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I have a couple of rock buddies that have material too large for our 36" saws. MK Diamond I think sells drag saw blades, so I know there must be some machines out there. Has anyone ever seen plans for someone inclined to undertake building their own? I remember seeing one at Quartzsite a few years back but didn't pay any attention as I wasn't in the market at the time. If I could physically see one I'm pretty sure I could duplicate it.
One guy I know has a 4' Arizona wood round that he is willing to work a deal on, so I think it would be fun to try to put one together.
I just joined the forum to post about the drag saw I built this summer. I used a pumpjack for gear reduction but I'm looking for a newer gear reduction box as the pump jack is pretty worn out. The saw has a 6 foot MK Diamond blade, the 6 foot blade only has 4 feet of diamond segments and I have to say it is not well made. There are segments that are not brazed on straight and segments that are curved, plus the brazing is... sloppy. In all had I known what I was getting I'd have bought the segments and brazed it myself- at least I'd know who to cuss out.
I have a few videos on youtube showing progress and my first cut a week ago. Here are the links:
Post by rockjunquie on Oct 16, 2022 8:46:54 GMT -5
lyle Welcome to RTH from Virginia. Thank you for posting this! Love the videos. My husband and I were watching and wondering when you were gonna get tired of holding that water line. Nice build!
I think you will find that water does not work all that well, especially with the harder materials. I started out using water and found that t he diamond segments would glaze over real fast and required constant sharpening. Went to diesel and it works much better.
Wow! I guess I have a lot to answer for! First, I can't believe you recognized my parts source! the black table IS from a tread mill! The motor may be from a very old one, I bought it 20? years ago to use on a wood lathe but never installed it. Second, I've only seen water used on a drag saw, due (I think) to the amount of mess that would result from the splash. I'm lucky in that I only plan to use the machine on Keweenaw copper bearing basalt. Third, The segments may be silver soldered, It's the blade that MK/Baranca sells, I figure I'll be able to tell which by the time I need to repair it (I hope)
Great build lyle using a wide variety of engineering skills and welcome to RTH. That looks like it was a fun and challenging project. You must be planning on cutting some large pieces of basalt. It sure would be tempting to cut all types of lapidary rocks with a cutting oil system of some sort. Anxious to see what rocks you cut.
When you are cutting a small rock like this one, you will only weaar the diamond segments that are doing the cutting. The ones that are on either end that are not cutting will not wear down and it you go to cut a larger piece of rock you may have problems. I make sure all segments are cutting. Also wish you luck with using water. I found that it did not work worth a darn and now use diesel. Maybe a water soluble oil will work. I a have heard that it does work but never have tried it. looking good!
Please clean up your cords and get ‘em off the floor. Cable management!!!
You’re about one slip and a prayer away from gettin’ zapped good.
Consider the Earth’s history as the old measure of the English yard, the distance from the King’s nose to the tip of his outstretched hand. One stroke of a nail file on his middle finger erases human history.
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Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
Thank you for posting this! Love the videos. My husband and I were watching and wondering when you were gonna get tired of holding that water line. 
