rainbowsue
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2012
Posts: 23
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Post by rainbowsue on Oct 20, 2014 19:12:09 GMT -5
Hi I just purchased an old Lortone ST-10 slab saw. 10 inch saw with 5/8 inch arbor.
I plan on slabbing mostly Agates and Jaspers. I am looking for suggestions on a good, but not expensive blade. This will be my first experience with a slab saw.
Thanks
Susan
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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 Oct 20, 2014 20:29:31 GMT -5
You know, cutting agate and jasper requires a "good" lapidary blade and from now on, I'm using nothing but MK301 or BD301 blades. You get what you pay for and since those blades will outlast cheap blades two or three to one when cutting hard materials, in this case, more expensive is less expensive in the long run. I think the 301 runs about $100 so and well worth the price in terms of cutting ability and blade life. I've been running one cutting nothing but super hard agate, pet wood and jasper for over a year now and still lots of diamond left. Need to sharpen it now and then with an abrasive stone or silicon carbide stone but it cuts well and leaves real smooth surfaces...Mel
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Oct 20, 2014 20:33:12 GMT -5
Ditto what Mel said. Worth every penny!
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 20, 2014 20:51:01 GMT -5
I agree, definitely MK or Barranca, I just got my first 301, curious to see how it compares to a 303. Lortone saws can be good saws, but in my experience they don't get along well with budget blades.
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rainbowsue
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2012
Posts: 23
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Post by rainbowsue on Oct 20, 2014 21:03:33 GMT -5
Thank you so much for the suggestions. Any thoughts on who to order from? I plan on ordering tomorrow morning.
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 20, 2014 22:08:08 GMT -5
Order from John. He's a member, and gives our members the best prices. www.jsgemslapidary.com/You might want to PM him first and let him know what you're ordering. That way you'll be sure to get the member discount.
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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 Oct 21, 2014 6:24:27 GMT -5
Yep, I got mine from John too. Good prices!
By the way, again, I cannot stress the need to frequently dress your blade enough. I run a ten inch Covington saw and find that, if I sharpen after every hard agate I slice up, I experience less overheating of the power feed, smoother cuts, no binding of the blade in cuts and just overall, much more success cutting even really hard, dense agate and wood. I keep blade logs and the 301 for me, even outcuts/outperforms the 303 continuous rim blade......Mel
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Oct 21, 2014 14:27:25 GMT -5
I've been quite happy with the BD303C blade in my ten inch Lortone slab saw. I haven't used a 301 blade.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 21, 2014 16:51:52 GMT -5
By the way, again, I cannot stress the need to frequently dress your blade enough. I run a ten inch Covington saw and find that, if I sharpen after every hard agate I slice up, I experience less overheating of the power feed, smoother cuts, no binding of the blade in cuts and just overall, much more success cutting even really hard, dense agate and wood. I keep blade logs and the 301 for me, even outcuts/outperforms the 303 continuous rim blade......Mel I must be doing something wrong. I hear lots of people telling me to dress my blades. I've never done it. I have a Highland Park 14" saw with a blade that came on it used. I'm not sure what brand, but here's a photo before all of the paint wore off. Recognize it? I've been cutting for about 5 years on it - hundreds, even thousands of slabs of mostly agate & jasper. I usually feed at the highest speed. My blade-dressing friends have gone through multiple MK301 blades in a fraction of the time that I've been using this blade. Lynn
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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 Oct 21, 2014 17:14:48 GMT -5
Don't know why but some of the old timey blade were really incredible. I bought a used Beacon Star 10 inch that came with an old red painted blade. Cut for years with no problems till I had a piece of pet wood break and catch severely bending the blade. Never dressed that blade either. Sure don't find that with modern blades.....Mel
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 21, 2014 20:46:14 GMT -5
Looks like the color for the original HP Congo blade. I have heard many good things about them.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 21, 2014 23:49:29 GMT -5
Is there anything comparable to that HP Congo blade being made today? I'll be needing a new blade in the next 6-12 months. Lynn
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 10:21:09 GMT -5
zarguy - I think it's because you/we are using oil and Mel is using water. The only time I had to dress my blade is when I used water. After that I dressed the blade, since then I have been cutting with oil at the highest rate and see zero difference in cutting. Sabre52 are you using water?
