choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Aug 15, 2021 12:22:36 GMT -5
I acquired a used Lortone LS12 recently. It came with a rusty old blade, and has an alignment problem so that I haven't been able to cut anything hard above 3 inches in size in one go, but I've been happily cutting some rocks and thought I'd share some photos. Hopefully I can get the blade off soon to fix the alignment (it's rusted on real tight). The 3 pictures are: royal imperial jasper, some jasper from the shores of a local (San Francisco Bay Area) reservoir, and a jasper I found on a river bank. Thanks for looking!    |
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 807
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Post by JR8675309 on Aug 15, 2021 13:26:37 GMT -5
Slabbing is so addictive.
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Post by mohs on Aug 15, 2021 14:13:28 GMT -5
nice material
your in the cut!
good luck with that rusted on nut
those can be a bear to break
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Aug 15, 2021 14:57:42 GMT -5
Awesome! Welcome to the rabbit hole, there's no way out of here  |
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Post by fernwood on Aug 15, 2021 16:52:25 GMT -5
Nice slabs. Best of luck getting the blade off.
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Post by Peruano on Aug 15, 2021 16:53:37 GMT -5
Just make sure you are turning the nut the correct way. Normally things on the right side of the arbor shaft are right handed (counterclockwise to loosen) and those on the left side of the bearing/arbor are left handed (clockwise to loosen). To remember (right is right = counter clockwise to loosen) and left is wrong (not the normal counterclockwise to loosen). I've never figured out what righty-tighty has to do with life but everyone under 30 who watched Sesame Street uses it to figure out the right handed threae ordeal. I subscribe to a motorcycle forum in which at least 30 % of the participants don't even do righty - tighty when they are trying to change their oil. Go figure.
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 15, 2021 17:27:46 GMT -5
Some good looking material there! Tom has some good advice...I hope it may be that simple for you. |
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Post by Rockindad on Aug 15, 2021 18:42:12 GMT -5
Just make sure you are turning the nut the correct way. Normally things on the right side of the arbor shaft are right handed (counterclockwise to loosen) and those on the left side of the bearing/arbor are left handed (clockwise to loosen). To remember (right is right = counter clockwise to loosen) and left is wrong (not the normal counterclockwise to loosen). I've never figured out what righty-tighty has to do with life but everyone under 30 who watched Sesame Street uses it to figure out the right handed threae ordeal. I subscribe to a motorcycle forum in which at least 30 % of the participants don't even do righty - tighty when they are trying to change their oil. Go figure. Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey works great......................................until it don't. The fun begins when watching someone who thinks there are only right hand threads for everything. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Aug 15, 2021 19:58:33 GMT -5
That Royal Imperial is absolutely yummy!
I'm totally mechanically disinclined, so no help there.  |
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 476
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Post by herb on Aug 16, 2021 8:31:20 GMT -5
I learned right tighty lefty loosey from Homer Simpson! I didnt know it was from sesame street!
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 16, 2021 10:46:27 GMT -5
Your arbor is right hand threaded. An easier way to think of it is when loosening the wrench will turn the same way as the blade does when cutting.
A picture of your arbor nut in place would be good. Does the lid remove completely like a lot of Lortone 12"? I like that for repair, not so much for slabbing, I had a bungee hooked to the ceiling to hold my lid up when I had one.
To loosen a real tight one I get a proper sized (3/4" maybe?) box end wrench on the nut and hold it in place securely, an assistant to hold the edge of the blade can come in handy here. The wrench handle should stick out past the blade, and you strike it in the direction you want to go with a hammer, being careful to not hit the blade, sometimes only takes a tap. Basically you become a human impact wrench. Works for me 9 times out of 10, saw action tightens the nut, as designed, and they can get pretty tight. If it's really rusty on the threads a good penetrating oil and wire brush should be used first.
As far as alignment, an additional issue with binding in these saws is the sheet metal carriage becomes sloppy at the rails, disassembly and very careful use of hammers, vices, whatever you're comfortable with to slightly bend them back for a tighter "pinch" can help. When I had one I never used it to cut over about 3" vertically in the vice, and put really hard materials in more durable saws.
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Post by holajonathan on Aug 17, 2021 21:55:17 GMT -5
I acquired a used Lortone LS12 recently. It came with a rusty old blade, and has an alignment problem so that I haven't been able to cut anything hard above 3 inches in size in one go, but I've been happily cutting some rocks and thought I'd share some photos. Hopefully I can get the blade off soon to fix the alignment (it's rusted on real tight). The 3 pictures are: royal imperial jasper, some jasper from the shores of a local (San Francisco Bay Area) reservoir, and a jasper I found on a river bank. Thanks for looking! Nice piece of Royal Imperial. I've found that at most about 1 out of 10 are that nice. So if you just cut one, you got lucky! |
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Aug 20, 2021 0:10:36 GMT -5
Thanks all for the advice on how to take the blade off. I think I've been turning it the correct way, but I'll try again this weekend when I should be able to find some time. I think I'll need my wife to grip the blade with vice grips while I do it.
Holajonathan: yes I think I've cut just about ten pieces or so of royal imperial at this point. A few have been duds, but usually there's something interesting. I really enjoy cutting these!
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