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Post by oregon on Sept 21, 2017 12:55:26 GMT -5
All those oil baths... Got mine with the Lortone where the chain stops the motor, but doesn't really flip the switch. Same with a Frantom. Pulling the vise back restarted the saw. Fun enough experience that made me install a latching relay. Imagine you could do the same on most saws with a microswitch that the lid would activate.
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mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by mikeinsjc on Sept 21, 2017 16:52:22 GMT -5
In my opinion, you can never satisfactorily straighten a bent blade, particularly one bent that bad. Oh you can get it straight enough to cut, but unless you plan to tumble the cut piece, the blade will leave such a rough cut you will play heck polishing it. Have you ever been to a rock show and seen all the rough cut slabs in the tubs of water? They may be in there for a reason. Before you buy, take the slab out and dry it off. If you can feel saw marks with your finger, that slab will probably never polish out.
If you have any doubt about the rock being secure in the vise, don't cut it. I seldom cut round rocks for that reason. No rock is worth the price of a blade. Don't be fooled into using these "rock grabber" things touted to be able to grip a round rock. I guarantee you that device will sooner or later cost you a blade.
If you absolutely must cut a round rock, put it in a cardboard 1/2 gallon milk carton and cover it with plaster of paris. Let it dry well, then grip the square in the vise leaving slightly more than half the square in the vise. Cut down to the vise, remove the remainder and Gorilla glue the cut side to a piece of 4x wood.
When I put a rock in the vise, I tighten it by hand as much as possible. I then grip the rock and try as hard as I can to wiggle it. If it moves, it's not tight enough.
Some saws just have lousy vises. The Covington 18" comes to mind. The vise is so chintzy I would never cut a rock without placing a bar clamp across the top of the vise.
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Post by orrum on Sept 21, 2017 18:54:13 GMT -5
Meviva I feel for your situation. But....this is a expensive hobby, the learning curve can be brutal. The care and feeling of saws and other pieces of equipment is a combination of engineering, can do experience and yes I say....Voodoo, feel, intuition, it's a every machine is its own mystery kinds thing. However I can feel your karma, vibes and aura!!!! They are pure and perfectly balanced and you grasshopper shall persevere and triumph!!! Stand back o ye graduates of Hogwarts there is a new magician in the world of "Lapidary" and she shall be known as....Meviva!!
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meviva
Cave Dweller 
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474 
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Post by meviva on Sept 21, 2017 19:12:44 GMT -5
Meviva I feel for your situation. But....this is a expensive hobby, the learning curve can be brutal. The care and feeling of saws and other pieces of equipment is a combination of engineering, can do experience and yes I say....Voodoo, feel, intuition, it's a every machine is its own mystery kinds thing. However I can feel your karma, vibes and aura!!!! They are pure and perfectly balanced and you grasshopper shall persevere and triumph!!! Stand back o ye graduates of Hogwarts there is a new magician in the world of "Lapidary" and she shall be known as....Meviva!!  laughing  |
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Post by stardiamond on Sept 21, 2017 20:05:05 GMT -5
I hate my 16 inch Covington combo saw. I ruined the blade that it came with because of slipping rocks. I vowed to let it never happen again. I cut up 2x4 and glue the rock using floor sealer. No slippage and the heel will soak off in a day or so. I waited 7 years before using it. I did all my slabbing with my genie trim saw attachment. Hand feeding. The only issue is wearing out blades. I could start a cut and complete the cut. The Covington feed system sucks and it either stops cutting or binds.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2017 20:43:47 GMT -5
In my opinion, you can never satisfactorily straighten a bent blade, particularly one bent that bad. Oh you can get it straight enough to cut, but unless you plan to tumble the cut piece, the blade will leave such a rough cut you will play heck polishing it. Have you ever been to a rock show and seen all the rough cut slabs in the tubs of water? They may be in there for a reason. Before you buy, take the slab out and dry it off. If you can feel saw marks with your finger, that slab will probably never polish out. Cabochon makers don't care. Sphere makers don't care. Agreed. Like keeping rattlesnakes, sooner or later you gonna get bit! Plaster will muck up the oil real fast. (Don't ask me how I know). I use plywood for the saws jaws. NOT hardwood like suggested by some. Plywood is soft and grabs well. ymmv EXACTLY My Covington 18 ain't perfect, but that ain't one of my complaints!! Amazing we have different experience with the same machine. Have an awesome night. meviva, Andrea good luck! |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Sept 22, 2017 6:04:19 GMT -5
Bummer about that blade. That is a horrible feeling. I have taken three oil baths on my 14" saw. If something catches as I am pulling the vise back the saw turns back on. Now I have an inline on/off switch so I hit that before I open the saw. No more oil baths and no more cleaning up a 10-12 foot long swath of oil on the floor.