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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 Oct 22, 2014 13:12:03 GMT -5
Scott; Nope, I use Covington rockhound oil sometimes with a little Wally World mineral oil mixed in. Mel
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Post by glennz01 on Oct 23, 2014 15:46:52 GMT -5
By the way, again, I cannot stress the need to frequently dress your blade enough. I run a ten inch Covington saw and find that, if I sharpen after every hard agate I slice up, I experience less overheating of the power feed, smoother cuts, no binding of the blade in cuts and just overall, much more success cutting even really hard, dense agate and wood. I keep blade logs and the 301 for me, even outcuts/outperforms the 303 continuous rim blade......Mel I must be doing something wrong. I hear lots of people telling me to dress my blades. I've never done it. I have a Highland Park 14" saw with a blade that came on it used. I'm not sure what brand, but here's a photo before all of the paint wore off. Recognize it? I've been cutting for about 5 years on it - hundreds, even thousands of slabs of mostly agate & jasper. I usually feed at the highest speed. My blade-dressing friends have gone through multiple MK301 blades in a fraction of the time that I've been using this blade. Lynn Looks like my blade i got from Johnson Brothers for my 16 inch saw that i'm using for small stuff (I paid $90 for it excluding shipping). It does not come with an arbor ring nothched rimthey also have some decent sintered blades, comes with an arbor ring SinteredBoth good blades for the price. My co-worker thinks the best blade for his 10 inch is a dewalt tile saw continuous rim blade (supposidly he likes it better than md)
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 23, 2014 19:25:24 GMT -5
The Congo and old Star Diamond/BD notched rims were different than the JB "notch rims" They are basically the "crimp rim" Chinese blades. Barranca was last company in USA to make a true notched rim blade. The red ones were also called 301 blades which led to a lot of confusion when the new 301's came out. I very rarely dressed the old notched rim 301 on my HP24. On trim saws you can tell right away if the blade starts to dull or glaze over. Or like Mel has found, a really good, sharp blade cures a lot of saw quirks.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,886
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Post by Tommy on Oct 23, 2014 22:59:29 GMT -5
Ditto on the 301. I have the same great saw and I would never put a different type of blade in it. Order it from jsgemslapidary like the other's said. Same blade is more expensive on Amazon.
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Post by Rockoonz on Oct 24, 2014 13:57:46 GMT -5
I must be doing something wrong. I hear lots of people telling me to dress my blades. I've never done it. I have a Highland Park 14" saw with a blade that came on it used. I'm not sure what brand, but here's a photo before all of the paint wore off. Recognize it? I've been cutting for about 5 years on it - hundreds, even thousands of slabs of mostly agate & jasper. I usually feed at the highest speed. My blade-dressing friends have gone through multiple MK301 blades in a fraction of the time that I've been using this blade. Lynn Looks like my blade i got from Johnson Brothers for my 16 inch saw that i'm using for small stuff (I paid $90 for it excluding shipping). It does not come with an arbor ring nothched rimthey also have some decent sintered blades, comes with an arbor ring SinteredBoth good blades for the price. My co-worker thinks the best blade for his 10 inch is a dewalt tile saw continuous rim blade (supposidly he likes it better than md) John already said this pretty much but... The Johnson Bros "notched rim" is really a crimped rim blade, very cheaply made and bend easily. They look similar to the old continuous rim blades that aren't made anymore but will have a much shorter life if cutting large stuff. Sintered blades are the only good quality blades available nowadays. Tile saw blades are generally thick and waste a lot of material, but they are also very durable because of the beefiness. It's a trade off...
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Post by glennz01 on Oct 24, 2014 21:03:26 GMT -5
yeah, i'm using the sinthered for large stuff and the crimped for smalls
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rainbowsue
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2012
Posts: 23
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Post by rainbowsue on Oct 26, 2014 14:17:27 GMT -5
Well my 10 inch saw arrived Friday. I will go ahead and buy that new blade from jsgemslapidary as suggested on Monday. Thanks for everyone's help.
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