysium]

I deeply enjoyed this! I have no need for tools but I love learning about cool engineering. How awesome.

[@jimjmcdonnell62]

I'm lucky enough to own a Knew Concepts Ti birdcage saw. Piercing work has been one of my favourite things since the day I started training to be a jeweller - but the birdcage saw just made it several orders of magnitude more enjoyable and satisfying. My non-jeweller friends do think I'm stone-cold crazy to spend that much on one (in their eyes) rather unassuming tool but what do they know? Nothin', that's what!

[@royalrepublican3480]

love videos like this! wouldn't mind tons more

[@dogboydar1202]

Cool as heck. I'm sure Lee is watching and enjoying all of this ! The first RT saw I made from scratch was sort of like that, and was good until Lee's old saw guide, and the prototype motor saw he made that I still use. This is amazing !!!

[@MrAcuta73]

As a guy that works in my "dining shop" in an apartment, can't wait to see your small space setup video(s). Can always use more ideas! Though honestly pretty happy with what I've created.

[@ericlowe8138]

Dear Adam Savage, I have longed for a woodworking shop since I was about 10. My Grandpa built his house and an art studio for my grandma, who was a semi famous artist in Salt Lake, Utah. He was a very good woodworker and built many things my family still thinks of as heirlooms (including toy building blocks for his grand-kids). They inspired me to want to do woodworking and art from a young age. I'm only saying this because I do live in a small apartment with my wife and 2 cats. I've always loved Mythbusters and I think what you're doing by showing everyone that you don't need a lot to have fun is a great idea. Just need an imagination and patience to make anything fun.

[@Myndness]

Really great Video, thanks. Loved listening to you guys, also... need one of those mounted saws.

[@cady.moriarty]

I currently do all of my woodworking on a 3'x5' balcony, with as much flat pack workspace as I can. I am seriously looking forward to you putting out a small workspace series, even if it's more of a TedTalk.

[@PeteLewton]

Nesting is a surprisingly complex topic, really interesting to hear how it affects design. I do some CNC work, and deepnest is a great software tool to look at nesting options.

[@suvelik4427]

Beautiful piece of machinery ;) And very practical - especially jeweler's models.

[@G33kT3chstudio]

this has to be some of the most beautiful engineering of a tool that i have ever seen.

[@TheBubagrunt]

I have an RBI Hawk fret saw that is modeled after many of the concepts but is motorized. What a good looking tool displayed in this context. I am also wowed and blown away! Touché!

[@ElvesofZion]

I would LOVE more tips for setting up shop/makerspace in my apartment.

[@theHardChargerVids]

That thing is mind blowing and such beautiful engineering

[@danielgehrke859]

Awesome concept! As a product dev engineer I feel the butterflies in my belly seeing such a cool KNEW concept like this. 🦋

[@garychaiken808]

Nice job. Thank you 😊

[@shandyhilling7889]

Simple and amazing

[@ThriftLife]

Amazing! Wish I could afford one, it truly is a work of art.

[@aaronbuchholz2510]

What a wonderful saw!

[@Sgt_Potato_1]

Having people like this on your channel is one of the myriad reasons why I'm always drawn in when watching Adam. I absolutely need one of these for various reasons so now I know it exists. 😂 I didn't even think I child find this kind of tool so... Thank you Adam for being the quintessential maker.

[@andyweberg2928]

Amazing saws, firstly! But secondly, I love the back-and-forth of each man wanting the saws in their hands :) "NO, I want to hold this magnificent object!"

[@-B.H.]

Wow that is impressively awesome!

[@marcoaurelioarnaudcypriano5930]

Wow! Amazing, I Neves seu it. Thankyou.

[@pjcornelius]

Great stuff. I have two Knew Concepts saws and love them. I’ve thought about doing marquetry and if I do I’ll take a close look at that saw.

[@patricksanders858]

Jeez! It's been ten years! OMG! I REMEMBER WATCHING THE FIRST VIDEO!

[@Blake-W8LB]

The dime blew my mind!!

