wi54880
starting to shine!
Member since March 2009
Posts: 33
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Post by wi54880 on Apr 29, 2010 16:15:37 GMT -5
After browsing the forum, I decided to start slow and bought a 7" wet tile saw last night. I imagine an $80 tile saw won't have the best quality blade, but I doubt I'll do more than a few hundred cuts at most this year. Is it worth it to buy an expensive ($70+) blade or should I just go with the replacements they have at the hardware store. I'll be cutting Lake Superior agate that I've found and maybe some geodes offline?
All advice is appreciated!
Thanks
jess
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wi54880
starting to shine!
Member since March 2009
Posts: 33
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Post by wi54880 on Apr 29, 2010 16:21:11 GMT -5
I guess my second question is, are the expensive lapidary blades thinner? It seemed like the one on my new saw was relatively thick which would chew up some of the rock?
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Apr 29, 2010 16:28:23 GMT -5
I have the thicker blades for rocks that are not real expensive material - dewalt, hotdog, cobalt are all blades that I use for around 60 - 70 bucks for a 10"
I have a pro slicer blade that is very thin and will cut fingers off if they get in the way for cutting the expensive stuff. I bought a 4 inch for my tile saw of the same curf and use it to trim out my preforms that are of the expensive stuff such as jade and turquoise I use the regular tile saws that are not too expensive to preform my other stuff cabs and use the side edge of the saw blade to shape.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 29, 2010 17:18:50 GMT -5
Biggest problem with any 7" saw is there are no 7" lapidary blades. You can find better or worse tile blades but all will be thick.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Apr 30, 2010 13:49:13 GMT -5
I use the Qep replacement blades from Home Depot and swear by them. In Canada, they retaial for $17.95 each and will make between 300 and 400 cuts.
I'd estimate that you will loose between 1.0mm and 1.5mm of rock per cut. Unless you are working with very expensive rough, this should not concern you.
Actually, if you were working with very expensive rough, you would have a true lapidary saw (not a tile saw), so balde thickness really should enter into the equation. Simply buy a cheap blade that makes lots of cuts. Problem solved!
Darryl.
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Post by NatureNut on Apr 30, 2010 13:53:19 GMT -5
Our local Sears started carrying the MK blades for $20. Love them! (and I am real tough on a blade) Used the Husky blade from Home Depot last time (just cause I was in Home Depot and needed one) and although it cut, I wasn't as happy with it. Jo
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Apr 30, 2010 14:29:55 GMT -5
does the MK blade come in 10"? I am going to check that out! How long does one last for you?
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 30, 2010 15:28:41 GMT -5
For 10" you cannot beat the online price for MK-225 at $20. The Mk-99 and MK-1000 that Sears sometimes carries is not as good as the MK-225.
For 7", the Mk-225 is about $40 and is a great combination of thick enough but not too thick and clean fast cutting.
There is a technical term for a thin blade put on a 7" or 10" saw that will be used to hand-feed and cut chunks (e..g, geodes). It is called "broken". You need the thickness so the blade takes the abuse of 1) hand-feeding <u>hard</u> materials, 2) cutting things thicker than a tile. Handfeeding thicker materials, especially if trying to roll, it is very easy to bend a thinner blade.
The Husky is a little thicker than the Mk-225, but is a good blade. The MK tile blades (e.g. MK-99) will wear real fast if you cut something as hard as lake superior agate, which is hard even for agate.
Depending on what the replacements at the hardware store are, will decide if they are similar to Huskey, to MK-225, or to MK-99 ... etc. FOr example the 7" blades at HarborFreight are very thick and a bit slow and chippy.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on May 1, 2010 8:53:55 GMT -5
"There is a technical term for a thin blade put on a 7" or 10" saw that will be used to hand-feed and cut chunks (e..g, geodes). It is called "broken". You need the thickness so the blade takes the abuse of 1) hand-feeding <u>hard</u> materials, 2) cutting things thicker than a tile. Handfeeding thicker materials, especially if trying to roll, it is very easy to bend a thinner blade." Actually, the proper technical term is " wrong". Thin blades are for ' trimming' gem grade material, not not hacking geodes apart. Thin blades are meant to be used with blade stiffeners that cover approximately 3/4 (66%) of the blades side (and run at a higher rpm). You never 'roll' material when using a thin blade. And YES, this information was "earned", at a high cost I might add, but then again, education is expensive ;D (on rare occasions the manufacturer could be right...who knew?! ;D) Dr Joe .
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