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Post by stardiamond on Jul 9, 2018 23:07:50 GMT -5
It's been two years. I bought a 14" MK301 blade last week and have been looking at slabs to do cab designs. I have a lot of nice Montana to cab, but will start with picture jasper. Before I would cab new (to me) material to become familiar with it. After cutting a couple thousand cabs, I need a scene that inspires me. I've been sitting outside with some slabs and templates and it's not this one,. not this one..... I have a few pieces of rough I want to slab. After wrecking some blades, I'm still apprehensive about slabbing.
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Post by Pat on Jul 9, 2018 23:56:41 GMT -5
A 14" blade could be a bit intimidating! Maybe start with smaller rocks. Good luck!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 10, 2018 9:45:01 GMT -5
I use my 6" saw to cab, with slabs....Blades are cheaper to replace too.. Had ate one 14" blade this summer on a agate that popped off the vise..."BOOM" not fun.. hahahahaha Addicted is right!! Put on another blade and keep cutting..
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Post by stardiamond on Jul 10, 2018 11:41:28 GMT -5
I bought a slab saw in 2007. The choices for a new saw seemed to be the Lortone Panther or the Covington combo. I decided on the 16" Covington. It sat in a box until 2014 when I retired. The problem I have and others have is the feed, particularly the clutch and the vise.
I've done a lot of cutting with it and You can't relax using it.
From 2002 to now, I've used the 8 inch Genie trim saw attachment for small rough and preforms. I am very comfortable using it and the only issue is blade life when using it to slab.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 10, 2018 22:30:40 GMT -5
I don't meet satisfied Covington customers too often, especially when it comes to saws.
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Post by victor1941 on Jul 11, 2018 10:49:58 GMT -5
I have 14 inch covington saw that has cut a lot of rock but also has needed a baby sitter because the shaft pulley has come loose and the feed kept pushing rock into the blade. The other problem is the cross feed housing is made of aluminum but the screw is steel and erodes the housing threads and allows the rock to move during cutting. Most of the rock that I cut is irregular in shape and difficult to place in the vise securely even with wedges. I now secure irregular rock to a 2x4 or 4x4 inch board 6 inches long and secure the rock wih ph adhesive and then make my cut or cuts. If necessary, I then use sodium silicate and glue the remaining rock piece to another board for processing. This method takes time but does help save blades when a machine is not dependable.
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