Chuck
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Post by captbob on Sept 22, 2017 8:00:17 GMT -5
^^ as said, I've done the oil bath twice myself. Always have to laugh after everything is cleaned up. My own fault. Figure a video of such would be funny as heck. I doubt we ever move as fast as we do when we realize what is happening. Probably be quite comical for an onlooker.
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Sept 22, 2017 10:22:58 GMT -5
In my opinion, you can never satisfactorily straighten a bent blade, particularly one bent that bad. Oh you can get it straight enough to cut, but unless you plan to tumble the cut piece, the blade will leave such a rough cut you will play heck polishing it. Have you ever been to a rock show and seen all the rough cut slabs in the tubs of water? They may be in there for a reason. Before you buy, take the slab out and dry it off. If you can feel saw marks with your finger, that slab will probably never polish out. If you have any doubt about the rock being secure in the vise, don't cut it. I seldom cut round rocks for that reason. No rock is worth the price of a blade. Don't be fooled into using these "rock grabber" things touted to be able to grip a round rock. I guarantee you that device will sooner or later cost you a blade. If you absolutely must cut a round rock, put it in a cardboard 1/2 gallon milk carton and cover it with plaster of paris. Let it dry well, then grip the square in the vise leaving slightly more than half the square in the vise. Cut down to the vise, remove the remainder and Gorilla glue the cut side to a piece of 4x wood. When I put a rock in the vise, I tighten it by hand as much as possible. I then grip the rock and try as hard as I can to wiggle it. If it moves, it's not tight enough. Some saws just have lousy vises. The Covington 18" comes to mind. The vise is so chintzy I would never cut a rock without placing a bar clamp across the top of the vise. I have ordered a new blade but I am going to try and straighten this one out. I have another bent blade that's not as bad. I am just going to use them as I'm trying to figure out my feed problem. I'm not sure if the feed problem caused the rock to slip. Probably not because I haven't made any new adjustments I always tighten as hard as I can, then pull on the rock, tighten again and test the rock again. Andrea |
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Post by captbob on Sept 22, 2017 10:59:18 GMT -5
Call BD !! Dying to know what the problem is.
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Sept 22, 2017 11:04:09 GMT -5
Call BD !! Dying to know what the problem is. Ok I will soon. Gotta do a few things first then I will call. |
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 22, 2017 11:54:35 GMT -5
Bummer to see that happen again! You're my inspiration for double, triple checking everything :-) I've had close calls where the piece broke halfway or shifted in the vice but I was right there to shut it down before anything broke.
I have a bunch of little montana agates I need to slab up and I was going to try the plaster of paris method.
I experimented a bit with making custom shims for some labradorite I was cutting using a product called Jet Ballistic, it's a thermoplastic that gets soft in hot water and you can shape it however you want, so you can position the rock exactly how you want. When it's cold it's super hard plastic in whatever shape you need. It's kinda expensive though. plaster of paris is cheap.
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Post by HankRocks on Sept 22, 2017 12:32:32 GMT -5
Make sure that cutting oil does not affect the integrity of the Jet Ballistic.
I have used the "wood glue to pieces of wood" method quite a bit with good success to date. One trick is letting the wood glue dry really well, over 4 days for me. Soak in water for a few days and the rock will pop off.
