docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 716
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Post by docharber on Jul 1, 2023 18:30:12 GMT -5
 QUESTIONS FOR ALL: i just purchased a redundant 10" weight-fed saw from our club, I'm told it has been in our club workshop for years and probably dates to the 1960s. There's no label on it, but cast into the table is a small, raised silhouette of Texas with "ROCKS" on it. It has a powder-coated steel coolant tank and is weight driven. I'm told by members who have used it it is a very nice little saw and that the blade (an MK notched rim) is a fairly thin kerf. It has always been used with oil but I want to convert it to a water based coolant (it has a hood but oil saws are a lot of mess). I've always understood that blades under 10" can be used with water as long as you you don't put them away wet or immersed in water. I have been advised that I can use water alone as long as I change it frequently but I also understand that wetting agents increase efficiency and blade life. I have also been told that for routine cutting of non-precious /cheaper materials I might want to use a heavier blade. I have always bought material slabbed or had a friend slab it for me, and have not used our club's facilities because of the distance to the facility. I have a water cooled rock rascal which I have used for light trimming but otherwise I'm a neophyte with saws. I have noticed that kingsley North is out of stock of most of the 10" blades I looked at and many are recommended for oil coolant only. I've looked mainly at MK blades (the blade on my saw is an MK, uncertain what model) My questions are: What brand is my saw? What blade(s) should I have for general use (thickness, type of rim, and maybe brand for best value overall)? What coolants do you recommend? Can I use plain water, and if so, with what type of blade? Do you think my notched rim blade can be used with water? It seems the notched blades are better for oil from what I've seen of manufacturers' recommendations. Any advice is appreciated and thanks to you all in advance. Mark (Docharber)
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 1, 2023 18:55:04 GMT -5
Converting to water is likely a bad idea. The blades last longer using oil.
I have the eight inch Genie trim saw attachment which uses water with an additive; water aid (DP) lube-cool, kool-lube. The blade is an 8 inch mk303.
I bought a used slab similar to yours on the internet. It was supposed to be 10 inches but was likely an 8 with a 9 inch blade. It used oil. The gravity feed was useless and I ended up pushing the material through which is hard on blades.
I used my Genie trim saw for many years doing small slabbing and bought a lot of blades. The Genie blade has a one inch arbor and they charge a premium for that over the standard 5/8. I now buy generic 303 blades and ream them out to an inch. The only relevant for you is that the generics are cheaper than the mk and do a good job.
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Post by aDave on Jul 1, 2023 19:00:13 GMT -5
 QUESTIONS FOR ALL: i just purchased a redundant 10" weight-fed saw from our club, I'm told it has been in our club workshop for years and probably dates to the 1960s. There's no label on it, but cast into the table is a small, raised silhouette of Texas with "ROCKS" on it. It has a powder-coated steel coolant tank and is weight driven. I'm told by members who have used it it is a very nice little saw and that the blade (an MK notched rim) is a fairly thin kerf. It has always been used with oil but I want to convert it to a water based coolant (it has a hood but oil saws are a lot of mess). I've always understood that blades under 10" can be used with water as long as you you don't put them away wet or immersed in water. I have been advised that I can use water alone as long as I change it frequently but I also understand that wetting agents increase efficiency and blade life. I have also been told that for routine cutting of non-precious /cheaper materials I might want to use a heavier blade. I have always bought material slabbed or had a friend slab it for me, and have not used our club's facilities because of the distance to the facility. I have a water cooled rock rascal which I have used for light trimming but otherwise I'm a neophyte with saws. I have noticed that kingsley North is out of stock of most of the 10" blades I looked at and many are recommended for oil coolant only. I've looked mainly at MK blades (the blade on my saw is an MK, uncertain what model) My questions are: What brand is my saw? What blade(s) should I have for general use (thickness, type of rim, and maybe brand for best value overall)? What coolants do you recommend? Can I use plain water, and if so, with what type of blade? Do you think my notched rim blade can be used with water? It seems the notched blades are better for oil from what I've seen of manufacturers' recommendations. Any advice is appreciated and thanks to you all in advance. Mark (Docharber) I can't help you with all your questions, but based upon your description of the label, your saw was manufactured (or at least marketed) by Rock's Lapidary Equipment in San Antonio, Texas. I found a scan of one of their catalogs from 1965, so perhaps you you might see your saw and be able to ID it specifically. tucsonlapidary.com/1965-rocks-lapidary-wishbook-9/There have been some recent threads here about 10" saw blades for use on a tile saw, and I believe the QEP Black Widow blade got decent marks for price and durability. Maybe some other folks will see your thread and be able to offer more assistance. Found this...perhaps start here: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/97854/blade-tile |
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 2, 2023 0:25:14 GMT -5
Yep, it's a Texas Rocks saw, I have one as well, a 6" saw with an interesting sliding table and a movable "fence" that can be used to make some pretty precise cuts. They were resurrected under the Polaris brand, but it looks like they weren't sucessful.
