jaybob906
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2018
Posts: 1
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Post by jaybob906 on Jun 24, 2018 3:22:25 GMT -5
My name is Jennifer. I was born and raised in a small town close to Lake Superior in Upper Michigan a.k.a the U.P which makes me a Yooper. I have 2 sons ages 14 and 19. I have enjoyed going to various spots on the lake to pick rocks for many years. I would like to cut and polish my rocks but have no idea how to start. I've heard using a Dremel tool can be effective for small rocks. I mostly want to cut open raw agates so I can sand and polish the beauty inside. I made an attempt at using a tile saw to slice some rocks but I failed, big time and some of my favorite rocks were ruined. I don't want to make that mistake again. I will be doing research but any information that could help would be greatly appreciated!!
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rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
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Post by rads on Jun 24, 2018 9:30:12 GMT -5
Welcome Jennifer.....am also from Michigan, if you were a bit closer to me, I could help you out with cutting.
Agates are too tough to do on a tile saw, you'll have saw marks all over the cut surface and risk ruining them because they are not in a vise. An 6 or 8 inch trim saw with a vise/clamp would be my recommendation. Kingsley North is located right up there with you at Trout Lake. But new prices can scare some folks away, a less expensive option is an 8 inch trim saw that is on Northern Michigan Craigslist today in Honor (I know, Lower Peninsula) for $80.00 with a bucket of material included. Road trip !! Hope it helps some......Rads
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Post by Pat on Jun 24, 2018 9:34:46 GMT -5
Welcome from California!
Since you are new, I must ask if you had water in the saw.
Second, could you get a thin blade to replace the one you have?
Good luck!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 24, 2018 9:57:14 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH..... Try buying a nice 6" trim saw for the smaller rocks.....They cost about the same as a tile saw,maybe a bit more(not much)...
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Post by manofglass on Jun 24, 2018 10:43:01 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum
Some tile saw blades don’t cut agates
And some agates are harder then others
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 24, 2018 11:34:11 GMT -5
Whatever you end up buying, practice with some other rocks first. I’m from the lower peninsula and I come up to Lake Superior a couple times a summer. I always bring back lots of unakite. It’s a green and red/orange/pink rock that has some nice patterns. Practice cutting that. It’s softer and plentiful on certain beaches. Agates are way too hard to find to risk ruining them.
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Post by rmf on Jun 24, 2018 15:31:56 GMT -5
jaybob906 First I am from TN and jaybob sounds like a local name... just sayin! First if you ever figure out how to not mess up good material let me know. I've been doing it a long time and still have problems from time to time. For the newbie I would recommend a Lortone LU6x-120. This is a 6" diamond saw on a big table and a grinder unit all in one. You can sometimes find them used at a reasonable price. They are nice since one item can be used to both saw and grind. There are other lapidary hardware companies that have similar products. I have less experience with those. I am not a big fan of the dremel idea. Agates and jaspers in you area should be ground wet to prevent damaging of the stone. Lapidary equipment is designed to keep the stone wet while grinding. this keeps the stone cool and the dust in the water so you do not breath it. A dremel is probably good for softer stones (turquoise ...) but you need a good dust mask. I also think it would be harder to control the rock to get a good smooth surface but that may just be my prejudice. BTW the diamond saw runs in oil. This is for lubrication, cooling and keeps the dust in the oil. I am not a big fan of using a vice on a trim saw. They do not work well for me I just hold it by hand. Yes you do not get perfect slabs but it is a small rock. Big rocks I have big saw with a vice. Your mileage may vary. If you are handy a saw and a grinder are easy to make. I have always figured it was not worth my time, I prefer someone else making. I have made a couple of tumblers though. If you are patient (and I think you are since you want to use a dremel to polish rocks) you can find used hardware on e-bay or craigslist as has been suggested. BTW my son went to Houghton to school a number of years ago. welcome to the forum
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Post by drocknut on Jun 26, 2018 10:22:11 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from central Arizona. I've messed up a few rocks on my tile saw too but that hasn't stopped me...lol.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jun 26, 2018 19:52:00 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
Hope you can find a used trim saw to cut some of your smaller stones. Good luck!
