meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
|
Post by meviva on Sept 6, 2015 13:13:55 GMT -5
Does anyone have an opinion on a Dewalt tile saw for cutting slabs? My mk101 died and I'm trying to decide if I should have the motor rebuilt or buy a new saw.
Thanks, Andrea
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Sept 6, 2015 15:31:06 GMT -5
If you can get the MK101 motor rebuilt economically I would do that. The MK101 is a really nice saw. What is wrong with your motor? If just bearings or start switch that should be easy inexpensive fix. I have never looked at mine that close but would any 1.5 hp motor fit the mount? If so you could look at replacement motor. Maybe even slow it down to lapidary blade speeds. Dewalt used to be a top manufacturer. I don't know if they have joined the ranks of made in China or not. A lot of big names did.
|
|
meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
|
Post by meviva on Sept 6, 2015 19:14:43 GMT -5
If you can get the MK101 motor rebuilt economically I would do that. The MK101 is a really nice saw. What is wrong with your motor? If just bearings or start switch that should be easy inexpensive fix. I have never looked at mine that close but would any 1.5 hp motor fit the mount? If so you could look at replacement motor. Maybe even slow it down to lapidary blade speeds. Dewalt used to be a top manufacturer. I don't know if they have joined the ranks of made in China or not. A lot of big names did. johnjsgems My mk101 is 16 years old. Last week I was trying to slab a piece of graveyard plume agate. I had been cutting for 45 minutes when it just stopped. I thought it had overheated. When I tried to reset it the next day nothing happened. The Dewalt saw online is 2.25 hp. I thought a stronger motor would be better but you said something about slowing the blade down. What should the rpm's be? Would 2.25 hp be too strong? I looked on your website for the mk's but couldn't find them. Are you not selling them anymore? Another option is getting a new motor, I found the mk101 motor online for $350 or so. Andrea
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Sept 7, 2015 17:13:48 GMT -5
I just heard they (MK/BD) no longer make the MK100 (lapidary version of MK101) so I removed it from my site. They still make the 101. I am doing Denver show next week with them and plan to ask about the 101 then. HP doesn't make a difference unless there isn't enough. RPM matters. The MK101 is about 3500 which works great with right blade but dulls blades very quickly. I use the 301 blades and have to dress blade frequently. The 301 works great up to about 2200 and most lapidary saws run 1725 rpm. Some electric tools are misleading. They will say "equivalent horse power" or some such. It is not the same as actual hose power. The MK101 has a 1 1/2 hp motor with capacitor. You can check the capacitor (or have it checked if you have a local motor repair place. I love to fix things but don't think I would put $350 into a motor if saw was used a lot for that many years. If motor can be repaired I would go that route. Check condition of everything else too.
|
|
meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
|
Post by meviva on Sept 8, 2015 13:01:38 GMT -5
johnjsgems My husband took the motor off and is taking it someplace to get it fixed. Hopefully that will do the trick. Can the 301 blades be used with water? I've looked them up before and thought water wasn't supposed to be used. Or is there some sort of additive that can be put in the water so it doesn't damage the blade? Thanks, Andrea
|
|
mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
|
Post by mikeinsjc on Oct 11, 2015 13:32:46 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, but tile saws are meant for cutting tile. You either hand feed the tile into a stationary blade, or drag the blade over the tile, right? I can see the utility of perhaps using a tile saw as a trim saw, but cutting slabs? I'm no expert on tile saws, but I've never seen one with a vise. Which means you must hand-feed. How does one expect to hold a slab steady for, what, the 30 minutes it takes to cut a small size slab? One slip-up and the rock is flying across the garage and you've just trashed your diamond blade.
One thing I am an expert on is getting a smooth cut on a slab, and polishing that slab. If that piece is not totally tight in the vise, the roughness of your cut increases, and so does the difficulty in achieving a nice polish. I would say trying to polish a slab you've tried to hand-hold in a tile saw for thirty minutes will give you a slab you either cannot polish at all due to deep saw marks, or you have a lot of time to burn polishing.
|
|
meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
|
Post by meviva on Oct 11, 2015 13:47:46 GMT -5
mikeinsjc I have been using a tile saw for a while and holding the rock by hand. I had no problem getting smooth cuts but getting the slabs even thickness all the way across. I recently got a vise for my tile saw but then had motor problems. I just got a brand new mk 101. I haven't set it up yet, hopefully tonight. I will post pics of the slabs as I cut them. Here are a few cabs I made from slabs that I hand held while cutting. Andrea
|
|
mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
|
Post by mikeinsjc on Oct 11, 2015 14:05:42 GMT -5
meviva, nice work. When I think slabs, I was thinking stuff 4" or so and greater in size. For what you are doing, saw marks would not matter as your genie/titan would make short work of them. Getting a mirror polish on a hand-held 6" slab would be another matter.
|
|