meviva
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Post by meviva on Apr 22, 2015 2:00:17 GMT -5
I'm thinking about getting a slab saw. I don't know anything about them. Are there any decent ones for around $1000? All opinions are appreciated.
Thanks,
Andrea
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Post by Peruano on Apr 22, 2015 7:50:27 GMT -5
There are decent slab saws at around $1000, but they are all used and quite transitory on Craig's List, Estate Sales, and Farm Auctions. Seriously you may be able to find a small sort-of slab saw below $2000, but it would have to be a compromise. What make a slab saw (in my eyes) is a good vice, and a feed mechanism that will drive the stone into the blade at the right speed and angle, without drenching your studio/workshop with oil. So pay particular to vice strength and stability, and to the drive mechanism - gravity is an option but I suspect that a power feed is really much easier to use and more reliable (I have never done much with gravity feed). A 12" saw can do wonderful things so bigger is not necessarily essential, but a 10" is borderline for slabing more than single cab sized beach stones or small carefully selected rough of the right size. So my best advice is to look carefully at the smaller supposed slab saws and pass the word that you are desirous of a used slab saw of a larger size with the attributes that will make it perform successfully for you. Buying used may mean some retrofit, renovation, improvisation, and perspiration, but it will be a rewarding experience and your expectations may be more likely to be achieved. Good luck and by all means ask questions. My apologies if anyone has a better perspective of a saw than can claim to be a slab saw in the price range. Tom
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 22, 2015 8:07:02 GMT -5
Tom made some great points. A good used saw is usually a wonderful buy as long as you have enough expertise to check out the feed system, vice etc. A grand mainly keeps you in the realm of new saws in the ten inch range. That's all I have and it works OK for my needs. You can always break down big rough to make it fit your vice and a ten inch saw cuts slabs plenty big enough for cabs. The thing to remember is in addition to initial purchase price , you have operating costs. I used to run a 20" HP and my blades cost over $350. In addition, the bigger the blade the harder it is to keep it from dishing, dulling, and the big'uns are a be- atch to keep aligned properly. Ten inch saws generally have no alignment problems, good blades are under $100 bucks so you can change them more often if need be ( personally, my ten inch blades last wayyyy longer than my big blades did and with way fewer problems) and I can cut rough up to about 3" by 4". Some of the old ten inchers like the old used Beacon Star I ran for years, could handle rough up to 3 1/2" by almost six inches. Main decisions you need to make are 1. How big of rough do you need to cut. You a cabber or a bookend maker etc? 2. How mechanically skilled are you ( bigger saws are lots more trouble mechanically) and 3. How much money do you have to spend on new blades, oil etc. Big saws by the way, have big oil tanks. I used to buy five gallons quite often for the 20" rig. For the ten, five gallons lasts me years.....Mel
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 22, 2015 12:07:12 GMT -5
Slab saw covers a lot of saws. $1000 new means 8" or 10" and then choices are limited. 10" saws effectively will cut about 3" rocks. Except BD which is a great saw but vise is so thick it cuts 3" hand cutting with vise out of way and around 2 1/2" with vise. It is over $1000. Add 1" for 12", another 1" for 14", etc. For used don't buy unless you can see the saw (or buy from someone like Tony that you can trust). Most 14" or larger slab saws will be over $1000 in good shape. My favorite small slab saw for under $1000 is the MK100 (or MK101). It is a heavy duty 10" tile saw (MK101) that is marketed to lapidary customers with 301 lapidary blade and vise (MK100) and will cut 4" rocks by sliding the table through and up to 7" by "plunge cutting". It cuts with plain water, is noisy, throws water to both sides, hand feed only, but cuts 4" agates like a bread slicer.
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meviva
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Post by meviva on Apr 22, 2015 14:50:53 GMT -5
Thanks Peruano Sabre52 and johnjsgemsI am using an MK 101 now. It's old and I think the motor is going to give out. Yesterday, I was cutting and the blade stopped several times with hardly any pressure on the rock. I don't have a vise so it's hard to get even cuts. It would be nice to have an auto feed but I like that the MK 100 uses only water, so that might be an option since a vise is available. I would be using it for slabs to make cabs….probably nothing too big for a 10". johnjsgems do you sell the MK100? If I were to get another MK 101 would the vise for the MK 100 work for it and just get the 301 lapidary blades? Thanks, Andrea |
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 22, 2015 16:04:07 GMT -5
Andrea, As you've noted you want slabs for cabs, you will need a vice that reliably cross feeds so you can cut multiple parallel sided slices. You need to ask John if that tile saw vice does that effectively. Even my little 10 inch Covington will do six to eight nice smooth parallel slices from an appropriate sized rock. The faces on the slices with a nice MK blade are so smooth they almost look lapped.....Mel
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 22, 2015 16:19:11 GMT -5
I bought my 14" saw for way under $1000.00!! Bought it used,came with an extra blade and five gallons of mineral oil too...Shop around for the right dealer and (or) person that is selling,you will know when you feel,you should buy it!
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Post by orrum on Apr 22, 2015 17:12:55 GMT -5
Pm Tony. He will ship anything, size etc. Get him to throw in some rocks! LOL. I think he must have 500 tons! Bet he would sell you the whole pile for a dollar a pound. Let's see..... 500 tons times 2000 pounds to the ton is??? Is that a half million dollars? Naw can't be...
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 22, 2015 17:46:42 GMT -5
The MK101 is the tile version and MK100 is same saw with lapidary blade and vise. The vise bolts on either saw and does have a cross feed. Have you checked the belt on your saw? It could be stretched and slipping causing it to stop turning. The 1 1/2 hp motor is pretty rugged so check for loose belt or pulley set screws first.
