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[joleyred]

Hello,
 My name is Tim, and I am in the early learning stages of lapidary art. Last year I took a class in lapidary at a local shop. I made a couple of small cabs and really enjoyed it. My wife and I winter in Arizona and do lots of hiking and rock hunting.
I recently bought a new Covington 10" saw. I also bought their cutting oil. I'm looking for input on what others use as cutting fluids. Shipping on a gallon of oil is more than the price of the oil. Must be a better way.
 I really enjoy seeing the work that people post here and have lots to learn. Thanks for any input.
  Tim

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[vitzitziltecpatl]

Welcome!

For the past couple of years we've been using a white mineral oil called Finavestan U85.

This is labelled "medicinal" grade. I think that's just one step down from "food" grade. If you can find a petroleum products supplier near you, it should run just under $100 for a 5 gallon pail.

There are cheaper alternatives, like this one: https://www.scahealth.com/p/ultracruz-mineral-oil-light . We've never used it, but a lot of people do. Viscosity is supposed to be comparable to the Finavestan 85 - maybe just a bit thicker.

[irockhound]

I use the Ultracruz mineral oil and have found it to work great.  When I have purchased it I buy 20 gallons at a time, but if you buy 5 gallons it came with free shipping and at $12.00 per gallon it was a deal.

[vitzitziltecpatl]

Hey there, Steve.

Walmart sells mineral oil for humans in pint bottles. Have you ever compared the viscosity of that one with the SCAH equine version?

The only reason I've stayed with the products I get locally is that they flow well even in cold weather. I used the Walmart mineral oil briefly in my small saws, but it is obviously thicker.

[irockhound]

I haven't used the Walmart but I have on several occasions gone into the local 99 cent store and bought every bottle they had on the shelf, maybe 130 and the looks I got, Lol.  It worked about the same as the SCA oil.  Never have cold temps out here so hard to say how it would perform under low temps.

[joleyred]

Thanks for the input. I clicked on the link and it says that oil is equine purposed, for intestinal health for horses. I checked the local Tractor Supply because they have a lot of animal products for farms. They actually have it for just under $20/gallon. I would never have thought of that. Thanks so much for all your ideas. Just got to get out there and get sawing.

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