Lapidaryforum.net
Gadgets, Gizmos, and Dohickeys => Fixing, Modifying and Refurbishing your Lapidary Equipment => Topic started by: robirdman on June 17, 2019, 07:20:40 AM
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I built a huge funnel, bending galvanized sheet together and used bedsheet to pour the oil through, after I emptied that from my 24" saw. I then spent hours doing a very through cleaning of the saw basin and parts, taking much of the vise out, and cleaning with dish soap and water and pouring the latter into the saw for further cleaning, and then draining. A 10 gallon bucket was filled to within 3" of the top and I poured back into the saw basin, only to see that it was not crystal clear and there was some sludge in the bottom.
Any recommendations, double sheeting? I think I used some big newspaper as well years ago, but it seems they are all half sized now.
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The recommendation would be to not worry about getting the saw absolutely clean or the oil absolutely clear. You are just going to add more rock sludge to it with the first rock cut. Probably it takes as much effort to get the last 5% of the sludge out as it does to get the first 95% so if its within your philosophy, just clean your saw efficiently a bit more often. Double paper bags will usually get all visible contaminants out of the oil but filtering will take longer. I've tried pillow cases from the thrift store and may have to stay with them as brown grocery bags disappear. My saw gets drained, scraped with a squeegee, wiped with with a very nasty paper towel and refilled, hardly white glove clean. I do pour the clean oil over vice moving parts etc to wash them periodically but the oil is caught and recirculated immediately in the saw tank. Doing the 95% cleanout makes a nasty job faster and less odious.
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I let my used saw oil sit for a while after running it through a cloth. Sitting for a few days or a week all the remaining sludge/particulates sink to the bottom of my container and when I pour the oil off carefully it is clear and clean.
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I always used double grocery store paper bags. the good ones yielded clear opil, the poor ones let some sludge thru.