Looking For Saw Blade Recommendation

[TheFossilHunter]

Hi guys,

I am wondering if any one can recommend a place to buy a nice quality 20 inch diamond blade for a slab saw. I was using one but it got damaged and i forgot where i bought it from. I am looking for something under $200. I know they usually got for about $400 but there are some under $200 which are decent quality without the price tag. They are usually continuous rim sintered blades.

Thanks

Mike

[pleecan]

Mike: Try the following link:

http://shop.ebay.ca/i.html?_nkw=diamond+blade+20%22&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=diamond+black+20%22&_osacat=0

PL

[TheFossilHunter]

Mike: Try the following link:

http://shop.ebay.ca/i.html?_nkw=diamond+blade+20%22&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=diamond+black+20%22&_osacat=0

PL

Thanks PL,

I've seen these blades on ebay. There is only one that would be used for a slab saw but it doesnt look too hot, and i am not sure if it's a good one or not. Thanks!

Mike

[pleecan]

Thanks PL,

I've seen these blades on ebay. There is only one that would be used for a slab saw but it doesnt look too hot, and i am not sure if it's a good one or not. Thanks!

Mike

You are welcome Mike... good luck on your search. PL

[Sundancer73]

I have a rock saw I use for slabbing stuff for knapping. Beware cheap stuff.. wide kerf and wobbles usually. I'd suggest something from Kingsley perhaps.. avoid Chinese stuff

Forgot to add.. depending on the damage, blades can be repaired as long as it isn't split. I had one bend like a taco and got it fixed.

~Mike

Edited December 19, 2009 by Sundancer73

[Bear]

I use Baranca blades in my bigger saws, Diamond Pacific in the smaller ones. They last a while and cut true. They cost a bit, but I don't cheap on the tools since they help earn me my living. Kingsly is a good place to shop too, though you need to know what you are doing and be selective.

[TheFossilHunter]

I have a rock saw I use for slabbing stuff for knapping. Beware cheap stuff.. wide kerf and wobbles usually. I'd suggest something from Kingsley perhaps.. avoid Chinese stuff

Forgot to add.. depending on the damage, blades can be repaired as long as it isn't split. I had one bend like a taco and got it fixed.

~Mike

Thanks Mike,

Can you please let me know where I could fix a blade. My blade got bent a little bit and now it gets stuck in the rock and doesnt want to cut well

Thnaks

Mike

[TheFossilHunter]

I use Baranca blades in my bigger saws, Diamond Pacific in the smaller ones. They last a while and cut true. They cost a bit, but I don't cheap on the tools since they help earn me my living. Kingsly is a good place to shop too, though you need to know what you are doing and be selective.

Thanks Bear, I will look into these.

[jkfoam]

You might try MK Diamond Corp in Torrance, CA. You can contact their Customer Service people at 1-800-421-5830 or email at customerservice@mkdiamond.com. However I have heard that all makers/suppliers of diamond blades have discontinued repair service but I don't know if that is absolutely true. If this fails I would go to www.rockhounds.com and query that board on "How to" instructions for DIY repair of your blade.

JKFoam

[Bear]

Once a blade gets bent, it becomes problematic forever after until it fails. If you somehow manage to re - flatten the disc, the metal will remain altered and weakened at that point. Replace a damaged diamond saw blade, the cost will be lesser than replacing a body part or destroying a treasured specimen.

[Sundancer73]

Thanks Mike,

Can you please let me know where I could fix a blade. My blade got bent a little bit and now it gets stuck in the rock and doesnt want to cut well

Thnaks

Mike

I had mine fixed through a rock shop in Arizona. Check local lapidary shops.. they'll know a good place. Stuff happens sometimes.. I broke a fan-belt stopping the cutting.. but my worm gear continued until I had a 'taco'.. they fixed it like new.. I usually am within hearing distance of my saw.. but I ran an errand.. and naturally that's when trouble struck.

