Jon
starting to shine!
Member since June 2011
Posts: 41
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Post by Jon on Sept 7, 2011 10:11:57 GMT -5
So, I just bought my first rock saw, its a used 12" Lortone rock saw.
It had belonged to a college professor that taught a lapidary class and it looks like it was maintained reasonable well, but then when the professor retired, the current owner bought it and it had been sitting in the guys garage for 5 years. He never used it and never bothered cleaning it out, so it has the same oil that was in there 5 years ago, and its a bit rancid smelling now. Is there any point to trying to filter the current oil in there through the brown paper bag method talked about on the forums here or should I just chuck the current stuff and get new oil? Anyone know the guidelines for oil disposal in the twin cities area?
And if I'm getting new oil, what are peoples recommendations? I was thinking about going with mineral oil. Its a bit more expensive, but I figure it should hopefully be a bit easier to work with in the long run. Anyone have recommendations for mineral oil in the twin cities area? Also, anyone have an idea of how much oil a 12" lortone will require?
Thanks for your help!
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 7, 2011 10:51:42 GMT -5
Your "rancid smelling" oil is probably Pella A or one of the others that have been used for years. It does have a strong odor to it. Mineral oil doesn't have to be all that expensive. Go to your local Tractor Supply store and buy tractor hydraulic oil. You can get it in 1 or 5 gallon containers, and it's much cheaper than the same oil sold as lapidary cutting oil. As for disposing of your old oil and sludge, call your local fire department. They should be able to tell you how and where to dispose of it. Since you don't know what type of oil it is, you may have to take it to a waste disposal facility. I don't know about the twin cities area, but here in S.D. we have a fall cleanup, and they have places where you can bring containers of old paint, pesticides etc. for free. Don
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Sept 7, 2011 13:00:08 GMT -5
Hi Jon,
You might try taking it to an oil change place or to Hennepin County Hazardous Waste Disposal.
I haven't tried the hydraulic tractor oil, but it is cheap. I've bought Mineral Seal Oil from Lube Tech: $55 for 5 gallons, I think.
Where are you in the Twin Cities?
Chuck
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 7, 2011 13:10:47 GMT -5
Yeh, Where in the twin cities are both of you located ? I'm right next door in Aberdeen, S.D. Lonely over here. I seem to be the only rockhound in a city of 25,000. Don
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rons
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Post by rons on Sept 7, 2011 16:22:15 GMT -5
you'll need about 2 Gal. of oil..at least thats what brings mine up and just covers the rim of the sawblade
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since June 2011
Posts: 41
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Post by Jon on Sept 7, 2011 19:29:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Any suggestions if I should try to recover any of the old oil? Or just clean the saw well and start fresh?
As for location, I'm in Blaine, about 20 minutes north of Minneapolis.
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since June 2011
Posts: 41
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Post by Jon on Sept 7, 2011 19:31:54 GMT -5
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
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Post by snuffy on Sept 7, 2011 19:42:08 GMT -5
I use hydraulic oil in my 2 saws, not much odor at all,smells good to me. Oreillys and other auto supply stores usually have the best prices,ranging from 30-40 bucks for a 5 gallon bucket.7or 8 bucks a gallon.
snuffy
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 7, 2011 20:08:31 GMT -5
You'll never get rid of the odor of the old oil. If you don't like it, dump it. Another option to hydraulic oil is horse laxative oil. It's a little more refined than hydraulic oil, and has even less odor. They're all mineral oil. If you still don't like the smell, try dumping a quart of baby oil in with the other. Again it's mineral oil, but has a sweet smell added to it. Most of us old timers grew up around Pella oil, and don't even notice the smell. Don
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
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Post by rocpup on Sept 8, 2011 11:02:44 GMT -5
Last year I bought a five gallon pail of Pella A at $85. I had to go out to the car and bum a little cash from the wife. So now I have orders to look for something cheaper. Pella A is a great oil as the solids settle out quickly. All I do is dig the solids from the bottom of the saw and store them in a bucket. I then add a little oil to bring up the saw to the correct level. Latter oil is skimed from the sludge and added to the Pella bucket and so on. In that way a five gallon pale will last me a few years so that was why I gave up $85 for it. Many rocks absorb oil and create problems. For these known rocks in one of my saws I use antifreeze. I know it is toxic so caution is used. The antifreeze removes very quickly with water and you have a oil free rock. One of my friends uses non toxic antifreeze with great results and is a lot more expensive. In two of my saws I use transformer oil aquired from the local power company. There again you have to use caution about the oil from them because some of it may contain ugly things. The barrel has lasted me about ten years but is almost gone. The viscosity is a little heavy but still works fine. I see WalMart was selling HyD oil for $43 for five gallons. May give that a try in the near future. Rocpup
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Sept 8, 2011 13:22:28 GMT -5
I live in Edina.
Yes, that hydraulic fluid should work, although check out the additives. Some things you just don't want to inhale.
I agree with Don; if you don't like it, dump it. If you can tolerate the smell, try cutting a waste rock with it and see how it performs.
Chuck
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Post by kap on Sept 8, 2011 19:56:36 GMT -5
I use Mineral oil in my saws. I like that it has no odor, easy to clean off, and is not rough on your skin. I always had trouble getting the smell out using hyd oil even after cleaning the slabs you can sometimes smell it. Keith
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Post by Rockoonz on Sept 12, 2011 1:25:19 GMT -5
The mist from cutting with hydraulic oil is toxic, don't do it. In my local area food grade mineral oil at Coastal Farm and Ranch is about $14 a gallon, with Pella closer to $18.
Lee
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Jon
starting to shine!
Member since June 2011
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Post by Jon on Sept 21, 2011 21:36:32 GMT -5
I did end up getting hydraulic oil to try out at Oreillys. Its been working pretty well. I've been using a mask when opening the saw if I do it right after a rock finishes cutting. I think the next time I need oil, I'll go with horse laxative mineral oil. Its more expensive, but should be cleaner and nicer to work with.
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 22, 2011 21:54:39 GMT -5
If you're not worried about cost, straight baby oil would work too. I think WalMart sells big bottles at a fairly reasonable price. You could come in from a day of cutting and smell like a freshly oiled babies butt.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Sept 23, 2011 7:33:11 GMT -5
Try putting Bardahl No Smoke (available at Walmart or OReillys) in the sump. It really cuts down on the mist.
The oil I recommended above is mineral oil, but significantly cheaper than baby oil or horse laxative. LubeTech OEMs it to one of the lapidary companies.
Chuck
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