Lapidaryforum.net
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => Fixing, Modifying and Refurbishing your Lapidary Equipment => Topic started by: MrsWTownsend on August 07, 2014, 12:41:55 PM
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I found a really cool PDF online the other night that has all kinds of do it yourself suggestions on lapidary maintenance for saws. I am going to link it in the interest of giving credit where credit is due:
EDIT: Link removed due to no longer working and redirecting to spam.
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Love it. I just stickied it so it stays at the top for members to see. :D
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Thank you Gina this will help once I have finished building my saw.
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I am trying a regular red brick today to see what that does for sharpening the blade. I shall report my findings. :D
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Thanks. Saws abound on my place but it has been years since a slab saw was used. Time to change that I think.
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Thanks for the link, Gina. Can never have too much information. About rocks anyway... .
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Well, I cut a red brick using my slab saw, which has a waffley edge and then I cut through the rest of a slab of Prudent Man that I started but couldn't finish because the saw was bogging down (the hunk is too big for the saw).
I cut the same brick using my trim saw blade, which is diamond sintered, and that didn't change a thing. So I tried a really rocky cement brick, then a whetstone, neither of which seemed to make a difference in how the blade is cutting at this point.
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Hi Gina. An old friend of mine told me to cut bricks to dress blades when I was just getting started. Didn't find out for a long time that it's really firebrick that works best. At least that's what I've read. By the time I heard that I had already found out about real dressing sticks. Another alternative is chunks of old or broken silicon carbide grinding wheels.
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Richard lives in Oregon and is a nice guy, besides being knowledgeable.
I guessed his email address (not the one noted in his tutorial), and emailed him on more help straightening a dished saw blade.
Since I lived in central Texas, not a great source for good lapidary material, he took pity on me and gifted me a mfrb of cool Oregon material... :LOLOL:
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Wow that was really nice of him!
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Wow that was really nice of him!
Yes, ..he is a really nice guy.
He is mainly a faceter,
His email is: r.gindhart@gmail.com
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The resource is no longer available or I did somthing wrong)
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Yes, it appears gone, but I googled it and there is a copy here: (link removed as it no longer works and leads to gambling spam.)
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Well, I cut a red brick using my slab saw, which has a waffley edge and then I cut through the rest of a slab of Prudent Man that I started but couldn't finish because the saw was bogging down (the hunk is too big for the saw).
I cut the same brick using my trim saw blade, which is diamond sintered, and that didn't change a thing. So I tried a really rocky cement brick, then a whetstone, neither of which seemed to make a difference in how the blade is cutting at this point.
It looks like you need to swedge the keft
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Yes, it appears gone, but I googled it and there is a copy here: (Link removed as the link no longer works and leads to gambling spam)
Thanks hummingbirdstones
That information is too valuable to get lost.
I think I'll print it out.
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Yeah very cool info. I downloaded it and was looking thru it before bedtime last night.
Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
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Tried your link today. Appears that it is no longer available.
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Try the link I posted a few posts down the thread. I just tested it and it's active.
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http://www.beehiverockandgem.com/files/rocksaws.pdf
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Thanks for the repost of the link. I have made a hard copy as I seem to have some of the problems listed.
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Thanks for the repost of the link. I have made a hard copy as I seem to have some of the problems listed.
You are welcome.
A lot of good info there~!
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Sealdaddy, thanks again. So I had this Texas agate on the saw, I wont say how many hours it took for the first cut. Read your link again and took the blade out. Checked the arbor for play and the blade for dishing. Then I read the same thing that Redrummd had told me about the hammer treatment for sharping . Well, not counting remounting in the rock grabber, the second cut took 8min. and 36 seconds. Boy do I feel dumb. I am going to have that little hammer gold plated.
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Red bricks & Cement burn off the kurf on the blade. It is the sides of the blade that cut the rock............
Though best to ware the rap off the back side of the diamond in the slot of the..... BEST to use a 220 grit wheel....
In my 45 plus years of lapidary sawing.. i only use 220 grit wheels. and MODOC cy. ca. obsidian why. smile on face as i redress my blade 18'' star blade / same as a MK- 297. just painted Blue........ the last blade to re-dress.
http://www.lapidaryrough.com/Slabs.html some of the sharping blocks used.
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Some blade makers will fix a dished blade for a fee. If you know it's dished, I would contact them first. Fixing a dished blade sounds easy but takes skill to anneal and temper a blade.
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I'll pond out the edge of a blade with a no.2 file. Then it's a large Brazilian agate to re-dress the blades cut. Or high speed through a 220 grit wheel.
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Ok, I think the author meant a fire brick to dress the saw. Either that a brick of SIC you get at most lapidary distributors. I have never used fire brick to dress the my diamond blade, and are ones you get at Home Depot appropriate? One other thing, water cooled units builds some kind of gunk on blade edge quickly, and causes the blade to be frequently dressed. What about oil lubed units? Dressing needed or as frequent. I have used mine on some Tiger Eye with a so called "hard stone additive" from Covington. No problems. Cuts just fine.
One more, please:
I need some advice about the frequency or other criteria for changing the reservoir oil in my Star 10" which I love.(BD/ MK bought the company out) The thing is a horse. I left my oil in the reservoir (garage) to get out of PHX in the middle of May as the heat will wear you out. I got back this week, and although the oil needs some topping off, it looks fine, but once again changing the oil is not brain surgery. All opinions are welcome and received with heart felt thanks.
Mike
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The link no longer works and instead goes to some overseas Casino in some other language.
Sad really, it had been a very helpful link before.
I am going to unsticky this topic since it no longer is working.
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There is a .pdf of the article here: www.lapidaryworld.com/pdf/rocksaws.pdf
I am going to upload it as an attachment to prevent it from disappearing again.
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Here's the current link to the Beehive Rock and Gem Club's public files page:
https://www.beehiverockandgemclub.com/club-files-1
Several documents covering various topics can be found there.