~Mike

Edit: I agree with Bear, the blade is not really 'like new'.. however, it will function until a new blade is installed and will make a good spare. I know how expensive blades are and trust me, I HATE when stuff like that happens. Be ever vigilant.. and if something sounds different, IMMEDIATLY shut down. :-)

Edited December 22, 2009 by Sundancer73

[TheFossilHunter]

I had mine fixed through a rock shop in Arizona. Check local lapidary shops.. they'll know a good place. Stuff happens sometimes.. I broke a fan-belt stopping the cutting.. but my worm gear continued until I had a 'taco'.. they fixed it like new.. I usually am within hearing distance of my saw.. but I ran an errand.. and naturally that's when trouble struck.

~Mike

Edit: I agree with Bear, the blade is not really 'like new'.. however, it will function until a new blade is installed and will make a good spare. I know how expensive blades are and trust me, I HATE when stuff like that happens. Be ever vigilant.. and if something sounds different, IMMEDIATLY shut down. :-)

Thanks, I will ask around to see who can fix the blade. In the meantime I;ve bought a new "green blade" one from here: http://www.cabbingmachines.com/saw_blades.shtml

It has not arrived yet, I am hoping it will be good.

[Bear]

Pro Slicers are good blades, but don't last long enough for me. (Think industrial use here. ) I smoke them sukkas right quick. My Diamond Pacific and Barranca blades last longer, though I still burn them up. I do not use the cheap Chinese imports at all.

I am always in the shop when the saws are running. I do NOT use oil as it makes for more air pollution problems. It also plates out on the walls leaving an oil film on everything. NEVER use anti - freeze (ethylene glycol) as that is incredibly toxic and will kill your kidneys dead. Use water to cool your blade, if you must use oil, use a water - based 'oil' coolant. A drop of detergent in the cooling water will help convey heat away from the metal blade more efficiently. Wear breathing protection when running the saw, as airborne stone dust is still stone dust and will kill you quite nicely if you do not respect it. Eye protection is also mandatory, if you wish to remain sighted.

[jkfoam]

Pro Slicers are good blades, but don't last long enough for me. (Think industrial use here. ) I smoke them sukkas right quick. My Diamond Pacific and Barranca blades last longer, though I still burn them up. I do not use the cheap Chinese imports at all.

I am always in the shop when the saws are running. I do NOT use oil as it makes for more air pollution problems. It also plates out on the walls leaving an oil film on everything. NEVER use anti - freeze (ethylene glycol) as that is incredibly toxic and will kill your kidneys dead. Use water to cool your blade, if you must use oil, use a water - based 'oil' coolant. A drop of detergent in the cooling water will help convey heat away from the metal blade more efficiently. Wear breathing protection when running the saw, as airborne stone dust is still stone dust and will kill you quite nicely if you do not respect it. Eye protection is also mandatory, if you wish to remain sighted.

Bear,

I must respond to a couple of points you make in your post but first I would like to know what size saws you are running.

You are right it is a very good idea to be in the shop when the saws are running. I think the biggest issue is that a rock may slip in the vice and bind the blade. This can result in a bent blade or cause the drive belt to slip creating friction that could result in a fire. Or the bind could freeze the drive motor causing the motor to over heat or worse.

I think your comment about antifreeze should be to never use ethylene glycol antifreeze because of toxicity reasons. However I see no issue with propylene glycol based antifreeze as it is not toxic. It is the stuff used to winterize the water systems in RV's.

I never use water in my 18 inch saw because the water will create rust. Also, I have never seen a stone dust issue when operating my rock saw. I think it would only be an issue if the saw was operated dry. I recomend using a respirator when opening the saw right after a cut is completed to protect yourself from the oil aerosol that may be released when the saw lid is first raised.

Also, eye protection is a good idea in the shop but I don't feel that my enclosed 18 inch rock saw is a particular threat. Now my 6 inch trim saw is another matter. The operation of that saw does necessitate eye protection.

I never felt that my use of oil in my saw was an air polution problem and I have not seen a lot of oil being plated out on things around my saw. The vapor pressure of the mineral oils I use are very low. As I stated above oil aerosols can be released when the saw is opened right after a cut is completed. However this can be minimized by waiting a minute or two afer a cut is completed before opening the saw.

JKFoam

[TheFossilHunter]

Bear,

I must respond to a couple of points you make in your post but first I would like to know what size saws you are running.

