Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[crazyjays]

I was surfing the internet and come across this.

Here is the link to it.
http://www.mkdiamonddirect.com/product.sc;jsessionid=7D378F63835DD7AB2C850AB166DA1DB1.m1plqscsfapp02?productId=2073&categoryId=246

[lithicbeads]

I see a fellow from New Mexico using one of these on the internet but he seems to be cutting softer rock. Without a vice it would be very easy to ruin a very expensive blade  on hard rock by pinching the blade which can grab the rock and send it flying while ripping and /or bending the blade. I can risk it with $12 blades but with a $250 blade  it would be a huge risk.

[crazyjays]

Thanks for letting me know that.

I dont know much about things like this.
I dont even know much about gems and materials.
Im new to all of this. I started collecting jasper and agates
last summer. I still have a lot to learn. If anybody knows of
any good links to help me learn would be great.

[lithicbeads]

Our old forum is the best around. Apparently it is now our new forum as well so we can ensure that the huge amount of good advice does not just disappear.

[ToTheSummit]

My Dad had a masonry company and I worked for him from the time I was 14 until I was in my early 20s. I spent countless hours on brick saws similar to the one you posted above.  I was cutting every kind of brick/block/pavers you can imagine as well as some stone.  With all my experience I would not try to use such a saw for most of my lapidary work.  If you had large rocks with a nice flat side to lay on the tray you could get away with cutting them into smaller pieces, but it would be very difficult to effectively cut slabs.  Also, as Frank pointed out it would be easy to ruin a good blade on one of those saws.  The blades we used in the masonry business were a much heavier blade.  The kerf (thickness of the blade) was about twice what most lapidary blades are.  I could bind up a masonry blade on a brick and never damage them.  Do the same thing to a good lapidary blade and you're in trouble.

[crazyjays]

My Dad had a masonry company and I worked for him from the time I was 14 until I was in my early 20s. I spent countless hours on brick saws similar to the one you posted above.  I was cutting every kind of brick/block/pavers you can imagine as well as some stone.  With all my experience I would not try to use such a saw for most of my lapidary work.  If you had large rocks with a nice flat side to lay on the tray you could get away with cutting them into smaller pieces, but it would be very difficult to effectively cut slabs.  Also, as Frank pointed out it would be easy to ruin a good blade on one of those saws.  The blades we used in the masonry business were a much heavier blade.  The kerf (thickness of the blade) was about twice what most lapidary blades are.  I could bind up a masonry blade on a brick and never damage them.  Do the same thing to a good lapidary blade and you're in trouble.

Thanks for the info to on this.

I have still been looking i have come across this. This will be the first time buying a saw.
http://www.hplapidary.com/p/1356/highland-park-14-inch-drop-saw-model-htd14

I should be able to get it in a couple months.

[lithicbeads]

A closed in saw is superior for anything large enough to need a vise. You have to use almag or mineral oil in a saw so the misting is ferocious. A small trim saw where the blade is exposed above the table also uses oil  and is for small cuts such as cutting up slabs and is less messy.The new highland park saws are essentially unknown as their  production is only about a year old. The old saws are highly sought after.

[crazyjays]

A closed in saw is superior for anything large enough to need a vise. You have to use almag or mineral oil in a saw so the misting is ferocious. A small trim saw where the blade is exposed above the table also uses oil  and is for small cuts such as cutting up slabs and is less messy.The new highland park saws are essentially unknown as their  production is only about a year old. The old saws are highly sought after.

Ok Thanks for pointing that out.
I think i mite have to sell my Van to buy a good one then. About all the rocks i have are quite big.
I guess im stuck on what to do because i dont want to buy a small slab saw when over 3/4 of my rocks a large.
back to the drawing broad. I was able to get a old grinder the other day from a friend it was his uncle. I will add a photo of it
later on in this post. Would it be wise to buy the plains to build a 24" slap saw and have a shop build it? Im starting to get some many rocks
i mite have to get a storage shed to keep them in. lol

Im open to any and all tips on what to do.

   Thanks,
      Jay

[lithicbeads]

Some folks use  a worm saw and dry diamond blade to carve grooves in their rocks and then split them with a chisel to get to a smaller size . I usually break my rough I,collect with a sledge if it is jasper. Lots of rough and problems due to my disability using a saw make that a wiser move for me. Always a problem for folks.

[crazyjays]

I see what you are saying. I dont know how to cab. I just collect rock to help me deal with ptsd. I was just going to slab everything
and sell them sometime down the road or after i slab them. Or make cup coasters different things like that or make beads out of them.
I think i will go with a smaller slab saw to start with for know.  I just have a lot to learn On what kind of rocks i get and what i find i Keep
everything thats different the biggest part of what i find is jasper, agate, Petrified Wood, fossils. I found some yellow jasper that looks like
a gold nugget the way it is shaped. A great piece for wire rapping. Im going to go out again Tuesday evening.

Thanks for the pointers lithicbeads

[lithicbeads]

Any time. I will be away from computers much of the week but I am looking forward to seeing the machine you spoke of.Rock cutting is extremely good for forgetting the world.Most of us treasure  the hobby because we escape to a world of beauty .

[hummingbirdstones]

Jay,

Keep your eyes open for a used saw.  Check Craig's List, estate sales, Ebay, etc.  Join your local rock club.  Lots of times members have old equipment they want to sell.  You never know what will pop up if you look around.  We only have 1 "new" saw that was a refurb of an old Highland Park 10" that I bought for Vince for his birthday last year from Cigar Box Rocks.

[crazyjays]

Hi Robin,

I found the Cigar box rocks last night thats a net site.
I have been thinking about selling my rocks to get more money saved up to buy a saw.
When i go to Arizona at the end of May im going to be looking hard there to find one.
At the end of this summer i should have my loan payed off then i will get it again
to buy a saw. I have been crunching numbers to get a saw.

Well its getting close to get ready to go hiking again.
I will post what i find.

[jakesrocks]

If you plan on selling slabs, you'll want to get a proper lapidary slab saw. Something with a vice & cross feed so you can get consistent slabs of the same thickness. That drop saw would be nice for cutting geodes & thunder eggs in half for display.

To help control oil mist, go to your local auto parts store & get a bottle of Bardahl no smoke. Add some to your cutting oil. I use about a cup full in my 16" saw.

[Slabbercabber]

I don't get mist in my saw.  I believe if you have mist it is due to friction burning the oil or blade flailing the oil due to cut feed too slow.  Friction generally comes from a vise track that is misaligned to the blade.  Feed rate is a more difficult nut to crack.  I generally set my feed at about 30 pounds force for agates with a four inch contact surface.  That gives me a cut that is actually much faster than any of the preset feed rates on commercially available saws.  Bahrdahl and STP thicken the oil.  That will certainly reduce misting but it will also reduce cooling efficiency which may shorten blade life.  (I have no proof of that, it just seems logical.)