|
|
Post by Peruano on May 2, 2021 7:30:57 GMT -5
Until someone here decides to write a lexicon of lapidary, I'd suggest that the info exists in many books. For example, Gem Cutting is Easy, by Martin Walter, Crown Publishers. 1972. Gem Cutting Shop Helps - The best selected from 17 years of the Lapidary Journal. Hugh Leiper Ed. Arts and Craft Press Sixth Printing 1969. Its obvious that the internet can't totally meet society's informational needs. Books are both valuable and essential. An additional reference with a good review of lapidary equipment and techniques is Gemcraft - How to cut and polish gemstones. 2nd Ed. Leland Quick and Hugh Leiper Chilton Book Co. 1977, Radnor, PA I recently discovered complete catalogues for Highland Park equipment (1969 and 1971) and Beacon Star (yr. ?) on the Tucson Lapidary site tucsonlapidary.com/1970-71-highland-park-lapidary-catalog/These documents are a treasure in providing the details and breadth of offerings by these two pivotal companies in the lapidary field. Also available is a slide show of other vintage advertisements. Other than having an excess of adverbs, the compilation is a great one. Enjoy. |
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on May 1, 2021 20:17:53 GMT -5
So how big are the rocks. What shapes did you select? Starting small is probably wise. Where in nm are you walking. If you select reasonably shaped and sized and textured rocks your success will be enhanced and accelerated. We have lots of good quartz, pet wood, jasper and misc. Don't work with misc. They are frustrating. Show is your stones when convenient
.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 30, 2021 13:30:56 GMT -5
You probably had better luck with rocks than turkeys. They are not as wary or hard to bring home. My secretary in Louisiana used to say, the reason why God made crabs is that you always could bring home something when you went fishing. Go figure how that applies to rocks.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 30, 2021 13:27:48 GMT -5
You came to the right place. We offer opinions and ideas, and encouragement, and leads on where to find the info we don't have. I was once on a tourist trip in Galapagos with an eminent, but retired geologist and someone inquired as to whether he was happy to be in an archipelago with so many rocks. His response was like yours. Its all lava. Welcome. At least if you ask us to identify rocks you've collected locally, we are pretty safe on our answers. I just collected some nice specimens of pahoehoe from a relatively recent lava flow in New Mexico (3,000 years or so) and enjoy the stuff even though its not suitable for lapidary work. Its hanging on my front fence as to my affinity for lava.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 29, 2021 13:37:06 GMT -5
There is a formula for determining the size of the flange washer relative to the saw blade diameter. Having an adequate sized washer will reduce chances of dishing or flexing the blade. Someone will tell us what the relative relationship is.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 29, 2021 13:33:17 GMT -5
The diamond bearing part of the blade is wider(the kerf) than the rest of the saw blade core. Hence all wear will be on the perimeter and or the extreme circumference of the blade and not the rest of the blade. That wider outer rim reduces friction with the rest of the saw surface. Blades that are dished radically or flex alot can crack probably most frequently at the perimeter of the flange washer. The blade has no teeth (I know you know that), but the projecting diamonds are harder than anything and hence don't really wear much. I have a 12" slab saw blade (MK 225) that I've been using for years (bought used from an RTH member) and it still cuts away and shows no wear what so ever. Ideally as a blade wears, I would expect that narrow band around the extreme perimeter of the blade to be narrower (i.e. the circumference of the blade should be reduced), but thats just the way I envision the wear and I could be full of beans. Feeding by hand and trying to avoid crowding the blade and slowing the rpms, is probably a good way of minimizing wear. Saws may cut better with clean oil, but it probably takes a lot of rock grunge to make a real difference unless you have an underpowered saw. You are grinding, not really sawing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 27, 2021 13:41:36 GMT -5
In terms of draining slabs when they come off of the saw. Its mostly to reduce the amount of oil going into the oil/dri (cat litter if you go that way) rather than trying to recover oil. Often an overnight slanted drain on a saw table will result in a slab more or less dry to the touch -- then it can go to oil/dri granules or directly into dawn liquid. Either way its cleaner and less oily than with no drain. True I throw preforms into the oil/dri but large slabs or end cuts always drain. I drain my oil through paper bags but realize that most of the oil to be recovered will be in the first few days. After that its a bit now and a bit later.
