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[bobby1]

Here is a photo of my rock gripper in action on an 18" saw.
Bob

[finegemdesigns]

The builder also made/makes? a larger version that he sold/sells? on eBay. There was a whole thread on these in the old forums. The one pictured is awesome and is designed for smaller end cuts and a 10 inch slab saw.

The larger one was designed for bigger end cuts and bigger saws.

Edit Update: The guy IS still on eBay! You should get one each of these before he disappears again.
Here is a photo of the larger clamp he makes:



http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEDIUM-ROCK-CLAMP-for-12-to-24-slab-saws-Holds-end-cuts-hard-to-hold-rocks-/231944128776?hash=item3600f28908:g:b1UAAOSwmmxW6XL~

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMALL-ROCK-CLAMP-for-trim-small-saws-Holds-end-cuts-hard-to-hold-rocks-/231948451424?hash=item3601347e60:g:DocAAOSwyQtV4oeV

eBay Seller
sellstuff61 (109 )
100% Positive feedback
Item location:
Riverside, California, United States

[Rockoteer]

That's a pretty good buy as I would not part with mine for $45.

[tntmom]

I have one of Tony's.  I love it but wish I would have gotten the bigger one.  Works great on the 12 but too small for the bigger saw.

[Rockoteer]

I have one of Tony's.  I love it but wish I would have gotten the bigger one.  Works great on the 12 but too small for the bigger saw.

What does Tony's look like?  Maybe post a pic if you can.

[Redrummd]

Glue them (I use JB weld) to blocks of wood.  Easier, faster and cheaper.

If working a rare piece use cedar and you can pick off wood by splitting off thin pieces.  Clean the last bit of wood and JB Weld with a sander.

Way too much work and possible slips with a slab grabber in my opinion.

[finegemdesigns]

Glue them (I use JB weld) to blocks of wood.  Easier, faster and cheaper.

If working a rare piece use cedar and you can pick off wood by splitting off thin pieces.  Clean the last bit of wood and JB Weld with a sander.

Way too much work and possible slips with a slab grabber in my opinion.

If I have a valuable end cut of jadeite and it doesn't fit perfectly with the grabber

(Note: You should always start with an end cut with a flat side)

I mark the end cut with a marker at the spots where the screws will touch. I then use a Foredom with a small diamond wheel to cut small grooves at the marker locations. This means I get a perfect or close to perfect solid fit with the grabber.
I have never had a end cut fall off in 30 years doing it this way.

Time to cut 4 grooves is typically about 5 minutes or less.

For less valuable rocks like agates you don't generally need to cut grooves as an insurance since 99% of the time the pieces don't slip if tightened correctly. Note again that I am talking about end cuts with a FLAT surface on one side. Trying to clamp a rock with a rough side against the clamp is problematic and more likely to slip.

I can't imagine using any other method to get the last few slabs off a rough. I also like the Comet design earlier posted. Looks simple, strong and effective. Maybe only slight downside is it takes more time to screw down and tighten.

[jakesrocks]

Not exactly a slab grabber, but rather a dopping system for cutting odd shaped pieces or flat faced pieces. An oldie but a goodie.

It starts with a vintage dop pot from the Gemstone Shop, now long out of business.



About 2 weeks ago I found this accessory for the dop pot which I've been searching for since the late 90's. This one just happened to be NOS, still in the box with original instructions. These are used by melting dop wax in one of the 3 cups on the right. These cups fit the dop pot for melting. The rock or faced piece to be cut is placed in the appropriate cup of wax, and the dop pot turned off to cool. When cool, the pot is screwed into the larger piece next to the box. This is clamped into the saw vice for slabbing. When finished slabbing, clean the cutting oil off of the piece remaining attached too the dop. Throw the dop & rock nub in your freezer for about an hour and the rock will fall right off of the dop wax.
The 2 wax pots which came with the dop pot will also work with the slab saver system.

[Redrummd]

Another advantage of using JB Weld and wood blocks is the ability to align the cut lines better.  For example in cutting a planed stone such as Rainbow Obsidian you want to make the cuts 10 to 15 degrees from the planes in the stone.  This is easy with blocks as you can use a miter saw to set exactly the angle you want.....

[tntmom]

I have one of Tony's.  I love it but wish I would have gotten the bigger one.  Works great on the 12 but too small for the bigger saw.

What does Tony's look like?  Maybe post a pic if you can.

Looks like yours.  Icky dirty night time picture but basically the same....



I agree with Redrummd though that wood is best for some things...  The rest of this baby is going glue on wood.  I'm too scared that the screws might chip it.

[Rockoteer]

 Redrummd is a wise old owl.  Grabbers will nick your blade if they can.  I only tried to get close once......oops.  I like the block of wood when I want to get close.  Somebody talked about a quart milk carton and plaster of paris????

[Redrummd]

Rocketeer - Yes, a milk carton and plaster of Paris for slabbing smaller cobbles where you are not concerned about the orientation of the cuts.  Pour a 2 inch foundation into the cartons and let it harden for the area to clamp: fill the rest with the stones you want to cut and plaster; clamp and cut.  The stones rather easily separate from the plaster after cutting the "slabs".

[finegemdesigns]

I would agree that charoite probably works better with the wood idea but this is an extremely rare example of a rock that breaks and splinters if you look at it wrong. Plus how many times will you even have a block big enough to slab? It's expensive. Maybe Larimar would be another example but I don't buy that pain in the ass rock either.

I suppose anything can be justified with a unique example but for me 99.9999% of the time my slab grabbers do the job faster and better than messing with glues and sticks.

[tntmom]

I would agree that charoite probably works better with the wood idea but this is an extremely rare example of a rock that breaks and splinters if you look at it wrong. Plus how many times will you even have a block big enough to slab? It's expensive. Maybe Larimar would be another example but I don't buy that pain in the ass rock either.

I suppose anything can be justified with a unique example but for me 99.9999% of the time my slab grabbers do the job faster and better than messing with glues and sticks.

I can't even fathom slabbing Larimar!  EEEEEK!!!!  Not for me, cabbing it is hard enough.

[Redrummd]

Grabbers are neither faster or better than JB weld and wood blocks. 

I can chop saw 20 blocks and adhere them to stone in way less than an hour AND they NEVER come loose AND you can cut right up to the wood or even through it to get every last bit of the stone slabbed.

Here is a 5 minute 15 degree offset block and JB Weld layout.  Try doing this with a slab grabber.......