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Post by Condor on Jan 17, 2011 21:34:28 GMT -5
I have an 8 inch Covington slab saw and I'm having trouble with the auto feed. What's happening is that the blade will stop cutting and just freeze after a couple of minutes with the clamp that goes on the auto-feed. I have to remove it and then just proceed to hold the rock and cut that way. I also apply less force. If I place too much force by hand it will do the same thing. Any advice? (I'm not too mechanically inclined, but if you explain it to me easy, I can probably get it.) Also, about how long does it take to cut a 7 Mohs rock? It took me close to an hour and a half and I held it the entire time.
Thanks,
Condor
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 17, 2011 21:43:26 GMT -5
On the Covington saws, 2 things come to mind. #1, what kind of shape is your blade in ? and #2, how big is the rock you're trying to cut? If your blade is nearly worn out, or needs sharpening, the power feed will feed faster than the blade can cut. If the rock is too tall, it will try to climb the blade, and jamb it.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 17, 2011 21:59:26 GMT -5
Howdy Condor, First off, my ten inch saw cuts at about one inch of agate per five minutes or so. A whole bunch of things can make your blade freeze. Worn or glazed blade in need of sharpening, vice out of alignment, too much sludge in your oil so it gums up the cut causing binding, dished blade which again will bind in the cut, blade turning too slow ( my saw has three speeds), or power feed goes too fast. Some have multiple speeds, mine only a single speed. Some saws are underpowered too. I prefer a really g big motor which can help muscle the blade through a tough rock. Also, some rocks cause problems, especially porous stones like wonderstone which can suck up enough oil to have the blade run dry and bind, palm root which for some reason is really hard to cut, and stone like rhodonite and jade which can drag the metal right over the diamond and glaze a blade fast. Sometimes you just have to eliminate everything which might be causing the problem before you find the true cause but usually it's dishing, dulling, gooey oil, feed rate or vice alignment. My vice actually has a little set screw which keeps the vice tight and prevents sideways movement. It has to be loosened while you are crossfeeding the vice and tightened before you cut. If I forget to retighten it, it will cut crooked as all get out and bind the blade in the cut if it just flat don't cause a real snafu.....Mel
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