khara
fully equipped rock polisher
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Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,976
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Post by khara on Jun 17, 2024 21:46:36 GMT -5
goldfinder I peened the blade again, a bit more aggressively and it did seem to cut faster. At about the 6th or so slab, I noticed it slowing down again. So, maybe I'll just keep peening it every 5 or 6 slabs depending on material, until it doesn't work at all. Thank you for your Covington C-Series info.
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ThomasT
has rocks in the head
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Member since June 2022
Posts: 586
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Post by ThomasT on Jun 17, 2024 21:50:49 GMT -5
For what it's worth ...
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lapidary1234
starting to spend too much on rocks
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"If you like rocks you can't be all bad!!" ~ old timer quote
Member since October 2021
Posts: 181
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Post by lapidary1234 on Aug 20, 2024 15:42:41 GMT -5
khara i just thought I'd chime in and say I use the cheapo kingsley "notched" blades on my 14" frantom slab saw. If you buy 3 the price drops (about $15/ea for the 14"). I Love these blades!! They simply can't be beat for the price point. I've had the same blade in my saw for over 6 months and its not slowing down yet. Regarding the bushings, kingsley will throw in bushings for free if you put a note with the order. Only thing is I'm suspicious the bushings are 25mm not actually an inch (25.4mm). Maybe I'm wrong, I did get the bushing on my arbor but I had to use a wrench and kind of force it on. Hopefully I didn't damage the arbor, I haven't taken tge blade off since. I brought the topic of bushing sizes up to Val at MN lapidary supply and he concurred that the bushings are likely metric. He said he had ase bushings so I told him I'd take a few (3). I got charged $9/ea for them though, which I feel is highway robbery. Alot of folks swear by mk blades though so if you can find one I'd recommend grabbing it to have on hand at least. I had the unfortunate luck of a rock coming out of my vise and ruining a good usa made blade from the 70's. When looking at mk prices I decided to go with the cheaper notched blades so if I damaged one I wouldn't be out alot of money. I'm really glad I did as they've worked great for me!
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 20, 2024 15:58:43 GMT -5
I bought 3 of the 18" cheap blades from Kingsley. So far I am satisfied with about 365 cuts and counting. Not too bad for about $33 plus shipping for a blade. I do put a better blade on my 24 inch as it cuts bigger rocks and harder pieces, some of the jaspers etc.
The video seems to insinuate a lot. I know a few companies have struggled with material costs since Covid. Hard to say why a business fails, it's not always bad management, just bad luck. Instead of being unhappy maybe the guy on the video should start looking for alternatives.
My opinion Henry
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 20, 2024 19:15:02 GMT -5
khara i just thought I'd chime in and say I use the cheapo kingsley "notched" blades on my 14" frantom slab saw. If you buy 3 the price drops (about $15/ea for the 14"). I Love these blades!! They simply can't be beat for the price point. I've had the same blade in my saw for over 6 months and its not slowing down yet. Regarding the bushings, kingsley will throw in bushings for free if you put a note with the order. Only thing is I'm suspicious the bushings are 25mm not actually an inch (25.4mm). Maybe I'm wrong, I did get the bushing on my arbor but I had to use a wrench and kind of force it on. Hopefully I didn't damage the arbor, I haven't taken tge blade off since. I brought the topic of bushing sizes up to Val at MN lapidary supply and he concurred that the bushings are likely metric. He said he had ase bushings so I told him I'd take a few (3). I got charged $9/ea for them though, which I feel is highway robbery. Alot of folks swear by mk blades though so if you can find one I'd recommend grabbing it to have on hand at least. I had the unfortunate luck of a rock coming out of my vise and ruining a good usa made blade from the 70's. When looking at mk prices I decided to go with the cheaper notched blades so if I damaged one I wouldn't be out alot of money. I'm really glad I did as they've worked great for me! 25mm is smaller than 25.4, if the adaptor was metric it would fit loose, not tight. A good adaptor should be a press fit, otherwise they are likely to cause problems. When installing I use an anvil type object under the blade, preferrably smaller than the blade. A drift from a piece of bar or pipe helps too, and tap with that hammer.
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Post by catmandewe on Aug 20, 2024 19:45:59 GMT -5
Try turning your blade around. As blades heat up the metal starts sluffing and covers the diamonds with a thin coating of metal, the diamond cant contact the rock surface and the cutting slows down, when you turn it around you peel that thin coating back off of the diamond and re-expose it. I turn my blades around every 20 stones or so, or when I have to change oil.
Tony
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