Post by stoneblue on Mar 28, 2008 23:22:38 GMT -5
I thought I'd give the results of my 7 " Barranca 303p trial. I purchased the blade via phone from John of Johns Gems. First of all, I HAVE to give props to John for the excellent service and prompt shipping. The price was reasonable and the shipping was very good. They even called me to personally ensure I received the shipment. Service like that is extremely rare.
And now on to the review...
As I stated, I received the blade from Johns Gems and it came packaged in a foam rubber lined box, which was inside another box filled with packing peanuts. No hot press plastic sleeve in a "ground" envelope here. Like the packaging, this blade screams quality. The finish on the blade, while I know it has no bearing on the performance, was flawless. It sports a beautiful dark blue paint job. The blade was a continuous edge type with 14 laser cut reliefs around the perimeter, in the shape of curly question marks.
The edge of the blade has a similar amount of cutting medium as the Hotdog blades I've been using (approx 7.5mm). I mount the blade in my Workforce saw and fill the water tray, eyeballing the rocks on the cutting bench with eager anticipation. Firing up the saw I begin to cut the first specimen, a large prairie agate, about the size of 2 large fists, one on top of the other. I've heard the expression "like a hot knife through butter" used before, but this was the real deal. I should say that the rock in question was the last one I was cutting when my Hotdog went to that metal scrap pile in the sk.... 'er actually in went in the dumpster out back, but you know what I mean.
As the rock had a partial kerf in it from the previous blade, I could tell when I started back into the cut that the Barranca was just a smidge wider than the Hotdog. I didn't mic either of the blades, but the specs say that the Hotdog is .060 & the 303p is .067. If I hadn't had a kerf already started, I'd have never known the difference.
After about 25 slabs, the blade began to slow down a fair amount. I cut into my old grinding wheel a couple of times & it was business as usual. I know that this can tremendously shorten a blades life, so I try to do it as little as possible. The blade continued to cut well for the rest of the day, (about 4 hours). I cut about 45 slabs that day, average size of 2 1/4" x 3 1/2".
The next four days were very similar. Day 5. I knew this would be the last roundup for the Barranca, The edge was down to the last mil or so. As I began to cut, I heard something hit my face shield from time to time. Thinking the rock was chipping, I stopped to inspect it. Curiously, I didn't see anything suspicious. I slabbed until I finally heard the swan song of a dead blade. Amid a shower of sparks, I shut the saw down & proceeded to drain my pan & clean up for the day. I decided to remove the blade from the saw that evening. I was giving the blade an inspection to see how evenly it wore down, when I noticed that there were some minor pieces missing from the edge. That's what I was hearing hit my face shield. It was as though the edge of the blade peeled on the face of the blade. At about 8 places, some as long as an inch long & about 1/8" wide. I've not got the years of cutting some of you have, but I have burned over 2 dozen blades of at least 6 different brands & haven't seen anything like this.
The Verdict...
I was very impressed with the performance. I only had to dress the blade a few times in the 5 days it was in use. I have found that the agate & jasper I've been cutting only give a blade a life of between 18 & 25 hours. I know that sounds like a quick shot, but when I consider that I get around 275 slabs from a blade, it's not too bad.
Would I use the 303P again? You bet. The ONLY reason I won't be ordering another one right off the bat is that I have a spotty connection to get Hotdog blades for about 1/3 the cost of a 303P. Unfortunately, I can't always depend on the guy to have the blades when I need them.
All in all, I'd recommend the 303P to anyone wanting a high quality blade for their trim saw. Is it better than the Hotdog? Debatable. Both blades have their strong points.
And now on to the review...
As I stated, I received the blade from Johns Gems and it came packaged in a foam rubber lined box, which was inside another box filled with packing peanuts. No hot press plastic sleeve in a "ground" envelope here. Like the packaging, this blade screams quality. The finish on the blade, while I know it has no bearing on the performance, was flawless. It sports a beautiful dark blue paint job. The blade was a continuous edge type with 14 laser cut reliefs around the perimeter, in the shape of curly question marks.
The edge of the blade has a similar amount of cutting medium as the Hotdog blades I've been using (approx 7.5mm). I mount the blade in my Workforce saw and fill the water tray, eyeballing the rocks on the cutting bench with eager anticipation. Firing up the saw I begin to cut the first specimen, a large prairie agate, about the size of 2 large fists, one on top of the other. I've heard the expression "like a hot knife through butter" used before, but this was the real deal. I should say that the rock in question was the last one I was cutting when my Hotdog went to that metal scrap pile in the sk.... 'er actually in went in the dumpster out back, but you know what I mean.
As the rock had a partial kerf in it from the previous blade, I could tell when I started back into the cut that the Barranca was just a smidge wider than the Hotdog. I didn't mic either of the blades, but the specs say that the Hotdog is .060 & the 303p is .067. If I hadn't had a kerf already started, I'd have never known the difference.
After about 25 slabs, the blade began to slow down a fair amount. I cut into my old grinding wheel a couple of times & it was business as usual. I know that this can tremendously shorten a blades life, so I try to do it as little as possible. The blade continued to cut well for the rest of the day, (about 4 hours). I cut about 45 slabs that day, average size of 2 1/4" x 3 1/2".
The next four days were very similar. Day 5. I knew this would be the last roundup for the Barranca, The edge was down to the last mil or so. As I began to cut, I heard something hit my face shield from time to time. Thinking the rock was chipping, I stopped to inspect it. Curiously, I didn't see anything suspicious. I slabbed until I finally heard the swan song of a dead blade. Amid a shower of sparks, I shut the saw down & proceeded to drain my pan & clean up for the day. I decided to remove the blade from the saw that evening. I was giving the blade an inspection to see how evenly it wore down, when I noticed that there were some minor pieces missing from the edge. That's what I was hearing hit my face shield. It was as though the edge of the blade peeled on the face of the blade. At about 8 places, some as long as an inch long & about 1/8" wide. I've not got the years of cutting some of you have, but I have burned over 2 dozen blades of at least 6 different brands & haven't seen anything like this.
The Verdict...
I was very impressed with the performance. I only had to dress the blade a few times in the 5 days it was in use. I have found that the agate & jasper I've been cutting only give a blade a life of between 18 & 25 hours. I know that sounds like a quick shot, but when I consider that I get around 275 slabs from a blade, it's not too bad.
Would I use the 303P again? You bet. The ONLY reason I won't be ordering another one right off the bat is that I have a spotty connection to get Hotdog blades for about 1/3 the cost of a 303P. Unfortunately, I can't always depend on the guy to have the blades when I need them.
All in all, I'd recommend the 303P to anyone wanting a high quality blade for their trim saw. Is it better than the Hotdog? Debatable. Both blades have their strong points.
Maybe you can post some pictures here