You have obviously discovered that most of the mess that most folks fear can be avoided by careful oil management. The problems of controlling water causing rust and sediments on stones, make me use oil for just about all processes. I do have 6" saw in which I use water, but only when I have a special stone, or am lazy about getting oil on my glasses.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 27, 2021 13:25:38 GMT -5
Like golf, rock hounding is an excuse to be out of doors, and in addition it has rewards when you come home with something you are proud to show your friends. Enjoy the walk.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 26, 2021 7:53:39 GMT -5
You didn't tell us what brand/model of phone/camera.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 26, 2021 6:40:47 GMT -5
Wow. The story behind both 2 and 3 is a complex history. The brecciated pink is spectacular. Find more.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 25, 2021 18:24:19 GMT -5
I see a lot going on. It's a stone worth a careful second glance. Be brave abd go forth.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 25, 2021 18:18:04 GMT -5
I suspect that any would do the job but from the design I would also suspect that flow constricted by a valve if it needed to be reduced would not overwork the pump. You are spliting the flow to both sides of the blade and ideally directing it down so volume should not increase mess. ( as opposed to saws where the oil is hurled up by blade rotation). I'd go for the midsized one. When the oil gets so grunge that the pump is slow it's time to clean the saw. Just thinking out load.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 25, 2021 7:52:45 GMT -5
If you are worried about replacements for your pump, a standard swamp cooler (evaporative cooler) pump will work fine. Any hardware store in the sw carries several different pumps with varying ratings.
I was told by an electronics guy once that mineral oil is a definite non-conductor so not to worry if switches got oily.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 23, 2021 15:41:57 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the thoughts. Its 76 and counting. As my FIL used to say. If I had known I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself, but I have to admit I would not have passed up on much that I attempted.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 23, 2021 14:08:18 GMT -5
Cherts and flints are a variable as anything so enjoy the bounty. Believe it or not we sometimes get tired of red in New Mexico. Thats why we share specimens with others. Show us your progress and ask lots of questions.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 23, 2021 6:37:13 GMT -5
I'd tend to vote homemade. Its really interesting that both bearings for the arbor are outboard of the tank. Even more curious is having the drive pulley further out on the shaft to accommodate the motor on the side of the saw. The outside bearing has two embedded screws which facilitate moving the bearing forward and back (essentially making the alignment of the blade both precise and easy). Unless the photograhy is fooling my eye and interpretation it is a left handed saw (the work is held to the left of the blade and the finished slab falls to the right side. I would love to see the inside. A great thing to be explored.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 19, 2021 17:04:17 GMT -5
It does seem to be true that the material collected further beneath the surface is less prone to fractures perhaps because it has not been subject to freezing or thawing in the recent past (but hard to imagine that it hasn;t sometime in history. I've cut a bunch of AZ wood and its great and rewarding stuff with the caveat that you have some wastage, and some surprise fractures as you work with it. But if you are willing to let the stone choose its own path and perhaps fill an imperfection in a piece you just can't work around it on, then you can produce wonderful stuff. Its hard and sometimes I get lazy and work a cab up to the 600 grit and then polish it in the vibe rather than going all the way on the cab machine. Again you will get a surprise chip or fracture once in awhile in the vibe but its an imprecise science. Well worth the effort.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 19, 2021 16:49:01 GMT -5
The quartz page has a good discussion of tiger (yellow) and hawkseye (blue). The latter is has the asbestos fibers partially silicified, whereas in the former the fibers are completely replaced by quartz. Reportedly they do occur together suggesting that the blue is an intermediate step toward tiger eye. So for me your variegated is a combination of the two but I like the blue for its less garish tones.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 19, 2021 16:40:14 GMT -5
Its hard to imagine any significant rust issues with the saw having oil in the pan (unless its unused holding rain water for a year or two). I have some experience with this saw, and would suspect that a drain hole in the pan would not help much in clean out. The oil is not that deep is it. There is too much of the pan that is inaccessible when the saw is in place to allow adequate clean up of sludge, grunge, and gunk, even if the liquid was gone. Its a lift it out and scrape it out task and liquid in the pan probably helps the process. If you use a pump where you can redirect the pump outflow, you could pump as much oil from the pan as possible and accomplish about as much as a drain hole. Just pondering the situation. If I ever had 5 slab saws one of them would be this beast. There are certain cuts that it does extremely well.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Apr 18, 2021 16:26:37 GMT -5
Go for it and recover quickly. I lived with sinus issues for years but went for something like you are several years ago .it went well and created a major improvement
|
|
