grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Apr 20, 2013 19:25:18 GMT -5
Hi,
I am seriously considering a Covington 10" slab/trim saw. My reason is that I can have a choice of power-feed, or gravity feed, true cross-feed, and it comes with a hood. There are other choices available but are either much more $$$, or do not have the same features.
I am thinking that the gravity feed may be a better choice, not due to the price difference, but because there may be less chance of the saw jamming, and ruining an expensive diamond blade. What are your "experienced/professional" feelings on this choice?
What about the Covington saw as a choice? I am certainly not a professional rock cutter, but a guy who likes to tumble rocks, and wishes to do some "forms" in the tumbler. I also want to see what Mother Nature has hidden inside of her rocks!
Any suggestions, and or guidance in this area, as well as your personal experience with the Covington, would be greatly appreciated. My understanding is that the Covington folks are good people to work with?
Thanks in advnce folks!
"grizman?
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 20, 2013 19:40:42 GMT -5
If you can find a good older Covington 10", go for it. But they made changes to the table of their saws, and the hood will allow oil to run over the left side of the table. Also heard a lot of complaints about the power feed on the newer saws.
I have a Covington 10" with power feed that was built in the 70's. No problems with it. The power feed still runs strong.
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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 20, 2013 19:44:15 GMT -5
Thanks Don, Hi Don,
Do you think that a power feed is a better option to consider rather than the gravity feel? Am I being too cautious about possible issues that would damage a blade?
"grizman"
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,455
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 20, 2013 20:07:29 GMT -5
Wow I could talk for hours on this. Do not get a Covingtion 10 inch saw! I had a forty year old Beacon Star saw that was wonderful. Relatively clean to use, never had to do a dang thing with it except change the oil and install a new blade now and then. Well, it's power feed shorted out and burnt out the motor. Couldn't fix if so I bought a Covingtion. Wanted to save a few bucks, should have bought a Barranca. Big fat ole mistake.
First off, the Covingtion has some really bad design flaws. Oil reservoir is much too complicated, hard to clean. Drain holes are too inboard and low on the saw body to put anything under them so you have to do $30 worth of plumbing to make it work half way decent. Everything on the saw, screws, bolts etc are designed for someone with minute hands and fingers. Entire table top has to be dismounted for proper cleaning or blade change so these bolts etc rapidly become a major pain in the ass. Even the blade is hard to mount compared to my old saw. Vice does not easily flip up for use as a trim saw like on the old rig I had.
Next. This is like the messiest ten inch saw ever. Table top is shallow with little rim so oil runs all over the place. I have cups all around the damn saw to catch oil leakage. Hood has massive holes on each side so oil blows out the side all over your shop so you nave to design new walls and hang a towel over the top to stop the spray. Whoever designed this mess plainly does not use rock saws.
Power feed overheats easily and seizes up and the clutch is a bee atch to adjust properly. Vice hold down knob is fairly ineffective and broke off within a month of use. Vice is freaking minute. My old ten inch would handle 3" by 5" stones. The Covington vice is at least an inch smaller in length and not very sturdy. The metal cross post the vice rides on is wobbly and looks as if it might break any time. The crossfeed knob is right next to the power on and off bar and difficult to manipulate ( again the friggin dwarf finger thingee.) The pully wheel the belt rides in at the back is constantly coming loose.. I understand they come with a better blade now but the one mine came with was junk.
Actually the entire saw is underpowered compared to the old Beacon Star which would blast through anything. This saw bogs down easily and it's super easy to burn up your belt. I virtually have to sit right beside this dang saw all the time waiting to see what goes wrong next. The old saw, I'd just turn her on and come back later to find my slab cut and the saw turned off.
Maybe others have had more luck with theirs but I've had five other saws and this is by far the crappiest rig I've had and I'd never get another. I've heard good things about the Barranca, more expensive but better engineering.
Whatever saw I got, I'd choose power feed. Gravity is much harder to adjust, at least for me. The Covington folks are nice and responsive when you contact them but that does not compensate for a poorly designed saw. I don't want to phone someone had have them have to tell me how to remodel/ fix/rebuild their product. I paid them for a product that was supposed to be already built and ready to use. Rock saws do heavy work for extended time periods too and durability is a factor to consider..Mel
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,605
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 20, 2013 20:45:28 GMT -5
I've owned just about every 10" saw made except a Covington so I can't speak from personal experience. But a few years ago my cousin purchased a new Covington 10" saw and had problems with it right from the start. I prefer power feed saws over gravity feed. I believe that when kept dressed and used with a proper lube/coolant, blades last longer on a power feed saw than on a gravity feed. IMHO the Lortone LS10 was the best designed 10" slab saw ever made but it is no longer in production. If I were to choose to go with a new gravity feed saw I would choose the Rock's 10" saw made by Polaris Tool and machine: www.polaristool.com/catalog/item.php?unid=4616&prodpa= . These saws are very well designed and very well built. If I were to buy a new 10" power feed saw, I would choose the Diamond Pacific TC-10, or the Barranca BD10.
