Mark K
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,795 
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Post by Mark K on Jul 3, 2014 17:13:34 GMT -5
I have a Gemstone brand saw in addition to my Frantom. I really prefer to use the Gemstone because the Frantom is a real PitA to use and it makes a terrible mess.
The problem with the Gemstone is that I have to hand cut everything due to the moronic design of the vise. It was removed long ago and is in a box somewhere.
The Frantom is only used when I want to cut slabs that need to be uniform. I like the cut depth gauge on it but it is molded into the saw so I can't unbolt it and put it on my good saw. Does anyone know of a depth gauge I can bolt on? I am pretty good, but I still screw slabs up from time to time. Usually the best material too.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 3, 2014 17:34:25 GMT -5
There are many solutions to your problem, but I'll give you the ones that might be the easiest.
Dig out the vice that you don't like and reinstall it. Now use its lateral adjustment to delimit the thickness of the cut, but instead of using the vice, handhold your stone like you are trying to do now. So what I'm suggesting is that the vice is on the opposite side as the body of the stone, and only acting as a guide to determine the thickness of the stone slab that comes to that "vice" side of the blade.
It would be relatively easy to weld a nut on a c-clamp and let that be the attachment point of a "fence" that you could fabricate.
My HP has a fence that is a flat blade on a smooth rod, and its adjusted closer to or further from the blade by loosening a set screw. All simple once you have an attachment point on the side of the saw. Just thinking out loud here. Tom
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,795
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Post by Mark K on Jul 3, 2014 21:23:17 GMT -5
The way the vise is set up, it jams and binds. It is so useless that it is unusable, even for what you said.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 3, 2014 21:24:30 GMT -5
here's how I kept the mess inside my Frantom.  Eventually I got rid of all my trim/slab saws, they all suck to various degrees. Nothing beats a real slab saw. |
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,795
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Post by Mark K on Jul 3, 2014 22:16:51 GMT -5
That may be true, but I can't cut the small stuff with my 20 inch
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Post by Peruano on Jul 4, 2014 7:49:07 GMT -5
The way the vise is set up, it jams and binds. It is so useless that it is unusable, even for what you said. If it jams in the right position, it becomes your guide. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 4, 2014 9:34:09 GMT -5
On those FranTom saws and many other trim/slab type the vice runs on the single round rod and tends to swing up while cutting, causing the blade to bind. You can stand there forever and push it through by hand while pushing the vice down against the table, but if you use weights or a power feed the only way to keep it from binding is to frequently sharpen the blade and only cut small rocks. There are a couple trim/slab saws that have a better vice carriage, but they're still messy. Here's how I solved the problem...  Front row, HP 14" and Jenkins 10", behind them ROC 18" and FranTom 24". I have a FranTom 18" as well Now I just need a drag saw for the really big stuff. The 10 inch saw...  |
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,795
|
Post by Mark K on Jul 4, 2014 17:19:27 GMT -5
As for right now, this is what I have to work with. The vise rides in the grove and along the edge of the sheet metal top. The saw itself cuts like a dream. The vise jams up and not in the same place ever. Yesterday I took it completely apart and cleaned it out. While it was apart I took the plastic out from under the metal top with a saw so the crumbs just fall all of the way through and can be disposed of easier. It only took about an hour to completely clean it out, but If I had been in a hurry I probably could have cut the time in half.   |
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 4, 2014 17:47:55 GMT -5
For trim saws I like those like yours with a top like a pancake griddle. It even has the blade guard mounted like a table saw so you could easily cut a real long slab, definitely a keeper.
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,795
|
Post by Mark K on Jul 4, 2014 19:07:19 GMT -5
I have cut some incredible stuff with it. I didn't know I couldn't do it so I did it. I killed a few blades before I got it figured out, but now I rarely have to replace them.
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