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Post by Starguy on Jun 27, 2023 21:12:16 GMT -5
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,172
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Post by rockbrain on Jun 27, 2023 21:16:37 GMT -5
Some beauties in there, especially the Swazis. How are you holding them in the vice?
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Post by Starguy on Jun 27, 2023 21:24:45 GMT -5
Some beauties in there, especially the Swazis. How are you holding them in the vice? Thanks. I use a slab grabber from TRS. It’s good for getting ahold of them once a few slabs are cut. I almost always end up with a wedge shaped final cut though. |
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ltphala
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2023
Posts: 8
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Post by ltphala on Jun 28, 2023 22:27:03 GMT -5
May I know which brand 16" saw are you using? Does it also cut small stones (1 inch for example) well? I recently bought some big rough agates (5 inch), also some small ones (1 inch), and I am looking for a slab saw that can cut both efficiently. Appreciate it if you can give some advice!
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Post by Starguy on Jun 29, 2023 1:14:27 GMT -5
ltphala I’ve got a 16” Covington combination saw. I think it’s the 1100 series. It has auto-feed so the slabs are pretty uniform thickness. It’s pretty light duty but it cuts nice if you baby it a little. It will cut 1” nodules but the challenge will be clamping them. Some of these rocks are around an inch to 3 inches. Realistically, it will cut three inch rocks all day with a max size of 5-6 inches. For larger or more durable rocks, you need to do regular blade maintenance. The kerf is pretty thick for smaller rocks but it will cut anything you can fit in the vise.
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gabe76
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2023
Posts: 4
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Post by gabe76 on Jul 23, 2023 20:41:47 GMT -5
Starguy
Looks great! What do you mean when you say that some of them will get “the glass cutter/tumbler treatment”? We’re new to the hobby so wondering if that means you put the slabs in the tumbler afterwards?
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Post by Starguy on Jul 23, 2023 21:11:38 GMT -5
Starguy Looks great! What do you mean when you say that some of them will get “the glass cutter/tumbler treatment”? We’re new to the hobby so wondering if that means you put the slabs in the tumbler afterwards? I will use a glass cutter to score and break some of the slabs. It makes nice, usable shapes to tumble polish. It only works on good solid agate slabs like Brazillian. On some agates, I will use the glass cutter instead of the trim saw prior to cabbing. It can be pretty fast. For tumbling, it doesn’t matter if they break perfect. Here are some cut with the glass cutter and tumble polished.  |
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gabe76
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2023
Posts: 4
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Post by gabe76 on Jul 23, 2023 21:15:02 GMT -5
Cool! We’ll have to try that.
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Post by Starguy on Jul 23, 2023 21:28:37 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH by the way gabe76. |
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Post by Mel on Aug 3, 2023 11:59:01 GMT -5
Man, I love all the agates from Africa; Mozambique are probably my favorite. Love all the slabs you cut though, will be exciting to see what you do with them!
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