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Post by Pat on Oct 8, 2015 9:53:55 GMT -5
It's a mystery to me.
I've heard of rockhounds having lots of saws, from the 4" trim saw to big monster 24" saws. Why?
Seems to me that a small trim saw would be handy, and ONE big saw. If a rock could be cut on a 14", it could be cut on a bigger saw as well, so why get the 14" saw? Why get every size in-between?
Thanks!
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 8, 2015 10:13:37 GMT -5
Collect saws ? Nah. Lets see, I have a rare 3" saw, two 6" saws, two 10" saws and a 16" saw. Saws are like rocks. We hoard them. Actually my 10" and 16" are all power feed and I can have them all cutting at the same time as I'm trimming a cab on one of the 6" saws.
You might ask yourself, why do people have more than one cabbing machine ? Myself, I have my Genie, a Loretone 2 wheel arbor, four 8" Poly arbors, one 6" Poly arbor, and I'm rebuilding an old Beacon Star 6" cabber.
We're not collectors. We're hoarders.
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Post by captbob on Oct 8, 2015 10:17:32 GMT -5
My 24" saw can cut larger rocks than my 14" saw, but it also has a much thicker blade on it. In the course of slabbing a nice chunk, I will lose much less material using the 14" saw. Kinda like the different knives in your kitchen drawer. You're not going to use the butcher knife to peel an apple. Plus... saws are cool ETA: We're not collectors. We're hoarders. That too!!
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Oct 8, 2015 10:20:46 GMT -5
too expensive to have more than a couple. I have a trim saw, 10" saw and 20" saw. the trim cuts preforms, the 10" cuts fist size or smaller rocks and the 20" cuts everything else. The advantage of having a 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 36 would be to minimize kerf loss when cutting, and cutting multiple rocks at once. you can match the stone up to the optimum sized saw and get the most cuts out of the rock. the problem cutting a slightly larger than fist size rock in my 20" is that 60+% of it ends up as mud due to the thick 20" blade.
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Post by Pat on Oct 8, 2015 10:21:03 GMT -5
Don, you are a hoarder! Two 6"ers, AND two 10"ers! Are all your saws and all your arbors in working condition? I think you win the hoarder medal
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Post by Pat on Oct 8, 2015 10:28:04 GMT -5
too expensive to have more than a couple. I have a trim saw, 10" saw and 20" saw. the trim cuts preforms, the 10" cuts fist size or smaller rocks and the 20" cuts everything else. The advantage of having a 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 36 would be to minimize kerf loss when cutting, and cutting multiple rocks at once. you can match the stone up to the optimum sized saw and get the most cuts out of the rock. the problem cutting a slightly larger than fist size rock in my 20" is that 60+% of it ends up as mud due to the thick 20" blade. I didn't realize the difference in blade size was significant. I never would have guessed it would be 60%+ lost in the kerf. That makes sense. That and the hoarder instinct.
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Post by cobbledstones on Oct 8, 2015 10:53:03 GMT -5
Well you can always put a smaller blade on a big saw if you want. I have found that the large clamps on large saws aren't that great at holing smaller rocks. I have a 6", 10" and 16", and still have to go to the rock club to cut the bigger stuff. I don't much care for the 6", and favor the 10" for preforming anything that isn't especially valuable (it doesn't have a power feed). With this setup I still have a wishlist:
10 or 12" power feed to chop up the many many fist sized cobbles that seem to be easier to find, because the 16" is set on the slowest possible setting and it takes about a month to slice a 5 gallon bucket.
A 14" drop saw to make quick work of marble and bead preforming
a 24" or greater for the big stuff
My philosophy is that you can't have to much rough, but you can have too few saws to cut it all!
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 8, 2015 12:18:20 GMT -5
Don, you are a hoarder! Two 6"ers, AND two 10"ers! Are all your saws and all your arbors in working condition? I think you win the hoarder medal Who, Meeeee ? Nah, one of my 6" saws is the Genie option. I use it indoors. The other 6" is mounted on one end of a movable stand. The other end will get the Beacon Star cabber I'm rebuilding. I'll be able to role it outside to work on nice days. Both 10" saws are mounted on movable stands & can be moved outside to keep mist out of my garage. The 16" is mounted on its own wheels and also gets rolled outside to use. That leaves the little 3" saw. Blades for it are ultra thin and nearly impossible to find. It only gets used to trim very valuable material. All of the Poly arbors are usable but presently out of commission. I don't have room to set them up. The Genie sits on the kitchen breakfast bar & gets used in the kitchen. The Beacon Star cabber is nearly ready to use. I'm converting it to a 5 wheel X1/2" thick convex wheeled carver for doing inside curves on freeform cabs. And the Loretone arbor gets switched between 2 hard diamond grinding wheels & 2 expando drums, depending on the need at the time. Then there's the vibro lap, 2 stone drills, An Inland 8" lap that I barely use, a jewelers buffing lathe and a little machine with slitting blade to do groove wrapped cabs. Also a little 2 head sphere machine to cut spheres up to just over 1", and a 3 head sphere machine which I should finish building this winter. A rockhound can never have enough rocks or toys with which to play with their rocks.
