mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by mikeinsjc on Jun 4, 2011 13:53:47 GMT -5
I am looking for the smallest saw I can find that still has an auto-feed. Any recommendations?
I am not opposed to trying to improvise the auto feed. If any of you have had sucess doing so, I'd appreciate your advice.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jun 4, 2011 14:47:37 GMT -5
If you want a fully enclosed saw Lortone used to make a 10 inch saw, maybe they still do. In trim/slab saws there may be an 8 incher out there but mostly 10 inch. I have an old Raytech 6 inch trimmer with a vice and auto feed but it's missing the arbor and sump. I'm planning to try to make the top fit a HP sump and arbor, but that might be awhile.
Lee
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 4, 2011 16:50:17 GMT -5
I'm not sure why you would want to go smaller than a ten inch. You can always cut smaller rocks with the ten inch saws, blades are not that pricey, and often you want to use the whole vice size for a larger specimen. Why limit yourself to tiny rough by getting a tiny rig?. Besides with tiny saws, it's actually faster and easier to push the vice by hand. I started lapidary at age 10 or 11 with an old sears six inch saw that had a vice that you just fed into the blade by hand. Worked swell and was easy to use....Mel
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 9, 2011 12:08:45 GMT -5
I agree with Mel. Covington and Lortone both make 8" power feed saws but 10" would be not much more. Any 6" saw will cut pretty short rocks (usually 1 1/4"-1 1/2"). Can't see where a power feed would be useful for anything that small. Any lapidary saw with a vise and good blade would slab tiny rocks hand feed with no problem.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jun 9, 2011 21:28:12 GMT -5
John, you're right about the usefulness of a 6 inch saw with a power feed, the only reason I could think of would be cutting smaller pieces of really high end stuff where you want to keep blade kerf loss to a minimum. The problem with that is that there is no way to align the vice travel with the blade like a regular slab saw so most trim/slab saws make lots of blade marks on the cut surface that require time to remove, and pretty much negate any material savings.
Lee
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 9, 2011 21:59:38 GMT -5
I wouldn't recommend thin blades on 8" or 10" saws with power feed either. Deflection would wipe out blades quickly. Running a thick blade on a 6" saw would negate any kerf loss advantage over 8"-10" saws.
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