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Post by stardiamond on Jun 23, 2015 18:26:37 GMT -5
I got my new blade today and want to be very careful not to wreck it. I started googling cutting Montana and that led me to slab grabbers. I have one but didn't know how to use it. I saw someone posted that they cut grooves in the rock in order to make a place to fit the teeth. I'm still a little apprehensive and will be doing exploratory cuts tomorrow using the vise.
For those that use a slab grabber, what has been your experience?
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 23, 2015 19:42:10 GMT -5
Homework for sure-I know a couple guys that ruined their blades because of them.....On the other hand I heard they work great..... Good luck.............
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deserthound
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 390
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Post by deserthound on Jun 23, 2015 19:54:46 GMT -5
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Post by orrum on Jun 24, 2015 9:32:30 GMT -5
I got my slab grabber from Tony/catmandew. I can't do without it!!!! This thing would grab anything from a golf ball to a bigger than a softball. Round, oddshape, slipping it don't matter! Fast and easy! Will not wreck your blade. It uses screws, I dine sawed two screw heads off trying to get one more slab and didna hurt a thing!
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rockroller
spending too much on rocks
Be excellent to each other.
Member since October 2013
Posts: 359
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Post by rockroller on Jun 24, 2015 11:27:39 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics deserthound! I have been mulling over getting one of these and those pics really help. ~Roland
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 24, 2015 13:27:33 GMT -5
I got my slab grabber from Tony/catmandew. I can't do without it!!!! This thing would grab anything from a golf ball to a bigger than a softball. Round, oddshape, slipping it don't matter! Fast and easy! Will not wreck your blade. It uses screws, I dine sawed two screw heads off trying to get one more slab and didna hurt a thing! How do you get one of these? Does he have a website? I haven't seen his posts for a while.
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Post by orrum on Jun 24, 2015 15:01:04 GMT -5
Send him a PM. He will respond. Tony sometimes gets way out in nowhere living life! LOL The rockhounding.man loves
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bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Jun 24, 2015 16:33:53 GMT -5
catmandewe is always around, the rockhound gyspy never strays too far from the forum.... thumbs up on his grabber - i have used and abused mine for a few years now. cheers
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Post by deb193redux on Jun 24, 2015 22:33:58 GMT -5
Tony's design is nice. I really like the upper bar pivots. Tony also has small and large. There is also a guy who shows up on ebay now and then selling a similar design I really like: www.ebay.com/itm/231599735469 - but this one is med/large,and I have been using the small. He is not currently offering a small.
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Post by catmandewe on Jun 25, 2015 1:07:16 GMT -5
I have a small, a medium and a large slab grabber. Right now I am out of the small and medium grabbers and my machine shop that used to make these for me went out of business, and all the competing ones want more to make the parts than I sell the grabbers for. So I am in the process of setting up a mill to make them myself. Of course I have too many things going on so it may take a while before I get there. I have the mill set up now just need to set up the easy-tap that I just got to thread the holes and then I can start making some.
Been busy lately but I still do check in here every day or two.
Tony
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Post by bobby1 on Jun 25, 2015 11:38:39 GMT -5
Here is my rock gripper. I notch opposite sides of the rough with a 4" dry diamond blade and grip the notches with my gripper. It only takes a few seconds to notch and grip the rock. Next month's Rock and Gem Magazine will have a full description in my monthly column on how to use the gripper. Bob
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Post by deb193redux on Jun 25, 2015 12:02:23 GMT -5
Bobby I have had that design fail too often on me. I gave all the ones I had like that away.
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Post by stardiamond on Jun 25, 2015 12:18:53 GMT -5
Bobby I have had that design fail too often on me. I gave all the ones I had like that away. With the saw cuts notching? I was going to try that. I have a slab grabber like bobby1 posted. I bought a slab saw seven years ago and never used it because I didn't have the time to set it up and was more interested in cabbing. I used my 8" trim saw for everything and I never had a rock slippage problem with my hands holding the rock. Complete control of angle. The Covington vice is designed to hold square things and rocks are not square. I'm having a hard time even facing the Montana nodules so they can be glued to a board. The only thing I haven't tried is shims. I'll make some of those and maybe be able to cut the ends of the rock square in order to clamp lengthwise.
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minerken
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2013
Posts: 466
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Post by minerken on Jun 25, 2015 13:06:56 GMT -5
this is what I use as a slab graber www.dropbox.com/sc/x4oruuoildmtogp/AABkiiv9pTH-SaTKWbDcGxxlaI have been using this method for over a year now I use Gorilla glue (super glue), I probably over do the glue but haven't had a problem with it except the first time and didn't use enough glue. I have several of the disks made up and can glue several up olso have an old grinding wheel on one for a blade dresser. You can take a rock off in the middle of a cut dress it and put it back without much if any adjustment sometimes I may have to adjust a couple thousands.
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Post by bobby1 on Jun 25, 2015 13:35:08 GMT -5
I've never had my rock grabber fail. As long as the rough has no major fractures and you properly make the notches it will certainly grip the rock. With the rock securely gripped with the teeth in the notches I tighten the grip by screwing the back nut upward leveraging the upper jaw against the rock for a positive grip. I've been using this gripper for over 30 years with no failures. Sometimes when I'm tightening the gripper the rock might fracture but this is not a failure of the gripper, just a failure in the stability of the rock. I change the position of the notches to a more fracture free part of the rock. I grip slabs or end cuts in the same manner. The big advantage of this device is how quickly the rock can be notched and positioned in the gripper. I can notch any rock in any position I want to get the optimum direction for the first cut. I'm not limited on the shape of the rock to get it held in the jaws of the saw to get the best first cut. I don't have to find a clean board to glue the rock to and wait for any glue to dry nor am I struggling to get the last slab removed from the board. I do have to make the slots differently when I cut obsidian because the material fractures easily. The saw cut notches will fracture when I try to grip the obsidian in the gripper. For this material I use the edge of my cabbing grinding wheel to grind two parallel ledges for the gripper and it will grip successfully. Bob
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richardi503
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by richardi503 on Sept 25, 2015 22:48:14 GMT -5
The CRS grabber is a good grabber for odd shaped rocks. I have found that one style is not enough. A person needs multiple styles for the different pieces you sooner or later end up with. So far I have three that I bought and a couple that I designed using ideas from all of them. There still seems to be some pieces that defy all of them.
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 10, 2015 1:32:25 GMT -5
I may have been more hasty with my notches. But I am not going to try again. I must not have the personality for it.
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