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[Downwindtracker2]

How many hours ?? It seems I'm involved in the setting up our, my wife signed me up, club's workshop. They have just rented the basement of an old community hall.  We have a lead on a 18" Loritone slab saw donation and the club has 14" drop saw in storage. The club is neither large nor rich, so with the cost of blades, a cutting fee for the saws is in order. It's use will likely mostly be  agates and jaspers. THX

Ray

[lithicbeads]

 25 cents a square in will amortize the saw and blade. Saws need fixing and blades need replacing.Half that would be extremely reasonable.

[peruano]

Saw blades last best when used only by the person that owns them.  Multiple users without supervision can trash saw blades pretty quickly. I'd insist on an orientation or training for any inexperienced or even unknown users and even then tend to buy sturdier blades.   Thicker kerfs are probably longer lasting blades. 

[hummingbirdstones]

Our club charges for using the slab saws.  Don't remember how much, since we have our own saws and don't use them.  They also have people who are managers of the shop and one of them is always there when it's open.  They also don't allow anyone but the managers to use the slab saws.  Folks will bring their rough in and whoever is managing the shop cuts the slabs for them.

[Downwindtracker2]

Thanks for the replies. Our club, the Abbotsford, had been more orientated towards field trips however the club, Fraser Valley, in the next town had a small shop. very close. We had been signed up in both. My wife still is in both. They charge 25 cents a square inch, too, but it's only a 12" or 14" with a much less expensive blade replacement.

 A funny story, as any of you in clubs know, there is a lot of silliness with the politics in clubs. There were two groups in the Fraser Valley. I'm a retired millwright BTW. My wife asked me to check one of the arbors, before the election, I had been volunteered  with the maintenance, that why I was a member. The bearings were shot and the motor brackets were worn out. I mentioned it to the new president Doug . "Can you fix it?"" Yeah, but there is a command structure here Doug,(ex-army) . Karen asks my wife, then my wife asks me." Doug tried to get the club to switch to Titans rather than ask Karen for help.

We are too small for mangers ,and I'm not baby sitting, so I guess I'll have to run a course on slab saws. I will be uniquely qualified, chuckle. My wife and I had bought a used 24" shop built feed saw which I'm  modifying. The feed works gears, they were from a floor polisher, had stripped when the second owner had a jam. But that's another story.

[VegasJames]

Our club charges for using the slab saws.  Don't remember how much, since we have our own saws and don't use them.  They also have people who are managers of the shop and one of them is always there when it's open.  They also don't allow anyone but the managers to use the slab saws.  Folks will bring their rough in and whoever is managing the shop cuts the slabs for them.

Our club charges $5 an hour, but we have to do our own cutting.

[Michael]

Along the lines of saw blade life, I would like to have the forum's opinion on blade dressing / or not / oil lubricated blades.  Is it necessary and does it give the blades extra life.  I am talking about dressing with SiC blocks or fire brick.  Does it help?
Thanks!!

[peruano]

Your query may generate the wide spectrum of replies that opinions on motor oil, or airlines generate. For me, I
've never felt the need to dress a slab saw blade. I cut a diversity of material, but mostly agate and other hard stuff.  I have an MK 225 12" blade that has literally cut hundreds of hours and is still going strong. I think part of the factor is whether the blade is hand fed or fed in a slab saw setup (slower and more even pressure may be less likely to glaze the blade). I use oil in my trim saw just like my slab saws.  Its just easier and probably better for the blade life, but primarily I do it so I don't have to drain the saw daily or worry about rust.  Additives be damned, water is water, and as my father-in-law used to say, "we know what fish do in water". 

[lapidaryrough]

depends on use of saw,
Coolant, I use is Shingle oil, flash point 351 degree F.
minutes to the inch of cut, 8-10 minutes.
I only use MK blades, one more too the list, Diamond Pacific.

  Salem Oregon seniors club charges $2.50 hour for the 24''
 Shop time is about $2.00 a hour.
 expandable belts bring your on.
the club has 2'' x 8'' diamond wheels.
have staff train all before using shop. 
  daily  shop staff at all times.

[Slabbercabber]

Whether a blade needs dressing will depend on a great variety of factors.  I think the main ones would be material being cut, size of material, force of cut, and type of oil.  I use a pneumatic feed system and keep the pressure much higher than would be expected from a screw feed.  Using that means I never need to dress the blade.  It also means I get around 1/2" per minute in agate regardless of size.  I use pure mineral oil with a pump feed and cascade filter, but I don't know how much effect that has.  Using the pump means I am always pumping only clean oil to the cut and flooding it with far more oil than just picking it up from a pool.  I can't prove it but I believe the lower the force used the less blade matrix will be abraded and the more dressing will be required.