You are right it is a very good idea to be in the shop when the saws are running. I think the biggest issue is that a rock may slip in the vice and bind the blade. This can result in a bent blade or cause the drive belt to slip creating friction that could result in a fire. Or the bind could freeze the drive motor causing the motor to over heat or worse.

I think your comment about antifreeze should be to never use ethylene glycol antifreeze because of toxicity reasons. However I see no issue with propylene glycol based antifreeze as it is not toxic. It is the stuff used to winterize the water systems in RV's.

I never use water in my 18 inch saw because the water will create rust. Also, I have never seen a stone dust issue when operating my rock saw. I think it would only be an issue if the saw was operated dry. I recomend using a respirator when opening the saw right after a cut is completed to protect yourself from the oil aerosol that may be released when the saw lid is first raised.

Also, eye protection is a good idea in the shop but I don't feel that my enclosed 18 inch rock saw is a particular threat. Now my 6 inch trim saw is another matter. The operation of that saw does necessitate eye protection.

I never felt that my use of oil in my saw was an air polution problem and I have not seen a lot of oil being plated out on things around my saw. The vapor pressure of the mineral oils I use are very low. As I stated above oil aerosols can be released when the saw is opened right after a cut is completed. However this can be minimized by waiting a minute or two afer a cut is completed before opening the saw.

JKFoam

I am not too knowlegeable in slabbing but I own 5 rock saws: 20 inch slab saw, 10" tile/Rock cut off saw, 7" tile saw, 4" hand held electric saw and a gas powered 14 inch concrete saw. My 20 inch saw is a quite recent aquisition, it has dual lubrication system, tripple feed system ( electric, pneumatic, and manual), and Ive installed a few nice upgrades such as a drain, wheels etc.

I have used my 10" rock/tile saw to trim fossils and it served me quite well. ( by the way i may consider selling it, so let me know if anyone's interested). The 7 " saw I have is great and i recommend it to everyone. ( i have to look up the model i have). It cuts up to 1.5 inches deep and it has served me soo well. You guys cant imagine what ive done to it and how much i have tortured it and it still works fine. One of the very few 7" models that cut deeper than 1 inch. The 4" saw was a regretfull ebay purchase. i havent used it much, but it could be good for some smaller cuts especially if you dont want to go all the way thru. and of course i couldnt live without my portable 14 inch gas powered saw which is basically the only thing useful in the field when you need to extract that delicate fossil.

I concur on it being a good idea to be in the shop when the saw is running. Besides all the above mentioned, what has happened to me is that since my platform motor is a separate from the blade motor, there is always a possibility of jamming the blade into the rock in case you are going too fast or the rock gets too thick. Two things have happened to me: 1. I used to have a very weak feed motor, which couldn't handle pushing the platform if the rock was too thick , which could mess up the feed motor. 2. now i have a strong feed motor which will continue going even if the blade is having a hard time cutting. This may mess up the main motor. Thank god i also have a pneumatic feed which is much better to use. Also, if the blade is stuck, my motor wouldnt trip for some reason, which again could mess it up, so it's better to be there in case you need to turn the whole thing off.

I have never used antifreeze and dont know anything about how toxic it is.

I never use oil. I always use water. The blade seems to cut easily with water and unless one is continuously cutting very hard rocks, water should be sufficient and far less messier and easier to use. It does create rust, but for me it feels nicer to deal with rust than oil. There could be dust even if you are running water in case the water flow is not strong enough and you are not getting enough water onto the blade. I have a dual system: sprinkler + water picked up from the sump. If the water flow from the sprinkler is not too strong i get some dust, also if the water lubricant level in the sumps is not high enough, there may be dust. but its all inside the cover though, you only get it out when you open the lid.

I never felt the need to use eye protection with my 20 inch slab saw. Never had a problem. I never even used eye protection with my portable gas powered 14 inch saw which is all out in the open unlike the enclosed slab saw.

Mike

[pleecan]

Bear/JKFoam: Good replies....safety is very important issue. PL

Edited December 23, 2009 by pleecan

[Bear]

A bit more then....

