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Post by glennz01 on Sept 18, 2014 20:18:54 GMT -5
Well i have a 16 inch slab saw and a nelson 14/16 so if people need stuff cut that don't have a large saw i can cut the stuff. (I can cut on both ends as long as it fits in my vice)
I can trade saw time for rough material but you would be responsible for shipping both ways (unless you have really good stuff). If you don't want to swap rough for cutting i charge $0.35 per square inch on my gravity fed saw ($1.50 per linear inch on my nelson when it is running) (also scrap and end cuts if you don't want it back) for a high price (unless cutting jade or other stones harder than agate) It all depends on how long / easy it is to cut.
I will also cut preform if you do not have that ability, for that i would charge $1 per preform, You draw the lines (with sharpie ) and i would follow the lines on the outside, my preforms will not be block style so to speak. (If you are interested i can send a photo of my preforms)
Please note with cutting rocks... it is possible your rock will just crumble away as its cutting (this happened to several of my nicer rocks). Also with a large blade you will lose 1 slice per 3 cuts on average (2 cuts if i am using my segmented blade on large rocks). It is possible that the rock can come out of the vice and ruin my blade also under the pressures of cutting (small rocks have around 10 lbs of force applied with my gravity feed system.
I am doing this for several people currently for trades.
Please note i am in college also working so sometimes like this week i have very little time... or i should say had at this point.
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 0:58:25 GMT -5
revised price for more firm price
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 1:09:59 GMT -5
Well i have a 16 inch slab saw and a nelson 14/16 so if people need stuff cut that don't have a large saw i can cut the stuff. (I can cut on both ends as long as it fits in my vice) I can trade saw time for rough material but you would be responsible for shipping both ways (unless you have really good stuff). If you don't want to swap rough for cutting i charge $30 per hour which is still cheap (also scrap and small end cuts if you don't want it back) for a high price (unless cutting jade or other stones harder than agate) It all depends on how long / easy it is to cut. I am doing this for several people, i will be cutting a members items this Friday. Please note i am in college also working so sometimes like this week i have very little time... or i should say had at this point. Just for sake of clarity. Your saw cuts agates and jade slower than other items? Do you have hydraulic feed? |
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 1:21:09 GMT -5
My large home built saw is gravity fed... so for softer stones it cuts faster and harder stones it cuts slower... My nelson does have power feed but it goes a lot slower than my gravity fed system (at least with small stones). Once i have the nelson fully cleaned up and wired i can offer both options... i'm thinking the nelson will have a little bit better cut appearance... at least it should.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 5:37:22 GMT -5
Do you have some photos of some slabs you have produced.im just curious to see how smooth of a cut your saw is producing.
Dave
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Sept 23, 2014 5:51:03 GMT -5
Just so you know, most jade is not as hard as agate, and in fact is not especially hard at about 6.0 to 6.5 mohs, with a few jadeite specimens at 7.0 tops. Whereas agate is usually 6.5 to 7.0. I have found jade pretty easy and smooth to cut compared to say hard agate or especially real hard petwood. The mohs scale is not linear so the difference is greater than expected.
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 12:19:17 GMT -5
I have been informed that jade is tough to cut, well if it is easier than its cheaper to cut  As for photos with both blades there are no visible saw marks (to the naked eye) My segmented blade should cut a little smoother though as t is continuous diamond on the edges and front. This is an old photo but it is of a cut also the 2nd photo that slab polished slightly using only 800 grit pad Forgot to note but with my notched rim blade it has a green coating of paint on the outside that likes to come off onto the rocks a little.   |
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vugs
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rockbiter
Member since February 2014
Posts: 225 
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Post by vugs on Sept 23, 2014 13:11:09 GMT -5
Glen, it would probably be better to post pics of slabs that are straight off the saw and not polished at all. Potential customers will want to see how clean the cuts are prior to polish. Also, just my opinion here but $30/hr seems like alot especially since you say your Nelson cuts really slow. Personally i've never seen slabbing service charged per hour.
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 13:57:37 GMT -5
The first photo is fresh off the saw, the 2nd photo is the same slab polished.
As for price (not with my nelson) basically for a fist size piece of agate a cut would be $2.00 (which is cheaper than what most online places charge from my research) if i charged by the slab, if the same size piece was cut feldspar or something softer the price would be probably half that.
I guess i can come up with a more defined price...
