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Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => What Equipment to Buy and Where to Get it. => Topic started by: Downwindtracker2 on February 23, 2019, 08:07:15 PM
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We went to a show this Saturday and I was talking to a vendor , if the saw doesn't sell this weekend ,we were offered a deal .What's the word on these saws?. My wife wants another saw so as to use water with cutting opal .
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Wow. What kind of opal? A 10" with a 303 .050" would work for boulder or large common opal chunks. An .040" might be better for the common opal but they deflect pretty easily in the 10" size.
We cut precious opal with a 4" or 6" using .020"-.032" 303s or a Pro-Slicer.
Another thing to consider is that oil is recommended for most 10" saws.
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Thanks for the education, I know nothing about cutting of stone. I keep learning. My wife is the rockhound in the family. I'm a retired millwright, so machinery is a different story.
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Glad to help. If the Star Diamond saw is in usable condition and reasonably priced, a 10" is a very versatile size. If she doesn't have a 10" it would be a good tool to buy at the right price.
You can use water if you're sawing something that you really don't want the oil to impregnate. The oil is better for cooling and blade wear prevention.
Not sure how water would work, as I've never used it in a 10", but tile saws use water. More heat at the cut might cause cracking problems in opal.
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After talking about what you said, she has some Ethiopian opal she would love to work with, we are thinking a another 6" . She showed me the blades she has bought, a rock and gem store closing. One was a .012" x"6 and the other a 301 .040"x 10". I'm getting old, I had forgotten I had set up a 10" Highland Park, trim only. I did a pretty nice job of it, even if I do say so myself. She had gotten pushed out of the shed by the youngest son, who used it as a workshop to build 4x4s. The joys of being a parent.
I guess if offered for a couple of hundred .Then set it up as a small slab saw ?? He had used it with water to cut the host rock from amalite (sp), that fossilized snail shell from Alberta.
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Oh yeah, a 6" .012" blade is good for precious opal. For the Star Diamond saw, I rigged a sheet metal angle fence for an old antique 10" for slabbing small chunks. Works well for odd-shaped pieces.
About the Ethiopian opal - if it is brown it will probably be "cracky" as the Aussies would say. If it is the newer Welo opal it is a hydrophane opal, and the color will disappear as it absorbs water.
Most of the Welo (Wollo) will come back to it's original color as it dries out again, but some might be less translucent. Robin had one turn really milky, but that only happens in a small percentage of stones.
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I used water in a 10" Raytec saw for years, even on agate and it worked fine. Using water for softer stones like opal will be no problem with a 10" slabber. The only problem with water is having to empty it after every use so the blade doesn'r rust out.
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Thanks, Gunsil. I just always used oil in the 10" saws because that was the usual recommendation. Good to know water doesn't cause heat issues when cutting stones.