Mine has a recirculating pump, with a water based coolant it may cause pump issues but on a 6" saw I won't use oil. The Barranca/MK Hotdog tile blade is also sold as the agate eater and intended for use on tile saws with water, might be a good choice for you.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 2, 2023 0:48:52 GMT -5
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Post by liveoak on Jul 2, 2023 9:28:39 GMT -5
I have a 10" MK Tile saw, and I use Gem Lube from Kingsley North , and a hot dog blade, and so far it's cut everything I've wished it to, and my saw is stored out on the back deck under a tarp & it's not even rusty.
Because the MK saw is open, I don't think I have a choice, as I don't think I want to get sprayed with oil when cutting !
Patty
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allbetzoff
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since November 2020
Posts: 77
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Post by allbetzoff on Jul 2, 2023 10:14:59 GMT -5
QUESTIONS FOR ALL: i just purchased a redundant 10" weight-fed saw from our club, I'm told it has been in our club workshop for years and probably dates to the 1960s. There's no label on it, but cast into the table is a small, raised silhouette of Texas with "ROCKS" on it. It has a powder-coated steel coolant tank and is weight driven. I'm told by members who have used it it is a very nice little saw and that the blade (an MK notched rim) is a fairly thin kerf. It has always been used with oil but I want to convert it to a water based coolant (it has a hood but oil saws are a lot of mess). I've always understood that blades under 10" can be used with water as long as you you don't put them away wet or immersed in water. I have been advised that I can use water alone as long as I change it frequently but I also understand that wetting agents increase efficiency and blade life. I have also been told that for routine cutting of non-precious /cheaper materials I might want to use a heavier blade. I have always bought material slabbed or had a friend slab it for me, and have not used our club's facilities because of the distance to the facility. I have a water cooled rock rascal which I have used for light trimming but otherwise I'm a neophyte with saws. I have noticed that kingsley North is out of stock of most of the 10" blades I looked at and many are recommended for oil coolant only. I've looked mainly at MK blades (the blade on my saw is an MK, uncertain what model) My questions are: What brand is my saw? What blade(s) should I have for general use (thickness, type of rim, and maybe brand for best value overall)? What coolants do you recommend? Can I use plain water, and if so, with what type of blade? Do you think my notched rim blade can be used with water? It seems the notched blades are better for oil from what I've seen of manufacturers' recommendations. Any advice is appreciated and thanks to you all in advance. Mark (Docharber) I can't help you with all your questions, but based upon your description of the label, your saw was manufactured (or at least marketed) by Rock's Lapidary Equipment in San Antonio, Texas. I found a scan of one of their catalogs from 1965, so perhaps you you might see your saw and be able to ID it specifically. tucsonlapidary.com/1965-rocks-lapidary-wishbook-9/There have been some recent threads here about 10" saw blades for use on a tile saw, and I believe the QEP Black Widow blade got decent marks for price and durability. Maybe some other folks will see your thread and be able to offer more assistance. Found this...perhaps start here: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/97854/blade-tileChange the font and that 1965 catalogue could be mistaken for current! |
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Post by Peruano on Jul 2, 2023 12:05:26 GMT -5
Everyone has their own biases and tolerances for neatness in their work areas. Admittedly, I cut rocks in my workshop, but its hardly a grease pit -- even though I have three slab saws which use oil, and an 8" trim saw that lacks a cover that also uses oil. By using a deflector in front of the saw table and carefully not iver-filling the tank (not too high) I reduce a lot of the oil mist on the trim saw. Yes when the oil hits a certain curvature of a stone, it may be deflected away from the saw and warrant a clean up, but oil -dri is your friend unless you are cutting in the Living room or on shag carpeting. I buy old carpets for the shop floor that greatly reduce the chances of tracking oil to other areas and use oil dri under any drips or on any oil spots.
I commend you for thinking through your decisions on the saw, but nothing will replace a bit of experience and experimentation. The one time I used water with some magic additive, I felt I had as big a mess to clean up as if I had used oil. The additive dried to a white powder that looked like I had painted with baking soda solution.I'll admit I live in New Mexico where our ambient dust probably acts somewhat as an oil suppressant, but I'm convinced that many over react to fear of oil being a mess (which in my eyes its not). If this saw was used for years with oil at your club, where is the mess and how did they handle it?
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docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 716
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Post by docharber on Jul 3, 2023 18:02:32 GMT -5
It has a home-made (member-madde) Plexiglas hood that helps. the saw itself needed an extensive de-grunging to get it ready for auction. I intend to use it outdoors mainly, As for using water, I checked out a lubricant sold at Kingsley North and discovered that it contains a suspected carcinogen/respiratory irritant/and another generally cytotoxic substance (ethyllene oxide). Your experience with an additive sounds like what happens when you use a cool-mist humidifier in a very dry room. The mineral content precipitates on EVERYTHING. I know you have hard water in most of New Mexico. That said, baking or washing soda are good wetting agents but would do the same if aerosolized.Another concern with water is rusting blades and emptying the sump every time would be another chore to tend to after each use. So, looks like I've got a lot to think about. Thanks for the support.
Mark
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QUESTIONS FOR ALL:
QUESTIONS FOR ALL:
