dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 11:54:47 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 15, 2010 11:54:47 GMT -5
I run 2 18" and a 24" saw as much as possible cutting most rocks down to 3/4 " thick. I have 2 10" saws I've never used so my ? is there any advantage to using the 10" saws?
In response to a reply to stonesthatrock he said he didn't have time which also brings into play the ? of time. In discussing this original ? w/other cutters it was agreed that for someone w/out extra time some rocks should be just cut on the larger saws to save time. I have only 4 months that I can cut as my saws are at my house in Montana and the other 8 months I'm farming in colorado altho after these posts I will be bringing the 10" saw w/me for any small rocks I can pick up. Thanks to all the constuctive comments on here. It's really great to have this forum to discuss these things w/like minded friendly folks.
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 12:12:50 GMT -5
Post by johnjsgems on Feb 15, 2010 12:12:50 GMT -5
Most obvious advantage would be blade thickness with less kerf loss on a 10". Replacement blade cost and electric usage would be much less as well. For valuable rock, chunk it down to size in the large saws and slab it in he 10's.
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 12:35:45 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 15, 2010 12:35:45 GMT -5
the only real valuable rock ,at least in my opinion, that I cut is opal then I use a 6" .006 blade
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 13:30:53 GMT -5
Post by johnjsgems on Feb 15, 2010 13:30:53 GMT -5
Some find rocks other than opal as valuable. Ocean Jasper, Bruno, Biggs, etc. To each his own.
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 21:54:46 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 15, 2010 21:54:46 GMT -5
well I can see that other stones such as you mention aren't as cheap as landscape rocks. I apologize if you feel offended. I originally taught myself how to polish opals. when I connected w/the local rock shop the guy was mortified saying noone starts w/opal more like agate or jasper. My first opal was 100$/oz and from there I eventually worked up to not touching anything less than 500$/oz. once I had almost 2 gallons of rough I knew I had to move on to other rocks such as jaspers and agates so I guess what I'm saying is 20$/lb doesn't seem expensive for quality. my ocean jasper was bought at 5$/lb, my sonora sunset at 10$/lb and my morrisonite 40$/lb. maybe someday I'll think even landscape rock expensive but until that opal is all gone probably not.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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saw ?
Feb 15, 2010 22:47:48 GMT -5
Post by drjo on Feb 15, 2010 22:47:48 GMT -5
Funny , I always classed Opal in carats and rough in Lbs. Now if you want to feel landscape rock is expensive, just cover your front yard with it. ;D Dr Joe .
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saw ?
Feb 16, 2010 5:01:03 GMT -5
Post by Bikerrandy on Feb 16, 2010 5:01:03 GMT -5
I run 2 18" and a 24" saw as much as possible cutting most rocks down to 3/4 " thick. I have 2 10" saws I've never used so my ? is there any advantage to using the 10" saws? In your case, there's no advantage to having the 18 inch saws and the 24 inch saw either.
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 16, 2010 9:41:51 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 16, 2010 9:41:51 GMT -5
andy-with thousands of lbs to cut w/60% needing at least an 18" saw and 20% more needing a 24" saw why doesn't the 2 bigger saws work to my advantage? I can see the point of using the 10" for small pieces of morrisonite and other more exp.small rocks .
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baojiazhi
starting to shine!
Member since October 2008
Posts: 40
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saw ?
Feb 16, 2010 14:27:59 GMT -5
Post by baojiazhi on Feb 16, 2010 14:27:59 GMT -5
I use my 18" saws to cut down bigger peices. As soon as I have cut as many big slabs as I can I take the remaining rock to my 10"s to finish up. My 10s see a lot more slabbing than the big saws do to the fact that most of the good material I find comes in smaller peices.
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saw ?
Feb 16, 2010 19:47:49 GMT -5
Post by Bikerrandy on Feb 16, 2010 19:47:49 GMT -5
My 10 inch saw sees more time than my big saws as well. I have some beautiful moss agates, they just aren't big enough to waste a big blade. To me, it doesn't matter the value of the rock. I do this purely for the enjoyment of the hobby. From the business side, my reply would have been what John said.
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 16, 2010 21:27:55 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 16, 2010 21:27:55 GMT -5
well I appreciate the input. I have spent time around guys who run 7 big saws as much as possible and never even saw a smaller saw in the place. course they might have had one somewhere that I didn't see. these guys are miners, one has 13 mines. since I don't have a huge never ending supply I guess I should start my Raytech 10" going .
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Feb 16, 2010 23:08:19 GMT -5
Post by johnjsgems on Feb 16, 2010 23:08:19 GMT -5
Measure the kerf of a typical 18"-24" blade. You generally loose from one 1/4"slab every cut to one every two.
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saw ?
Feb 17, 2010 16:39:23 GMT -5
Post by Bikerrandy on Feb 17, 2010 16:39:23 GMT -5
You sure do. Kingsley North sells an 18 inch blade that's fairly thin and cuts great, and they're as pricey as some of the others. The MK303 blade that I have will waste damn near half of the rock!
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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saw ?
Feb 17, 2010 16:55:04 GMT -5
Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 17, 2010 16:55:04 GMT -5
I just checked my 10" blade has a kerf of 1.5mm and my 18" a kerf of 2mm. the 18" is a kingsley north @ $127 when you buy 3. the 10"blade is a new raytech which came w/the raytech saw when I got it used.
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