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kskid
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2014
Posts: 98
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Post by kskid on Jun 27, 2018 22:11:34 GMT -5
I only cut rocks occasionally & since I already had one, I use a tile saw while holding the rock by hand (gloves & safety glasses). Similar to some of the other suggestions, I replaced the stock blade with a thin kerf diamond blade. Slabs aren't parallel, but windows are reasonably clean. Someone above advised using oil with a diamond blade, but water works for me. Maybe shortens the blade life?
Anyway, a different blade on your tile saw may give you better results. Welcome!
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Post by vegasjames on Jun 27, 2018 22:54:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum.
It is difficult to cut rocks on a tile saw regardless. And the blades are rather thick. I would go with a trim saw and a thinner blade.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Jun 28, 2018 12:01:17 GMT -5
The MK-170 Tile Saw works pretty well for cutting smaller rocks. I've been using one for several months now. I have an assortment of 7" diamond blades in various widths . It came with a fairly thin MK diamond continuous rim which I wore out pretty fast cutting Agates, but the blade provided a nice smooth sliced surface (without to much waste) that was easily sanded to a finish ready for 60/90 or even 120/220 tumbling.
I've also used the Makita general purpose wet/dry continuous rims, King Diamond wet continuous rims and Avanti Pro diamond wet/dry turbo continuous rim which really rips through everything smoothly (although it slices a wider path)........it even works well to grind stone edges smoother (after cut) with a little practice. Surprisingly, the MK blade wore out the fastest......it may have been one of their "cheaper" models since it came with the saw, there's no ID numbers anywhere on the blade and it was the first blade I learned on.
As with any diamond blade for this purpose, they need to be ran wet, sharpened/cleaned occasionally and not over tasked by applying to much force while feeding. You'll know when their life span is coming to an end, as the cutting speed starts to diminish, binding starts to occur and the diamond surface starts getting shiny due to the loss of diamond texture as the metal binder wares through.
Don't be surprised if the first blade you use wears faster than expected (regardless of type)........it takes a little time and practice to get the "feel" of the process. Letting the blade and grit it accumulates within the cutting surface, do the work without applying more pressure than needed. Depending on the stone type, it can be a slow process, but after awhile things will speed up once one gets the proper technique down for each stone type..........at least that's been my experience thus far....!
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Post by TheRock on Aug 1, 2018 13:32:52 GMT -5
Howdy jaybob906  to RTH Forum from Duke in SW Michigan Harbor Freight has a small 7" Trim Saw add a Good BD Blade and your in buisness.  ~Duke |
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turtlerox07
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2021
Posts: 3
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Post by turtlerox07 on Oct 21, 2021 20:28:34 GMT -5
The MK-170 Tile Saw works pretty well for cutting smaller rocks. I've been using one for several months now. I have an assortment of 7" diamond blades in various widths . It came with a fairly thin MK diamond continuous rim which I wore out pretty fast cutting Agates, but the blade provided a nice smooth sliced surface (without to much waste) that was easily sanded to a finish ready for 60/90 or even 120/220 tumbling.
I've also used the Makita general purpose wet/dry continuous rims, King Diamond wet continuous rims and Avanti Pro diamond wet/dry turbo continuous rim which really rips through everything smoothly (although it slices a wider path)........it even works well to grind stone edges smoother (after cut) with a little practice. Surprisingly, the MK blade wore out the fastest......it may have been one of their "cheaper" models since it came with the saw, there's no ID numbers anywhere on the blade and it was the first blade I learned on.
As with any diamond blade for this purpose, they need to be ran wet, sharpened/cleaned occasionally and not over tasked by applying to much force while feeding. You'll know when their life span is coming to an end, as the cutting speed starts to diminish, binding starts to occur and the diamond surface starts getting shiny due to the loss of diamond texture as the metal binder wares through.
Don't be surprised if the first blade you use wears faster than expected (regardless of type)........it takes a little time and practice to get the "feel" of the process. Letting the blade and grit it accumulates within the cutting surface, do the work without applying more pressure than needed. Depending on the stone type, it can be a slow process, but after awhile things will speed up once one gets the proper technique down for each stone type..........at least that's been my experience thus far....!
