QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Feb 2, 2015 1:33:48 GMT -5
Nice find! It's like I keep telling my wife, "One can never have too many slab saws...just not enough shop space to keep them all, and not enough dedicated circuits/outlets to plug them all into"! I've been wanting to upgrade from my 18" Lortone so have been on the lookout for a good 18" HP or 18" Frantom for a while now. Over a year ago a guy (a former part time rock dealer) listed one on our local Craigslist and I went to look at it. He had painted a Lortone 18" up silver to resemble an HP and was trying to sell it as a Highland Park. When I called him out on it he claimed he had a friend do the listing for him and that his friend made the mistake. I guess "his friend" was the one who painted it silver too [sarc]. Yet two weeks later "his friend" had never corrected the add. Here in the Southeast good used larger saws don't show up for sale very often. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 28, 2015 12:19:48 GMT -5
Very cool cab! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 23, 2015 19:27:52 GMT -5
Very nice saw!...And shop! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 23, 2015 2:55:19 GMT -5
Just recently got myself a nice Highland Park 18" restored by cigar box rocks in Bend OR. They do nice work.How can I post a pic of it? Congratulations on your saw acquisition! To post pictures of your saw here you need to first post your photos on a picture hosting site. There are some free picture hosting sites out there. I use photobucket. I tried flickr but never could get it to transfer to here. But with photobucket I was able to do so by following RTH member Iant's instructions found about half way down the page on this page link: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/22977/posting-pics-instructions?page=2Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 23, 2015 2:41:31 GMT -5
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 9, 2015 23:54:37 GMT -5
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 8, 2015 2:09:29 GMT -5
[/quote]...That being said some utilities want 'proof' that all of there oil has been handled properly so they contract with a certified disposal facility to handle all of there transformers, regulators, etc. The only paperwork is from the disposal company stating the received said oil, transformer, etc. The responsibility is on that company then, and not the utility. I am sure the good company's do the 'right' thing but those on the edge maybe not so much.
I would think that any utility that gives or sells there oil has had it tested and it is at 0 ppm or they are taking a huge risk!...............MrP [/quote]
Interesting! Makes me wonder if that may have played role in our local Power Company's decision to only sell to China. Maybe the Chinese don't mid a few ppm of PBCs in their oil. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 7, 2015 16:52:01 GMT -5
I used to use used transformer oil too and liked it. But our local power company won't sell it to their power customers anymore. Instead I was told they are selling it all to China now. Larry C. hah! they send us melamine in dogfood so we send them pcb's in the transformer oil. Sounds fair! But actually pcb's have been banned from transformer oil in the U.S. since the 1970s or 80s. Now they just use an Industrial/Food grade Mineral Oil like what is used to lube food processing equipment. So now when those power transformers blow or leak they don't poison the local creeks and ground water. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 7, 2015 16:18:16 GMT -5
If a person can find the post we had on this very discussion a few months ago,it would give another education for us all....... I use mineral oil from recycled oil from the electrical transformers,they use for big power... Most places that rebuild the transformers,might sell it on the side...I pay $20.00 for five gallons...Works great,no health risks involved either... You supply your own bucket... I used to use used transformer oil too and liked it. But our local power company won't sell it to their power customers anymore. Instead I was told they are selling it all to China now. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 7, 2015 1:52:29 GMT -5
check the price difference on the hp14 at the link i posted By posting the link to the HP14 saw on Barranca's site I wasn't suggesting that he should buy directly from Barranca. Just wanted to show the saw so we didn't have the same confusion between Barranca's HP14 saw and the new Highland Park saws like we did on a similar thread a couple of months ago. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 6, 2015 21:45:40 GMT -5
The price was certainly right! Some lubricants can get nasty in mist form when breathed. Not saying that transmission fluid is one of them but just to be safe I'd try to find out how the manufactures' MSD sheets rate it for health issues before I used it for sawing. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 6, 2015 17:59:49 GMT -5