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meviva
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Post by meviva on Apr 22, 2015 20:17:51 GMT -5
johnjsgems That may be the problem, I will try to figure that out. But…….. my husband just told me to research some rock saws to see what is out there. It's good to know about the MK100 and that is an option I'm willing to do. As for the other saws, one with auto feed, what would be a good one for the money? Maybe a 10" or 12". It could be over $1000, I just didn't want to go crazy. Do all saws of that type use oil only?
Sabre52 Do you like your 10" Covington? Would you recommend it? Does anyone else have a model you would recommend? I prefer new because I wouldn't have a clue how to fix one up but I'm going to see what is available used online. Thanks, Andrea
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 22, 2015 22:13:55 GMT -5
Personally I would buy used and I would not get a trim/slab saw or a tile saw, to me they're absolutely frustrating. I am not at all a fan of Covington saws, I find it hard to believe the people who designed them have ever cut a rock. Whatever you do don't waste your time with the "new" Highland Park chinese saws. You will spend more time fixing them than a 50 year old saw. Did you see this? phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/tls/4949523062.htmlA bit more than you want to spend but it looks to be very well built. |
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meviva
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Post by meviva on Apr 22, 2015 22:47:56 GMT -5
Rockoonz I did see that….I thought it might be a little big for what I need. Also, not sure what to look for in a used saw, since I have never used one or seen one used before.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 22, 2015 23:00:34 GMT -5
Andrea, No I would not get a Covington again. I had a mode of comparison as I had the old used Beacon Star for like ten years and the Covington is not nearly as nice. I've gotten used to mine but it is a pain to use. Following problems based on my experiences.
1. Small vice with not much room in front to allow larger stones to be run through
2. Shallow table. Oil runs off in torrents and has to be caught in cups etc. Two chamber oil reservoir sucks eggs. Have to buy a table with sides to catch oil runoff. ( extra $100)
3. Stupid cover has holes both side which allow mist and oil to escape. Supposed to allow trimming but fogs so badly its useless.
4. Drain plugs useless until you replumb them ( extra $20)
5. Power feed constantly overheats in hot weather and shuts down Takes an hour to cool enough to restart.
6. Working the clutch is a fine art form and mostly magic far as I can tell
7. replacing belts is awful and the unit seems to burn them often. Pulleys come loose a lot too.
8. Tiny narrow oil reservoirs a be-atch to clean
9. Table top is horrible to remove and has screws in places requiring midget fingers to reach and screw/unscrew
10. Comes with feeble blade suitable for soft material only ( extra $100 for better blade)
11. again, narrow spaces make the blade a be-atch to change out too unless you are blesses with the hands of a tiny three year old child
12. Comes with little instructions and I have to call them all the time to ask questions or get help ( they do have a helpful service dept and I can see why they need it) IMHO it's almost like thhe saw was designed by folks who don't cut rocks.
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Post by woodman on Apr 23, 2015 12:32:25 GMT -5
I would not rule out Lortone saws. I have an old 10 inch and an older 18 inch. I see that they do not sell the 10 inch anymore but do have a 12 inch saw for around 1500. I would look for a used 10 on craigs list or ebay. They all use oil for lube and cooling.
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Post by johnjsgems on Apr 23, 2015 12:49:36 GMT -5
The old 10" Lortone is highly regarded and would need oil to last. Any of the aluminum bodied saws would be OK with water or water soluble as long as you drain sump after use and dry the blade. Diamond Pacific is still making the old Beacon Star Mel likes but pretty expensive saw. Blade extra too. The BD10 works well with water or water soluble. Biggest downside is the limited cutting height. Anything above 10" would be best to use with oil. I have customers using the EZ Cut coolant in 12" saws and BD's 14" saws.
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Post by broseph82 on Apr 23, 2015 15:48:14 GMT -5
Andrea, No I would not get a Covington again. I had a mode of comparison as I had the old used Beacon Star for like ten years and the Covington is not nearly as nice. I've gotten used to mine but it is a pain to use. Following problems based on my experiences. 1. Small vice with not much room in front to allow larger stones to be run through 2. Shallow table. Oil runs off in torrents and has to be caught in cups etc. Two chamber oil reservoir sucks eggs. Have to buy a table with sides to catch oil runoff. ( extra $100) 3. Stupid cover has holes both side which allow mist and oil to escape. Supposed to allow trimming but fogs so badly its useless. 4. Drain plugs useless until you replumb them ( extra $20) 5. Power feed constantly overheats in hot weather and shuts down Takes an hour to cool enough to restart. 6. Working the clutch is a fine art form and mostly magic far as I can tell 7. replacing belts is awful and the unit seems to burn them often. Pulleys come loose a lot too. 8. Tiny narrow oil reservoirs a be-atch to clean 9. Table top is horrible to remove and has screws in places requiring midget fingers to reach and screw/unscrew 10. Comes with feeble blade suitable for soft material only ( extra $100 for better blade) 11. again, narrow spaces make the blade a be-atch to change out too unless you are blesses with the hands of a tiny three year old child 12. Comes with little instructions and I have to call them all the time to ask questions or get help ( they do have a helpful service dept and I can see why they need it) IMHO it's almost like thhe saw was designed by folks who don't cut rocks. OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only one! When I first called Cov they told me my 16" was more for the hobbyist and the 18" and above were for commercial uses....but yet I shelled out over 2k for the 16".  Anyway, I've had major problems with their customer service. I'm really upset about it too. After calling so many times I've given up because whom I ask for is "never" there and never calls me back. I'm glad I finally got a slab saw because it's made my work easier and more convenient, but I'd def go with something else in the future. As for the OP go for at least a 12" or larger slabbing. You'll be really upset when you finally get that one rock that won't fit and wish you had a bigger saw |
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