If I buy the diamond saw blades; can I work out a hillbilly rig and put my rock in a vice, put the diamond blade on an existing saw (I have saws, saw tables, ect ect) and mist my rock/blade from time to time to keep it wet? I have a dust mask already for ATVing because it's sandy here. I am cutting things like less than golf ball but I do have softball size occasionally |
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turtlerox07
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2021
Posts: 3
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Post by turtlerox07 on Oct 21, 2021 20:36:59 GMT -5
I only cut rocks occasionally & since I already had one, I use a tile saw while holding the rock by hand (gloves & safety glasses). Similar to some of the other suggestions, I replaced the stock blade with a thin kerf diamond blade. Slabs aren't parallel, but windows are reasonably clean. Someone above advised using oil with a diamond blade, but water works for me. Maybe shortens the blade life? Anyway, a different blade on your tile saw may give you better results. Welcome! I think I'll try this suggestion. I am just wondering what's inside a couple rocks and was hoping I could just hillbilly rig up one of the saws I already have with a diamond blade. I was looking for a good easy uncommitted way to cut up some rocks. I hear there are thundereggs in my waters and so I decided that smashing suspect thundereggs and agates between basalt probably wasn't the smartest way to see what's inside. Lol |
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Oct 21, 2021 22:47:51 GMT -5
The MK-170 Tile Saw works pretty well for cutting smaller rocks. I've been using one for several months now. I have an assortment of 7" diamond blades in various widths . It came with a fairly thin MK diamond continuous rim which I wore out pretty fast cutting Agates, but the blade provided a nice smooth sliced surface (without to much waste) that was easily sanded to a finish ready for 60/90 or even 120/220 tumbling.
I've also used the Makita general purpose wet/dry continuous rims, King Diamond wet continuous rims and Avanti Pro diamond wet/dry turbo continuous rim which really rips through everything smoothly (although it slices a wider path)........it even works well to grind stone edges smoother (after cut) with a little practice. Surprisingly, the MK blade wore out the fastest......it may have been one of their "cheaper" models since it came with the saw, there's no ID numbers anywhere on the blade and it was the first blade I learned on.
As with any diamond blade for this purpose, they need to be ran wet, sharpened/cleaned occasionally and not over tasked by applying to much force while feeding. You'll know when their life span is coming to an end, as the cutting speed starts to diminish, binding starts to occur and the diamond surface starts getting shiny due to the loss of diamond texture as the metal binder wares through.
Don't be surprised if the first blade you use wears faster than expected (regardless of type)........it takes a little time and practice to get the "feel" of the process. Letting the blade and grit it accumulates within the cutting surface, do the work without applying more pressure than needed. Depending on the stone type, it can be a slow process, but after awhile things will speed up once one gets the proper technique down for each stone type..........at least that's been my experience thus far....!
If I buy the diamond saw blades; can I work out a hillbilly rig and put my rock in a vice, put the diamond blade on an existing saw (I have saws, saw tables, ect ect) and mist my rock/blade from time to time to keep it wet? I have a dust mask already for ATVing because it's sandy here. I am cutting things like less than golf ball but I do have softball size occasionally Considering the type of cutting you've suggested, I don't see why you couldn't make a table or overhead circular saw (like that MK), of some type, work.........I don't recommend vises for table applications.......I don't even use a tracking bar, but that's me........everything hand held, pushed and trimmed........make sure the method you use to keep the stones wet, continuously through the cut, is safely applied as to preventing personal harm. I'm afraid a "sprits bottle" won't do the job running diamond coated high speed blades.......especial for hard material greater than a 5 or 6 MOHS scale. I to own a few saws I could have modified to cut rock........but space & portability were/are my problems......and cost of the MK out weighed any "practical" application I could come up with related to water distribution and collection.....oil is/was out of the question.......been very happy with that little saw......not a precise cab cutting device, but I don't cab, only slice and dice........lol |
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Oct 22, 2021 1:01:25 GMT -5
Your biggest problem is blade speed. Most saws built for woodwork run at too high an rpm for any kind of lapidary blade to work safely and give you a good cut. Any cheep tile saw with a new lapidary blade added can cost less than $100.00 at a discount store and often picked up used for less. I added a $35.00 blade to a tile saw I found on the curb on trash day and have cut 100s of small agates with it. You have to feed the rock slowly and let the blade do the work. It is not like cutting a 2X4 on a table saw. A golf ball size agate may take 20 to 25 minutes to cut through. See if you can find a local Rock club. they will be glad to show you how they do it and most clubs have nice heated workshops you can use. Welcome to the group from Southern California I went to school in Duluth miss the North Shore.
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to RTH Forum from Duke in SW Michigan Harbor Freight has a small 7" Trim Saw add a Good BD Blade and your in buisness. 
~Duke