I use a pair of 10 inch saws: 1 is a gravity or hand feed and the other is a machine feed. Both have covers that I employ routinely, save for when I hand feed material through that saw. Some stones, like silomilane (alternating black manganese and silver iron bands from Minnesota, a very attractive cabochon stone) require hand feeding as they are just too tough for the saw otherwise. That particular stone also eats up the blades big time.

In addition I use a Diamond Pacific Genie 6 inch saw for everything from slabs to tile. It will take a 12" square tile and cut it with no problem. This one is a 'high torque' type saw, hand feed only and a pretty serious professional tool. I use a continuous blade diamond band saw for fancy scroll type work and a 4 inch Lapcraft for small expensive material.

I only use water, but I have installed coolant dumps on all of these saws. Well, those that did not come stock with those, at least. I use water because it works better than oil for cooling the blades. Oil thins out as it heats up and then it vapourizes into the air like water does. When I am done, I open the valves and dump the coolant water into buckets under the work bench so rust is simply not an issue for me. I use blades designed to work with water like the Barranca and Diamond Pacific blades and there is no problem with disposal of the coolant.

I must emphasize here that I subject my equipment to some rather heavy professional use. I have burned through 2 - 10 inch blades in a couple of days before while working on a job order. I process kilos of stone routinely and use serious, heavy - duty equipment to do so. While I cannot always see the water vapour and stone dust mixture floating in the shop air, I know from the humid feel that it is in the air and I can see the fine dust it conveys when it plates out and dries on surfaces.

While I have not used propylene glycol I am very clear on the toxicity of ethylene glycol. One taste will kill a dog or cat that has walked through some spilled on the ground. It will destroy their kidneys completely within about 3 days, same thing for a human being. Since the chemical signatures are so similar, it would be surprising if they did not share some other attributes as well. For instance:

I clean a lot of things every day. I use alcohol for much of that, so it is in contact with my skin and I breathe the vapours as it evaporates. While I was in my third or fourth semester of inorganic chemistry at university, I spoke with my prof (the dept. head) about the relative toxicity of using denatured, methyl or isopropal alcohol for this as we did in the lab. He said that there would be serious nervous system damage (neuropathy) from long term exposure to these solvents due to casual skin contact and breathing of the vapours. This has been reiterated by other sources as well, so I now use EverClear grain alcohol for much of my daily routine cleaning tasks, as it is ethanol, contains no methanol, butanol or propanol and is much less toxic than those alternatives. While I can not say for sure, the chemical similarities are sufficient to warn me off trying propylene glycol as well, especially as I am not familiar with its use a solvent or a coolant and water works so well for me already.

I also use a 14 inch electric concrete saw for dry free - hand work. I always use all available safety equipment. I still get covered in rock dirt (bort or scuff we call that) and am clear that I get the occasional whiff of same in my nose, throat and lungs. Since I have been working with stone my entire adult life now and have no plans to quit doing that, it is likely that there will be some (further) repercussions from even that small exposure eventually. I own and run a whole bunch of HEPA air filters (mostly Austin hospital type units) continuously to remove airborne allergens, they also deal with airborne bort.

I suspect that a certain amount of my concerns about shop dirt contamination is that I once worked with radium, uranium oxide and asbestos regularly along with a whole bunch of nasty heavy metals and their salts and spent a lot of time in commercial spray painting booths. At the time, I was the only one sissy enough to wear a respirator. I am still alive to tell about it, some of my former associates are not with us any longer. Seeing a good friend die of primary liver cancer will sure make you get serious about safety issues......

[pleecan]

Thank you Bear for your enlightening discussion on safety...Personal Protective Equipment is very important.... ethanol based solvents at low concentrations the body can metabolize , where as methanol the body unable to metablize thus very toxic.... I enjoyed the read. PL

[Bear]

.....and I thank you for reading it, Pleecan. While personal safety is really important to me, I know that most folks consider it a bit of a 'ho - hum'. I have a shop full of really neat tools that I enjoy using very much, as long as I observe the basic safety stuff. Pushing others to be safe is one of my 'things' I guess, probably because so few folks do that regularly while health and safety hazards are everywhere and serious.