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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 10, 2015 14:03:14 GMT -5
BD declined my offer to buy more for a lower price so I ordered only 15 blades. I plan on trying one on my MK101 10" tile saw to cut some Chrys. and other spendy rocks I picked up in Quartzsite last year. Should have them in stock and on website some time next week.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 9, 2015 14:43:13 GMT -5
I just dropped prices on all the 4", 5", and 6" plated thin blades. Also added 5" X .013" and 6" X .012". I don't know why they were not there.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 9, 2015 14:40:08 GMT -5
You should check/clean the roller bearings too. Easier to clean and relube than it is to replace shafts and bushings.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 9, 2015 9:53:15 GMT -5
Orrum, I always have economy 6" plated blades. $6 for RTH. Tom, I contacted BD to see if I can get a killer price for larger quantities. If they go for it I'll be selling them at a killer price too.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 8, 2015 20:32:15 GMT -5
I probably should add these 8" blades would work on most 10" lapidary or tile saws too.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 8, 2015 20:06:45 GMT -5
I have an opportunity to buy a number of discontinued MK 8" "Sabre" blades. They are electroplated and comparable to Pro Slicer blades. They are .025" and work very well on opal, obsidian, etc. Sharp and aggressive but shorter life than sintered 303C or 301. Price probably $25 ea. or $20 for 4 or more. I thought I would see how much interest anyone here has before ordering a bunch of them.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 8, 2015 19:34:18 GMT -5
You might try epoxy on the drain fittings. JB Weld or any of the 5 minute types. I've repaired plastic deisel fuel tanks with JB so it should work.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 7, 2015 10:26:42 GMT -5
They use the same diamond. The real difference is the hardness of the matrix. They use varying matrix hardness depending on material to be cut. A low end tile blade will have a very hard matrix for durability. The lapidary end would have a softer matrix to more readily expose the diamonds to the rock for a fast smooth cut but does cause them to wear out faster. I've seen three year old mega grinders made with cheap tile blades at a club work shop, heavily used and abused, showing no wear. The same blades would take a very long time to slab a rock. MK makes many different tile blades. Some work very well for rock cutting. Some make great grinders.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 7, 2015 10:15:46 GMT -5
When I first met the guy from BD we were looking at his PF10 (formerly Star Diamond). He complained about the 1/4" pipe plug to drain coolant and said if it didn't plug up from sludge there was no way to drain it without making a mess. The next month at another show the PF10 had a 1/2" drain pipe extending to base board edge and a cap. A ball valve would have been nice but at least he enlarged and extended it. Nice to deal with people that recognize their equipment can be improved and make the changes. Most companies have the "we've always done it that way" attitude.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 6, 2015 20:28:45 GMT -5
If they are the same tile blades I was selling they are very high quality. I had one on my MK170 for a tile job for a relative. I couldn't cut 18" tiles with it (because of saw design, not blade) so had to run to Home Depot for a 4" tile blade for my MK145. The Depot $20 4" blade chipped the edges. The 7" MK did not.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 6, 2015 20:16:26 GMT -5
I use plain water in my MK145 with no issues (unless I forget to dump the water after use). The Smokey's EZ Cut only sounds expensive. A quart makes either 16 gallons or 32 depending on hard or soft rocks so it is much less expensive than any of the water soluble 10:1 mix stuff. I've never bought RV antifreeze so can't compare price. The MK145 is made to operate with plain water. Any dilute saw coolant that contains no petroleum would help blade life I suppose.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 6, 2015 16:46:39 GMT -5
There may be a blade number stamped in blade on other side. You can use water (or water soluble) on any 303 blade as well. The core will rust quickly if left in water so you need to drain and dry blade after use. BD/MK was supposed to change their instructions to say something like oil is preferable but they may not have. They put 301 blades (same core as 303) on their version of the MK 10" tile saw which is water only. Core on all their tile blades looks the same to me too. You will get better cooling with oil so I would recommend oil for blades over 10". BD plated everything (except blade) on their big saws so test labs, etc. can use water in them. If you can find a number stamped in core it would help to identify it. Arrow looks right for tile blade. 303C arrows are much smaller.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 6, 2015 10:43:13 GMT -5
Lee,
I'm guessing they are tile blades. When I first became a dealer I toured the old BD plant (Formerly Star Diamond blade factory). While there they gave me two boxes of 7" slightly used 7" tile blades to sell for $10 ea. They had maybe 20 boxes on a shelf (each box had 50 blades). They told me they sold 7" tile saws to Home Depot. After people did there little tile project they would return the saw and MK had to refund Home Depot. After losing a million dollars they stopped selling small saws to Home Depot. The saws were cleaned and sold as "reconditioned" after installing a new blade. The used blades if not very worn were saved. Of the 100 I sold I would guess two thirds sold in multiples for making "poor man grinders", ganging 5-8 blades. They were good quality tile blades but not 303 lapidary blades.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 3, 2015 20:05:28 GMT -5
Glass would probably cushion but may be gassy.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 3, 2015 10:53:19 GMT -5
Ceramic won't hurt the rocks in a rotary and as stated can be used from start to finish. They will wear away used in coarser steps. GyRoc vibes need a heavy, full load or they break suspension springs. I can't speak for other brands but plastic will not work in GyRoc. I always hated having to have dedicated plastics for each step and switched to ceramics. Saw scraps or plain pea gravel can be used as filler in early steps too.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 31, 2015 14:01:18 GMT -5
I've been to La Brea. It is very interesting. Lots of saber tooth tiger, camel, horse, etc. No dinosaurs. I have not had time to "research" but as I recall they have not made dino bones for about 60 million years. La Brea is much more recent. Camels, horses etc. are not dinosaurs and have no dino bones. La Brea is interesting in that you see the actual bones, not mineral replacements. Preserved by the tar they were covered with that saturated the bone. I didn't realize Shark Tooth Hill was that old either (about 15 million). Still way too recent for Barney or the other dinosaurs.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 30, 2015 17:41:45 GMT -5
Since step 4 I'm assuming a rotary tumbler. Hard to beat a good grade of aluminum oxide. Must be 3-4 micron or finer for rotary tumbling hard stones. If vibrating tumbler then even finer like .5 micron or finer. Back in the old days, cerium was the standard for any hard stone and most obsidians. If cerium didn't do it then tin oxide. Titanium dioxide works well for hard stones too if you can find it.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 30, 2015 11:06:40 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure nowhere in CA is old enough for dino bone. Some much more recent whale bone is mistaken for dino. Somewhat similar cell structure at first glance. Most of the Western half was undersea until fairly recent times. You can find trilobite fossils and crinoids a little farther East in Cadiz area (Marble Mountains). Really old fossil coral in southeastern corner of CA. Our local hills have palm, palm bog, etc. from lusher times.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 30, 2015 10:56:51 GMT -5
If you are publishing the article I would advise adding a caution to wear eye protection and a respirator mask. I did a similar job on some old MDR and HP split drums on my first lapidary set up. I didn't get them as shiny clean as you did, just flat. It worked fine. I think I used a torch to speed up the removal but had the drums off the shaft. Too many years ago to remember. Living 10 minutes from Covington at the time helped.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 26, 2015 10:44:34 GMT -5
Barranca uses rotisserie motors on their smaller saws. Seem to work OK for them.
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