Terry664
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2005
Posts: 1,146
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Post by Terry664 on Oct 6, 2008 8:46:42 GMT -5
Has anyone tried a regular 6 inch lapidary blade with .012 kerf, on a 7 inch tile saw? I would like to try one on cutting my shapes where I have small details to cut. Or do you think it would work, as long as it has right size arbor hole. Terry
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Oct 6, 2008 14:25:46 GMT -5
It will work fine, watch your speed and don't push the rock hard.
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Post by deb193redux on Oct 6, 2008 17:40:16 GMT -5
No problem putting the smaller blade as long as the tray is full of water.
No problem with thinner blade, but be very caredul to go slow. You will be running at 2x the recommended speed for most lapidary blades. Also, this blade will bend easy. (This is pretty much what you have with Inland's All-in-Wonder saw with 6.5" .012 kerf setup).
One potential problem is the angle of the blade at the saw table. With 7" blade this will be near vertical, with 6" it will be a little off vertical, so you cuts will be going a little further on the bottom of the slab than on the top. Just need to take this into account wwhen cutting small-detail features.
For very fine detail, consider a Gryphon C-40 band saw.
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Terry664
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2005
Posts: 1,146
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Post by Terry664 on Oct 7, 2008 9:17:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. I cut very slow anyway. Also for most of these cuts I cut on top of the blade. Wnat gives me a problem is when I cut between two parts, such as the tusk and trunk of an elephant, with the thicker blade it is hard to keep from breaking one or the other off, also at the legs. I can't afford any equiptment, that is why I am trying this solution.
Terry
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darrad
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2006
Posts: 1,636
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Post by darrad on Oct 8, 2008 18:57:28 GMT -5
I hope it works for you. Sounds like it should. Just remember to keep the water level as high as possible. (workforce, right?)
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 8, 2008 21:17:32 GMT -5
The blade will work fine but as said higher than normal speed. Faster cutting and faster dulling. More frequent dressing and faster wear. I use lapidary lades on my 5500 rpm 4" tile saw with no problem. With mine I put a shim in the blade washer recess to prevent the blade from slipping. With really thin lades a shim on both sides would be needed.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 8, 2008 21:20:04 GMT -5
And another thing. A lot of the really thin blades need high speed for rigidity. Also, the thin blades are quite often plated and can cut our fingers unlike sintered blades.
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