I can see i will need to make some sort of chart thing but it all depends on the rock
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 14:40:02 GMT -5
Hi Glenn;
WARNING!! Friendly encouragement to follow:
I suspect you are going to find that MOST slabbing clients are needing slab stuff larger than a grapefruit. This because a 10" saw is quite affordable and many folks have at least that. This means examples of a $2 cut on a fist size piece may not be a good fit for your potential clients. I have a 24" Frantom and the few times I have been asked to (or for a friend lacking such a saw; offered to) cut for someone, it is always larger than a cantaloupe.
Further, are you really wanting to do $2 business? Take that fist sized piece. Whattaya gonna get 5 slices? $10?? plus two postages?? Is this your marketing plan?
My goal is too encourage you to think this thru more scenarios. Is there an actual marketplace for what you have offered?
@arrowheadave or any others are you a buyer for his product? Perhaps you could offer what service you might buy from him.
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Post by captbob on Sept 23, 2014 14:59:20 GMT -5
Well, that was A WHOLE LOT more gently put than what I have typed and deleted a couple times.  |
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 15:55:55 GMT -5
I have been talking to my co-worker about price for cutting, he said the minimum i should charge if per hour is $30... He is the only lapidary person in the area at least that i know of so most things i have been basing off of him... so are his prices too high? (an example he sells 1 cab of his material for $20)
I just want to have reasonable prices
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2014 16:03:16 GMT -5
Consider your marketplace and work backwards.
There is an existing slab cutting marketplace.
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 16:18:58 GMT -5
Let me know what you would charge for a 7 inch by 7 inch block of agate, this is the largest i can cut right now
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Sept 23, 2014 16:23:45 GMT -5
Best of luck. It's hard work to make a hobby pay for itself.
If you get clients at $30 an hour and everyone is happy then you've priced it right.
Most cutting services price by the square inch where they seem to consider everything a rectangle.
This better takes account of the wear and tear on your blade and oil.
I don't know how much experience you have cutting, but I hope you know the risks. You never know for sure what a rock is going to do under a saw blade or the pressure of a vise. Whenever I cut for anyone (never for money, just for fun or friendship) I always give a little lecture letting them know that I may utterly destroy their rock.
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 16:26:54 GMT -5
I just checked another site and they charge .50 cents per square inch with a break even point of .20 cents per square inch... or $1 per running cut legnth..
according to that a fist sized 4x4 would cost $3.2 and a 7x7 block would cost $9.8 for break even... everywhere i look online the .50 per square inch seems to be the current fee
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 16:30:49 GMT -5
Best of luck. It's hard work to make a hobby pay for itself. If you get clients at $30 an hour and everyone is happy then you've priced it right. Most cutting services price by the square inch where they seem to consider everything a rectangle. This better takes account of the wear and tear on your blade and oil. I don't know how much experience you have cutting, but I hope you know the risks. You never know for sure what a rock is going to do under a saw blade or the pressure of a vise. Whenever I cut for anyone (never for money, just for fun or friendship) I always give a little lecture letting them know that I may utterly destroy their rock. Yeah, i basically want a little more than the break even point... I have been cutting on my co-workers machine for a few years (for our rock club) and on mine for almost a year.. i'm not trying to make profit, only cover my costs... based on what i calculated .35 per square inch is the price i should be asking to cover all costs. but people don't like that price |
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Post by kap on Sept 23, 2014 17:03:58 GMT -5
I hope you do well!  But like was said be sure you are clear to people what will happen if their rock explodes! Also if you are using a thick blade remember that you lose a slab about every 3 cuts so let them know so they will not think you are shorting them on the cuts. And also you need to think about when the rock comes out of the vice(and sooner or later it will happen) and you wipe out your $150-$300 blade is it worth it. |
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Post by glennz01 on Sept 23, 2014 17:08:38 GMT -5
yeah i guess, i will revise the top thread since i have a little time before class.
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Sept 23, 2014 17:11:50 GMT -5
The only time I paid for cutting was about 10 years ago. It cost me $10 to get a 4 inch geode cut open. It had huge saw marks on it and was covered in smelly oily rock snot, he sure didn't use mineral oil. Very big incentive to get my own saw.
Most folks without a saw have little idea what it costs and takes to keep a saw running. 0.35 a square inch is a more than fair price - especially given the risks to a rather expensive blade.
If someone complains too much about the price just invite them over for the next oil cleaning and let them know that the stuff you're pouring into the machine costs 15 to 20 dollars a gallon.
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