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Post by deb193redux on Apr 20, 2013 21:32:27 GMT -5
I would take a used LS10 over most 10" slab/trim saws, especially Covington.
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Post by catmandewe on Apr 20, 2013 22:50:19 GMT -5
I would buy any saw that had the options I wanted except Covington because they are built too flimsy and underpowered. If you can find an old Covington they are pretty good but the new ones have been redesigned to save a few bucks and it shows.
Tony
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Post by roy on Apr 21, 2013 9:16:24 GMT -5
if your looking to buy a real good 10 inch saw i beleave tony ^ has a use loretone he could sell you and it would be better and cheaper than any new saw you could find ! out of all the saw's i own the old loretone 10 is my fav and the one i use the most
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robsrockshop
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2012
Posts: 715
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Post by robsrockshop on Apr 21, 2013 9:27:10 GMT -5
That Rocks 10" by Polaris is NICE. A used LS10 would be a good option also and get it at a fair price you could afford it and a trim saw for the cost of a new covington 10". I had a covington 10" that was brand new, I never used it. I took one look at it and sold it as fast as possible as I foreseen the problems mentioned here without wasting my time.
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 21, 2013 16:00:39 GMT -5
I have a 16 inch Covington, no problems since I converted it from power feed to gravity. As you said, it jammed..... a lot!!
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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 21, 2013 22:44:16 GMT -5
Wow! OK, I got the message regarding the Covington. That is what makes this forum so great! A "newbie" like me, hears you folks talking about the features one would probably want in a good mini-slab/trim saw, and I think I have found a great answer to my needs and wishes. WRONG! But...I am also smart enough to let the folks (like you all) have some say as to your experiences and recommendations! Thanks to all of you for your time taken to set me straight on a "solid" saw instead of a piece of junk. The Barranca will be getting a lot more attention... "grizman"
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Post by jakesrocks on Apr 21, 2013 23:12:28 GMT -5
As I said earlier, if you can find an older 10" Covington, they were good saws. Mine is about 40 years old, and except for changing blades and belts a few times it still runs like a champ. They made " improvements " to their saws in the 90's, and the newer ones are junk. They lowered the left side rail of the table for some unknown reason, which allows oil to spill over that side. Don't know what they did to the drain holes, but my older saw drains great. They changed from a good American made power feed motor to a cheap Chinese motor that lacks power and burns out. The large hand holes on the sides of the Plexi hood are easy enough to fix. Just glue a couple of scrap Plexi patches over them. The hood just gets in the way when you're using the saw as a trim saw anyway.
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 22, 2013 0:05:16 GMT -5
A Raytech LP10S is also a pretty good saw for someone who wants to slab with a trim style saw. My first choice in brand new would be the Barranca though.
Lee
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blackout5783
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 248
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Post by blackout5783 on Apr 22, 2013 8:00:43 GMT -5
A Raytech LP10S is also a pretty good saw for someone who wants to slab with a trim style saw. My first choice in brand new would be the Barranca though. Lee I can second the vote for the Raytech. My only complaint (design wise) is that they were a little skimpy with the drain holes on the table, but I can imagine that could help keep the oil cleaner in the sump (sludge settles out on the table). Maybe. The split nut on my power feed is slipping a bit, but that may be from the previous owner. Can't speak to trimming on it though, never tried. It doesn't look like the vise removes all that easily, but you might be able to get away with pushing it all the way to the back and trimming. Provided you can put up with the oil spray, that is.
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robsrockshop
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2012
Posts: 715
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Post by robsrockshop on Apr 22, 2013 8:24:16 GMT -5
Some of the newer Covington slab saws like the 16" with powerfeed cut at 12" per hour. That would explain the jamming if you are cutting hard material. Even Steve at Covington told me years ago that if you were cutting agate that 5" per hour is a safe speed. Takes forever but doesn't tear your blade up etc. I assume no one would ever want to buy a saw that cuts at 5" per hour lol. If you don't want to go to the trouble of using a worm gear for the feed there's the option of using a DC gearmotor that you can use with a ac to dc converter and then you can have speed control as well. Of course that gadget will cost you $100 if you can't build it yourself.
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