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mikeinsjc
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by mikeinsjc on Sept 22, 2017 12:57:43 GMT -5
The plaster will turn your oil white, but settles out depending on the oil you are using. But all cutting discolors your oil. I cut some Mexican crazy lace that was quite red. The oil looked like someone bled to death inside my saw. Low viscosity mineral oils let all the abrasive particles settle out pretty quickly. Blade wear is not a concern.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 22, 2017 13:52:29 GMT -5
The plaster will turn your oil white, but settles out depending on the oil you are using. But all cutting discolors your oil. I cut some Mexican crazy lace that was quite red. The oil looked like someone bled to death inside my saw. Low viscosity mineral oils let all the abrasive particles settle out pretty quickly. Blade wear is not a concern. Yea my oil was black, totally opaque after cutting a few pounds of malachite. It's settling out a little bit but it's still pretty dark. Maybe the white from plaster of paris will spruce it up a bit :-) I use plain mineral oil from the farm store. |
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Sept 22, 2017 13:59:14 GMT -5
Bummer to see that happen again! You're my inspiration for double, triple checking everything :-) I've had close calls where the piece broke halfway or shifted in the vice but I was right there to shut it down before anything broke. I have a bunch of little montana agates I need to slab up and I was going to try the plaster of paris method. I experimented a bit with making custom shims for some labradorite I was cutting using a product called Jet Ballistic, it's a thermoplastic that gets soft in hot water and you can shape it however you want, so you can position the rock exactly how you want. When it's cold it's super hard plastic in whatever shape you need. It's kinda expensive though. plaster of paris is cheap. I'm glad to be of help...I hope to inspire many more with this mishap....lol. I think I have some jet ballistic or something similar. I have never used it. I have glued small rocks to wood and that worked really well. |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 22, 2017 14:03:14 GMT -5
Bummer to see that happen again! You're my inspiration for double, triple checking everything :-) I've had close calls where the piece broke halfway or shifted in the vice but I was right there to shut it down before anything broke. I have a bunch of little montana agates I need to slab up and I was going to try the plaster of paris method. I experimented a bit with making custom shims for some labradorite I was cutting using a product called Jet Ballistic, it's a thermoplastic that gets soft in hot water and you can shape it however you want, so you can position the rock exactly how you want. When it's cold it's super hard plastic in whatever shape you need. It's kinda expensive though. plaster of paris is cheap. I'm glad to be of help...I hope to inspire many more with this mishap....lol. I think I have some jet ballistic or something similar. I have never used it. I have glued small rocks to wood and that worked really well. If something good comes out of it, it's not all bad. (but you have my sympathies, Andrea.) My blades get dull and need replacing, but have yet to bind and bend one.
I rarely chuck a rock up in the vice (gravity draw, not power feed), but have done a few glued to a 2 X 4. Mostly I hand feed. Jean
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Post by aDave on Sept 22, 2017 14:13:52 GMT -5
I have used the "wood glue to pieces of wood" method quite a bit with good success to date. One trick is letting the wood glue dry really well, over 4 days for me. Soak in water for a few days and the rock will pop off. Did I see in one of your prior posts that you use Titebond wood glue? Is there any specific formula, or is it plain ole wood glue? When the rock is removed, is there glue residue on it? I would most likely end up tumbling end pieces, but I'm thinking the coarse grind would remove any dried glue without issue, correct? Thanks. Dave |
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Post by HankRocks on Sept 22, 2017 14:34:25 GMT -5
Just plain old wood glue. I don't use the Outdoor rated wood glue, it takes longer to release in water after cutting. When gluing a cut side to the wood, I have started putting a couple of round toothpicks on the wood, then the glue then the rock. My theory is that the water is better able to get at the glue and the rock comes off quicker. The first end-cut I glued to a piece of wood took over a week before I could pry it off.
Be liberal with the glue usage.
Henry
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Sept 22, 2017 15:07:50 GMT -5
I am trying to straighten the blade. I think it's a little better. But I will try some more. First in going to call BD so I can let captbob what they said  I wonder if I can make the adjustments without a blade.  There is a small gouge where the bend is.  |
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laughing 
I wonder if I can make the adjustments without a blade. 
