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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 6, 2014 13:00:03 GMT -5
Over the winter I bought a Lortone ST10 ten inch saw. I'm not sure what the difference is between this saw and the LS10, but they seem very similar. Today is the first nice day that I've had a chance to try it out. I just cut two slabs and it seems to work fine, except something seems to not be square. After the cut, there's a gap between the blade and the rock at the front of the blade. When I slide the vice toward the front of the saw, the rock is tight against the blade. The tension as the blade bends is breaking the slab. The slab was only about an eighth of an inch because I misjudged how thick to make it.
I can see two screws on the top of the shelf that catches the cut slab. Are those the correct ones to adjust the blade?
I also see that the motor is 1/4 HP, but the instructions for the LS10 recommend a 1/3 HP motor. Is there a big problem with running a smaller motor?
Thanks for any help you guys can give me.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 6, 2014 15:42:34 GMT -5
Hello, To adjust the blade on a Lortone ST10 or LS10 you have to loosen the bolts that hold the arbor bearing brackets in place. Then adjust blade alignment and retighten the arbor bearing bracket bolts without the arbor assembly moving. The first time can be a little challenging but after you've done it a few times it gets easier. If the bearings are getting old, since you are going to have to go through this process anyway, you may want to go ahead and change the bearings while you're at it. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 6, 2014 15:46:16 GMT -5
Forgot to respond to the motor question, as long as your saw isn't slowing down or stalling while cutting then the 1/4hp is okay. Larry C.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 6, 2014 15:56:04 GMT -5
Thanks Larry, I'll see if I can find bearing brackets.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 6, 2014 20:36:45 GMT -5
Not sure if I understood your last post but if you do decide to go ahead and replace the bearings you can still reuse the old bearing brackets that are on the saw now. They should be fine. Larry C.
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 6, 2014 23:04:05 GMT -5
www.lortone.com/pdf/LS10_Instructions.pdfManual for the LS10, ST10 should be the same as far as arbor goes. Page 5 top of page Fig A shows the arbor bearings, they are located under the slab shelf on the outside of the saw so the 2 screws you describe may be 2 of the 4. Before you do anything to the arbor hold a straightedge up to the blade and look to see if it is dished.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2014 5:26:52 GMT -5
Ok, I'll do that, I won't be able to get back to it until at least Tuesday.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 8, 2014 18:49:05 GMT -5
Thanks for the help Lee and Larry. I got it adjusted and it's running great. The guy I bought the saw from added a piece of sheet metal to cover the big opening on the lower left side of the saw. The piece just sits between the saw and the oil pan, but I had to lift the saw off the pan to remove it. If that hadn't been there, the job would have been more obvious and much quicker. I have another question. There's a small black knob near the vice. What is its function? I took a picture, but it's a little dark. The arrow should help.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,019
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 8, 2014 19:57:23 GMT -5
The screw with the black knob locks the vise's crossfed into position when you've set the slab depth. You'll need to loosen it to move the vise into a new position, then tighten it again for a new slab.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 8, 2014 20:09:12 GMT -5
Well, it cuts even if you don't tighten that! I'm glad I asked. From now on, I'll tighten it.
The feed speed isn't adjustable, is it? I'm cutting Kona dolomite and Petoskey, both of which are very soft and this thing goes really, really slow. I know that's necessary for hard rock, but I think I could get away with more speed on this soft stuff.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,019
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 8, 2014 21:07:37 GMT -5
Sometimes saw vibrations cause the vise's crossfeed to "wander" a little, especially if the parts are older and worn. Locking it prevents that and saves blades.
My saw's pretty old and maybe they made the feed speed adjustable in later versions but mine's got just one speed. It has an "off" switch on the left side of the aluminum box at the front. I often use that when starting cuts in hard or uneven pieces to allow the blade to create a definite starting groove -- "on" until the blade's engaged with the rock, then "off" to let it cut the groove deeper. Repeat several times. It takes just a minute or so and saves blades from being dished by the rock if the cut's started wrong.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 8, 2014 21:13:47 GMT -5
I don't think the speed is adjustable, but I was hoping I was wrong. It didn't come with a manual, so I don't know much about it.
Thanks for the tip on starting the cut. The feed switch is in the same place on my saw, I was playing with it today, just to be sure what it did.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 9, 2014 0:28:07 GMT -5
The powerfeed rate is fixed on this saw. I would imagine with the right type of rheostat speed control it could be made to be variable. But the easiest improvement to make is to speed up the blade. Modern diamond blades are rated to turn much faster speeds than the Lortone saws are set up for. With the factory set up a Lortone LS10 saw has a 1725rpm motor with a 2.75" motor pulley and a 4" arbor pulley which makes the blade run 1185rpms. If you replace the motor pulley with a 3" pulley and the arbor pulley with a 3.5" pulley the blade will turn 1478rpms. This will require a new sized belt too. I've made this type of modification on my Lortone 12" and it seems to help cutting harder rocks. You can download and print the Lortone LS10 Manual online from here: www.lortone.com/pdf/LS10_Instructions.pdf . And can play around with pulley size and speed conversions here: www.culvermotor.com/Engineering-Formulas/Pulley-and-RPM-Calculator.html . Larry C.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 9, 2014 5:40:53 GMT -5
Thanks Larry. I'll look into changing the blade speed. Right now I'm just happy to have the blade straightened out and cutting rocks.
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 9, 2014 20:25:20 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 9, 2014 21:22:13 GMT -5
Right now I'm using the blade that came with the saw, so I'm going to stick with the pulley that came with the saw. I have a new 303 blade that I'll use when this one wears out, so I'll buy a new pulley then.
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