howard
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2013
Posts: 1
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Post by howard on Apr 8, 2013 12:57:18 GMT -5
I'm just getting started and need recommendations for a saw to shape / cut (convert rocks to cab shapes). I need equipment recommendations: Wire saw? band saw? diamond wheel saw? What do you folks recommend?
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Apr 8, 2013 14:12:53 GMT -5
I use a 4" tile saw with a thin blade to cut the preforms out of the slab and two hard diamond 8" wheels, one in 80 grit and the other in 220 to get the preforms rough shaped and a 6 inch diamond flat lap to do the cabbing process and 6" rubber flexo discs with canvas and leather pads to smooth and polish with diamond compounds
the flat lap goes from 170 - 325 - 600 - 1200 - 3000 diamond grit the flexos go from 600 - 1200 - 3000 - 8000 - 14000 - 50,000 - 100,000 diamond paste with extender
you can spend a lot or a little depending on what you want out of this
the silicon carbide sanding set up is a lot cheaper than all the diamond stuff and does a good job
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 8, 2013 16:07:37 GMT -5
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 8, 2013 16:45:32 GMT -5
wire and band are specialty items. you can trim out some unusual shapes, but these saws work on slabs - they do not make slabs.
to make small slabs, as well as basic trimming of shapes, you can use a tile saw. while WorkForce was once popular because it came with a better than average blade, the one sold today is not the one that rode a wave of popularity. Almost any tile saw will do, if you put a good blade on it.
You can get beyond "small" slabs by making double cuts or rolling the rock. Does not always work well, but gets easier and better with practice.
the equipment to grind, sand, and polish runs the gamut form wet sandpaper to electric machines with diamond tooling. some tumbling options in the middle.
IMO it is best to get some hands on, possibly at a club or class, and then decide. Also start modest, and after a year or so you can upgrade. the old stuff should sell for a decent used price.
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 8, 2013 16:53:19 GMT -5
I have a cheapo skilsaw tile saw which I put a good blade on. Works great. I can do small slabs and trim with the 7" blade.
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Apr 8, 2013 17:46:37 GMT -5
Hi, I have a related question to Howard's of sort. Due to too many expensive hobbies, I am not in a position to have a slab saw, trim saw, grinders, etc. At this point in time my "rock adventures" are all provided with my rotary and vibe tumblers.
I would love to be able to explore the inside of the rocks, and not be limited to just the outsides available to me via tumbling. I have purchased some small slab scraps, and I am amazed at what tumbling has done for them. I am hooked!
I'd love to be able to use a trim (tile) saw to make some small, 2" max, slabs from some of the rocks I have collected. I am wondering if any of the less expensive tile saws have a "fence" on them that would allow the cutting of uniform thickness slabs that don't look like my wife's bread slicing ; > ) ?
I see that some folks on this forum suggest the tile saw from Harbor Freight.
Does anyone out there know how a person can hope to get uniform thick mini-slabs from a tile saw? If so, which one? Any help would be helpful to me as well as maybe Howard, who started this post.
Thanks!
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 8, 2013 19:01:26 GMT -5
most have a fence, but for me they always pinched and bogged down the blade. with a little practice cutting fairly even slabs can be done by hand. also a slight taper can make a more attractive tumbled flat if you orient it towards the bottom.
when I had to have assistance, (like when the rock has no flat'ish bottom), I used a heavy block on the saw table that let me get the cut started, but did not go all the way back along the blade like a fence. once you are in about 1/2", it is easy to keep the remainder of the cut straight.
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Apr 8, 2013 20:01:42 GMT -5
Thanks Daniel,
OK, here's another question that will help me shop for the right trim/tile saw. Is a vise a good idea on a trim saw that will be used for small slabbing? I see Loritone offers a vise on their 8"& 10" trim saws, but they are much more expensive than what Home Depot or Harbor Freight has to offer in their tile saws. More help, please!
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 8, 2013 20:38:19 GMT -5
IMO, start with a tile saw. get some feel for it. You can get a small trim saw and vise later. Unless you have money to burn, and/or come across a great used deal.
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2011
Posts: 929
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Post by jspencer on Apr 8, 2013 22:53:55 GMT -5
Look on Craigslist in your town. So many homeowners buy these then after using to cut a few tiles stick them in the garage till the wife makes them get rid of it. I got a 10" professional tile saw with blade for $50 about 3 years ago and still use it for my trim saw after changing to a good lapidary blade.
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doneall517
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 109
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Post by doneall517 on Apr 9, 2013 0:20:54 GMT -5
We too are getting started and have really been please with all the help and support. If one uses a tile saw, do you use oil or water to cut with? I have done some tile work and the water did a good job on the blade and tile. Also not having a slab saw yet i'll ask a rookie question about the replacement bade. Are the trim blades different from the slab blades. Only have trim blades i noticed they seem faily thin. The only problem I have had in the short time using the trim saw is the splatter that goes outside the cutting area even with a plastic cover. I will say this, we slab cut a small piece of pet wood that really looked rather plain i on the outside and we were very pleased with what we uncovered.. Our grand kids are wanting to get involved and can't wait to open some tunder eggs or geodes. Thanks for all you help to us newbies. It is nice to be accepted and giving such great help. Mike
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 9, 2013 0:30:28 GMT -5
water for tile saws, and they are much messier than trim saws.
For trim saw, I recommend thinner blade for trimming-only or with vise and feed, but ticker blade if hand feeding to cut into rocks. Thick does depend on diameter though. .032 is thin for 10" but slightly thick for 6"
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Apr 9, 2013 18:56:01 GMT -5
I started out with some small trim saws, but it took forever to get things cut. I stumbled on the Harbor Freight 10" brick saw as in this link www.harborfreight.com/25-horsepower-10-industrial-tilebrick-saw-69275.html, currently on sale for $254.99. I got mine with a super saver coupon and paid like $189 a few years ago. I can use it for trimming and some slabbing. The blade it comes with is of course cheap, but 10" ok blades are available at your Home Depot or Lowes for around $80. You can of course spend more to get something designed for cutting rocks and not bricks. It uses water so you don't have to deal with oil. It has a stand with wheels, probably sold separately, which means you don't have to take up valuable table space. The sliding trolley the rocks sit on lets you make perfectly straight cuts. I added a pulley and weights to the trolley so if I clamp down the rock I have a semi-automatic slabbing saw. I still watch it while it is cutting. Trimming is very fast. It has two drawbacks: 1) it is noisy as hell. Earplugs are a must. I use military surplus ear muffs and of course safety glasses. 2) It draws a little over 15 amps so I have to run an extension cord to my kitchen to plug into a 20 amp. Around here most indoor/patio plugs have 15 amp circuit breakers. Overall I have been very happy with it. My real slabbing saw broke so I just finished cutting some more slabs on the Harbor Freight brick saw and they came out fine.
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