[@jesuslivesinmytoilet]

I have no need whatsoever for Knew Concepts tools but god damn are they cool. Great video, Adam!

[@derschwartzadder]

Same. No need for it, but still kinda want one.

[@wolfe1970]

I'm alittle confused at Brians lack of understanding what a coping saw does, Ive used Coping saws for all kinds of projects for the past 45 years, the ones i use have swivel ends but you have to swivel them yourself both independently and try to match them up, so to have a coping saw that rotates both ends together is genius, i could think of numerous reasons for needing to rotate the blade

[@jkit3258]

Please @Tested, more of this!

[@nathkrupa3463]

Great video Adam sir 😊

[@phxbofh]

Brian is fantastic! What a cool idea

[@kzookid2051]

Huge wow! And, the engineering isn't the only great thing about the saws - the price is actually affordable. It makes me so happy just to know this exists.

[@terrencemiltner1005]

"Can we see this go?" Peak Adam Savage right there.

[@stevehamilton-lt4hs]

We now demand that Adam show tiny shops around the country, he can start here in surprise, AZ at my house and my work shop we help transform from a 30 municipality fleet to a shop for parks and recreation maintenance. We build all sorts of things that would “make” Adam happy look forward to seeing everyone here in AZ ! Come on tested

[@babbagebrassworks4278]

Forget Tiny Homes, I want a Tiny Shop but if I had one I would need a bed in there because I would never leave.

[@cmmake]

Brian is too cool! I loved this.

[@AseGarcia]

When I saw that "3D saw" structure the only thing that came to my mind was "hey, that looks like some part of the Death Star" xD

[@xGaLoSx]

I'd kill for a 1 hour shop infrastructure build video. hint hint!!!!!!

[@JesusvonNazaret]

I just recently bought one of their Mk.IV fret saws with swivel blade clamps and am really impressed how much better it works than my swiss made Grobet fret saw

[@WikiSnapper]

I have a scroll saw I use all the time, it is awesome to see one that isn't powered.

[@olsonspeed]

I have no immediate use for a precision saw at this time but I greatly appreciate the genius and engineering that went into solving the tool design problem.

[@1979augistine]

Good to see Adam and his older brother working together

[@brandonbritt99]

i love my scroll saw wish i had one this nice

[@lilBugger35]

I do Marquetry for Urns and I do it mostly just with a jewelers fret saw by hand. I might have to get one of those someday.

[@brian_bielanski]

I don't think I will ever have a need for a Marquetry Saw but I want one just to stare at it longingly and show it off to people. LOL What a beautiful piece of engineering.

[@Eisenheim1191]

I'd love to see Adam watch or even better visit My Mechanics. I've been watching his videos for years and I know Adam would love that.

[@CericME]

That be a very fun specialty scroll saw.

[@ronhochhalter3491]

Manual scroll saw, I could see this being useful for intricate medal work like jewelry, not so much for woodwork. I could see a fairly large learning curve in order to operate this saw correctly. Definitely a neat idea and cool to see.

[@JC-yt1pm]

I own one of their Fret saws and love the thing that beast would be awesome if i had a place for it.

[@freednighthawk]

Dude! I had a design for a nearly identical saw a couple years ago. I think I'm gonna have to buy one of these.

[@MorrisonManor]

Awesome guest!

[@breathinglead871]

That is one cool saw!

[@billbucktube]

Twinsied! Two brothers from different mothers! Fantastic saws.

[@joeromanak8797]

I looked at that fancy scroll saw machine with the same awe that Adam did. It really is a WOW! The unfortunate fact is that you still need the artistic talent to go with it. That I do not have. Following a line with a blade is a skill that many lack and as the scrollwork gets smaller, the mistakes and mid course corrections are amplified and it doesn’t take long to make a piece unusable. So, faor the artsy people, here is a product to make the sawing part effortless. For those of us with the hands of a blacksmith, the bestest, elaboratist, expensivist tool won’t overcome our other problem. But from the point of a mechanical wonder, I love what you’ve created. 🥸👍👀✅

[@zzwoodcrafters7279]

I've owned a cabinet shop since 2011 and do we do all types of woodworking. I have a great fondness for cool/ well-made tools from American manufacturers. So I ordered a few of their saws just to have. But I could never see me using that large one. The tech now let's me do that type of stuff so much easier. I can even pull off the angles using v-bits. I used to be all for doing everything by hand, but hands make mistakes. Cnc tools rarely do lol

[@KimsLantern]

Super cool. I actually have one car garage I’m using as my own workshop. That’d be super cool if you did a show on helping people make their own workshops. I’d love to pick your brain on how I could utilize my space. Great video again!!!