Aren't you near Birmingham? There's a 18" Lortone listed. Kinda pricy at $1800. If you will buy used, you should be able to stay around 1000 bucks with not too much problem. I'd watch craigslist and eBay if you're not in a hurry. You are probably gonna hear of some other good options from folks here. Everything I've read about Panthers mentions the fast feed rate which doesn't seem to be good with harder rocks. Yes the powerfeed motor that comes from the factory on the Lortone Panther is too fast. I replaced mine with the slower powerfeed motor that they use on their 12" saws. The other problem I have had with my Panther is the cheap Chinese made JBC bearings Lortone now uses. They don't last very long if you do a lot of slabbing. I replaced the JBC bearings on mine with some NOS (new-old-stock) U.S.A. made SealMaster bearings I found on eBay and am getting much better service from these. Also I don't like the 303 blade that comes stock on these saws. Some dealers will let you upgrade to the 301 blade for a reasonable fee. But if I were going to buy a new 14" saw today I would buy the Barranca Highland Precision 14" saw. www.barrancadiamond.com/lap/saw_hp14.html . If I were going to buy a used 14" saw I would try to find an old Frantom or Star Diamond saw. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Jan 3, 2015 1:16:47 GMT -5
What a great way to start off the year! Beautiful cabs! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Dec 22, 2014 23:26:52 GMT -5
To help protect the items in my Shop building from getting coated with oil mist I bought a 10' wide roll of plastic and made a long curtain in two directions by stapling the plastic sheet to the wooden rafters. Also I have to drape large rags over the lid seams of my Lortone 10", 12", and 14" saws, but not on the 18" Lortone. Also have to on the 20" Covington. The saws are in the same building as my kiln so I haven't been able to fire my kiln since I started sawing in there for obvious fire hazard reasons. So I've been thinking about building a lean-to shed on the side of the building and putting an exhaust fan to pull air and mist out on the far end. And maybe some type of air filtering system similar to what they use in spray booths. I should have just gone ahead and done this years ago once I realized slabbing is an untreatable addiction! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Dec 22, 2014 23:06:05 GMT -5
Stunning Cabs! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Dec 4, 2014 11:34:19 GMT -5
That rectangular slab is stunning! Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Dec 4, 2014 2:00:00 GMT -5
May be just the photos but it looks like the bearings wore grooves in your arbor shaft? If they did that can cause extra vibration and it will probably be difficult to keep the arbor from slipping loose in the bearings again because the inside diameter of the bearings will be too large for the outside diameter of the worn shaft. I've had to replace a couple of these Lortone arbors on both 10" and 14" saws for this same reason. I would recommend when it does come time to replace that arbor that you order the arbor with the machine turned flange attached. It will make your blade turn truer than the type shown in your photos that uses flange washers on both sides of the blade. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Nov 22, 2014 20:15:21 GMT -5
Some folks drill six to eight 1/4" or 5/16" diameter holes thru the top table to aid in draining coolant back into the slump. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Nov 20, 2014 0:32:54 GMT -5
Well I needed something to clean off my prehnite crystals that can put water out at a high psi. I did not feel like buying a power washer and I found an equivalent. Costs me $57.60 shipped. I am not sure if they mailed it as I ordered it last night. So far good communication with them. I am hoping I will make my money up very fast as cleaned specimens sell easier than unclean (even if I marked the price down for that reason). The gun shoots water out at 1,650 PSI. It should be a lot nicer on my crystals than the pressure washer is as there is a low volume of water. Heres a Link.. I will update as new info comes. linkIf anyone wants prehnite crystals after I clean them feel free to pm me, I'll be pricing and storing the ones I can part with to sell at a Bazzar show. That looks very similar to the Upholstery Spot Cleaning Sprayers that the Furniture Repair businesses used to sell for around $250 ten years ago. If it has the same velocity of spray you have to be careful using those things. The spray jet easily has the force to break the skin and give a painful flesh injury. Larry C.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,634
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Post by QuailRiver on Nov 18, 2014 18:22:58 GMT -5
I just looked up the patent numbers on an old Raytech Blue Blazer Blade I had laying around and they were registered by D.H. Benson Etal. DIAMOND ABRASIVE SAW BLADE Donald H. Benson, Spencerport, and Willard R. Pratt, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Vanguard Abrasive Corporation, Le Roy, N.Y., a corporation of New York The patent numbers were 3,110,579 and 3,201,902.
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