raven1814
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by raven1814 on Sept 19, 2021 20:46:05 GMT -5
Hello. Lifelong rockhound who has been toting a thousand lbs of rocks around the country for decades. Ready to enter the lapidary world. I've already spent the money so I have to work with what I have. Slab/trim combo has no feed mechanism. I'm feeding by hand, careful not to bend blade. Dang that jasper gets hot! Question: is it doable to form a cab or other preform from a slab that varies a bit in thickness? Glad to be here. Any help for this newbie would be appreciated.
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Post by mohs on Sept 19, 2021 21:35:51 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH ! sound like you have lots going on if the rock getting hot manually cutting sound like not enough coolant I've sawed lot of rocks by hand never had that problem and i'm in the land of hot rocks yes-- to shaping a cab out if varying thickness of slab altho its a tricky question the trick is determining the surface area of the rock to the amount of dome necessary to grind yo get a smooth polished cab not sure that makes any sense others will have better advice have rock- will roll Ed in Phx
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 19, 2021 21:50:18 GMT -5
Hi and welcome from Northern Arizona!
You should be using water (or oil) with your trim saw. If your rock is getting too hot, like Ed mohs said, you're not using enough. Not using enough water or oil when cutting a rock is a real good way to ruin your blade.
You most definitely can cut a cab with an uneven slab as long as there's enough thickness to create an even girdle. You just have to adjust the dome height and grind down the higher part of the dome evenly with the thinner side.
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raven1814
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by raven1814 on Sept 20, 2021 7:23:27 GMT -5
Hey, I really appreciate the help. I, too, am in Northern AZ. (Peach Springs) I think I've got a bit more cutting oil in my saw than it calls for, I'll check. The rocks I was cutting were also small. Maybe I'm pushing too hard on the feed?? The blade that came with the saw was pretty low quality. I bought a nice blade so maybe I'll go ahead and switch it out.. I'm still trying to learn how to use this site. Very grateful to be here and for the help!
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 20, 2021 7:54:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I have a manual feed saw as well. I have a tendency to "push" a bit harder than I should...so don't feel alone in that department! LOL - I bet the new blade should help immensely. If you have a red brick, you can run that through your old blade first to see if that will bring the cutting ability back to life. This helps to "dress" the blade - basically exposing the diamonds better. Robin also nailed your varying thickness question in her last two sentences.
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catskillrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,270
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Post by catskillrocks on Sept 20, 2021 19:56:26 GMT -5
Welcome from Western New York.
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raven1814
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by raven1814 on Sept 20, 2021 21:18:49 GMT -5
Thanks so much for the info. You're helping me learn. Is it helpful sometimes to cut slabs from larger tumbled rocks?
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catskillrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,270
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Post by catskillrocks on Sept 20, 2021 21:27:01 GMT -5
Is it helpful sometimes to cut slabs from larger tumbled rocks? Yes, some people do that, as long as you have enough material in the tumbled rock.
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raven1814
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by raven1814 on Sept 22, 2021 22:35:14 GMT -5
Thank you. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll post pics of my first slabs soon.
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