[@MorRobots]

No joke, i used fret saws for years and years. Then saw adams video 10 years ago, bought one and absolutely loved it. Seriously a well made and worth it tool

[@jaxistheman1]

What do you do with this saw? Not just you, but in general?

[@MorRobots]

@jaxistheman1 a fretsaw? Or that massive deep throat (hehe) marquetry saw? Because that saw it used to do precision work, such as cutting out parts used in fancy woodworking inlay work caled marquetry. Or even. Metal inlay work as well. A fretsaw can do similar work, but is also good for cutting out the waste between dovetail joints. It's also used to cut the slots in the neck of guitars that frets are installed into (thus the name). Some call it a jewelers saw (how I best know it from my former trade). We used the. Ofte. To cut small metal parts such as tbe shanks of rings.

[@troyj3292]

I saw that huge saw at Handworks this summer, and right next to them was a young kid with a large wooden marquetry saw. It was really interesting to see the two side by side. It was Christopher Schwarz from Lost Art Press that he mentioned, right?

[@hendyk78]

I love these, they look more like piece of art

[@thomasr1051]

So cool

[@Capt.Marco-Hawk-L.L.A.P]

that saw is awesome

[@AleksandrMotsjonov]

that was most amazing ad for 19 minutes that I've enjoyed! oh if only all ads where like that ha ha

[@samchapple6363]

Good one ❤

[@luapkirner5331]

If I didn't have a traditional chevalet de marqueterie already, I'd be down for this in a second.

[@captaintoyota3171]

I use your saws for coping trim. I love Knew conceots saws

[@stevelight3399]

Oh! You should come visit my tiny NYC workshop. People always ask about my Knew saw hanging behind me in pics!

[@leewood729]

THAT'S MY BROTHER-IN-LAW! HI, BRIAN!! :) (Oh, and the saws are the GOAT!)

[@NAS-nr1yz]

Can we please get a weakly of this amazinggg combo :"D

[@aguycalledlucas]

That was fun

[@ThomasLunsford]

Adam, please make the TV show happen to bring maker shops to people's tiny apartments! I know that you don't want the effort associated will filming a show, so I'd be happy to see you provide remote guidance at the beginning and reaction at the end of an episode.

[@Rohanology27]

I’m 2mins in and “they stopped screwing up so we ran out of it!” is already my new favourite quote

[@tigershirew7409]

Somewhere I have a photograph of my Grandfather as part of a crew building a 2 story house here in Victoria, BC. Now, in modern times we have pre cut 4x8 sheets of plywood and the studs in houses are placed to make it easy to just slap those suckers into place. This photo I have is from the 1920s, or maybe early 30s. They had no power tools or air nailers. Here they were, on ladders running a SINGLE piece of plywood, on the angle from ground to roof line, holding it in place and hammering nails into it. So while you may think no one would do that gingerbread cutting while up a ladder - you may be surprised. It was probably better to put the solid wood in place then cut to reduce the risk of breakage.

[@splinejunky]

You should also check out the Bridge City Joint Master Pro.

[@ryansinclaire8463]

MAKE THAT SHOW!

[@drewatkinson8052]

Adam, have you ever built an omnidirectional telescopic pass-through. Im working on one myself. I'd love to see what you'd come up with.

[@chrischerry2787]

Please make that TV show, Adam!!!

[@nunyabiz1712]

For those not familiar with marquetry, search Silas Kopf and T. Breeze Verdant. Amazing pieces.