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Post by glennz01 on Oct 8, 2015 12:50:09 GMT -5
I wish I had a 36 inch to cut some big rock I often find my 16 in is not big enough.
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 8, 2015 13:10:57 GMT -5
I made the mistake of selling a 24" HP saw a few years ago. Wish I'd kept it. Been kicking myself ever since. Been thinking about building a big drag saw, Just need a shed to set it up in.
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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 8, 2015 13:51:19 GMT -5
Yup! guilty as charged...Saw junkie but taking 1 day @ a time. Last spring I sold a 6" rock rascal (my 1st saw!) also parted w/ a highland park 10" hand feed. Now I only have 2- 6" saws, a 10" brick and tile saw, and my gal, the Lortone LS12. almost forgot The lortone LS-10 I sold recently. so, all in all I may be headed toward recovery. Unless I come across a 16"or 18" cheap. Gotta keep an open mind.
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 8, 2015 14:35:08 GMT -5
LOL, my latest is a vintage Hillquist (Raytech) 10" with power feed. Just finished putting it back in working shape & mounting it to a stand. Tony had a new hood sitting on a shelf which he let me have at a great price.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Oct 9, 2015 11:18:31 GMT -5
My wife would say that I collect saws. I have saws set up for thundereggs, saws set up for water to cut opal, and the rest are slab saws. My goal is to do 1000 slabs a year.
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jerrys
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 263
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Post by jerrys on Oct 9, 2015 11:27:24 GMT -5
Why get every size in-between?
The rate of feed varies with the size of the saw. A 24" saw has a slower feed rate than a 14" saw because it is cutting a larger surface area. I can cut two to three slabs on the 14" saw in the same time the 24" can cut the same size slab.
Also, compare the prices of the 24" saw blade to the 14" saw blade. It is cost effective to replace several 14" blades compared to one 24" blade.
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Post by Peruano on Oct 9, 2015 12:24:57 GMT -5
Why not just use that big saw? Well, take a look at the price difference between a 10", 12", 14" and 20 or 24" blade in any of the larger supplier's price lists. You can have two or three 10" blades for what a larger blade will cost you. So operating cost says a lot about which saw to use if you have a choice. I cut a lot of river cobble the size of a grapefruit or so and thus my 12" is happy. I've sold one 12" and one 10" and two six inchers that I thought I needed, (but didn't) and I'm happy with trimming and small cuts on an 8" and a 10" (the smaller has a vice that is less than ideal, and used frequently (with oil), the larger has a vice, is only used infrequently with water and an additive. The 12" is a slab saw with power feed and only used with oil. So each has its function in a crowded shop area. In a huge shop and with a thicker wallet, I'd have more slab saws, but I can only use one trim saw at a time. Tom
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Post by Pat on Oct 9, 2015 13:25:29 GMT -5
SAW COLLECTORS, I've learned a lot. It all sounds reasonable. I appreciate your explanations.
I have a 4" tile saw, a 7" saw (don't know if it is a tile saw or not), and a 10" tile saw. I like the 4", and the 10" though it is slow.
I greatly dislike the 7" saw. It is smooth on top, no water channels around the edges, and a crazy setup for holding water below. Can't saw without getting everything wet, and I have to keep adding water.
Can you recommend a brand or what else to look out for? I'd like something between 4" and 10". Don't want to deal with oil needed for the bigger saws.
Thanks!
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 9, 2015 16:40:56 GMT -5
I'd get a good 6" or 8" lapidary saw. You can even find them with a vice for small slabbing. Lapidary blades are thinner and waste less valuable material. Anything below 10" can be used with water & an additive.
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Post by Pat on Oct 9, 2015 17:30:50 GMT -5
I notice that if the saw says "lapidary", the price is much higher than mere "tile" saws.
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Post by woodman on Oct 9, 2015 18:02:16 GMT -5
I notice that if the saw says "lapidary", the price is much higher than mere "tile" saws. You do get what you pay for when it comes to saws. I have a 6 inch trim saw, a 10 inch Lortone, an 18 inch Lortone and a 30 inch home made monster. Use oil in all of them. I do have a tile saw that I got for one time tile project. Boxed away out of sight!
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Post by Pat on Oct 9, 2015 21:32:43 GMT -5
For the number of hours per month that I would use it ( about 10) hours, I suspect a tile saw would be sufficient.
What do you think?
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