[meteorite-list] Question about cutting stones on a small saw

[Walter Branch]

Hi Don,

It was part of my site but I took the site down about three or four years 
ago.

I too have bought saws, blades and accessories from Kingsely North.  Good 
company. I bought a nice trim saw from them.  My first attempts at cutting 
were, er, not-too-good, but NWA stones make good practice.

You are right about using alcohol.  I routinely used distilled water as a 
coolant.  The only iron I ever cut was Cape York and I used transmission 
fluid as a coolant on that one.  It worked, but man was it messy :-)

-Walter

-----------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Merchant" <dmerchan at rochester.rr.com>
To: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>; "Meteorite List" 
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: "Don Merchant" <dmerchan at rochester.rr.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Question about cutting stones on a small saw



> Hi Mike. I know Walter Branch made a very nice step by step guide on 

> cutting meteorites, but not sure where I still have this site address or 

> even if the page is still up. As far as the saw you bought, (I'm no 

> expert) it looks like a tile saw of a sort. With this you need to use a 

> water hose to spray on the blade. Your motor seems very wide open to the 

> elements so be careful and ground your self! Though this is a Lapidary Saw 

> of a sort I would not recommend this for cutting meteorites. I am sure you 

> could modify it to do this. The saw I have for cutting meteorites can be 

> found on my Meteorite Collection Site via Photobucket. I believe I bought 

> this at Kingsley North Inc. www.kingsleynorth.com or 

> sales at kingsleynorth.com

> Was not real cheap as it set me back $400. NEVER NEVER use Alcohol!! 

> Unless your saw has been designed or modified to do this as "grounding" 

> yourself will not save you if this ignites or explodes. Anyways here is 

> the type saw you really need to cut meteorites. Also for all you 

> Collectors out there I added a bunch more pictures to the Site of my 

> collection. Hope this helps Mike.

>

> My Collection Pictures

> http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc276/emflocater/

>

>

> Sincerely

> Don Merchant

> IMCA #0960

>

> ----- Original Message ----- 

> From: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>

> To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>

> Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 1:38 PM

> Subject: [meteorite-list] Question about cutting stones on a small saw

>

>

>> Hi List!

>>

>> I have a question for the cutting gurus and saw experts.

>>

>> Recently I purchased a new Lortone Rock Rascal 6" lapidary trimsaw,

>> primarily for cutting small UNWA stones.  I also bought all of the

>> accessory goodies - the clamp vise, 3 blades of varying thicknesses

>> and some lubricant.

>>

>> Admittedly, I am a total idiot when it comes to cutting - I know

>> nothing other than what I have read.  Since I have no firsthand

>> experience cutting stones, I am wondering about a few things that I

>> can't seem to find easy answers to.

>>

>> I do have experience with power tools and cutting wood with a variety

>> of saws, so I know the fundamentals of cutting and saws in general,

>> but lapidary saws and cutting stones is alien to me.  The saw owner's

>> manual is not targeted towards a newbie and there doesn't appear to be

>> any online tutorials about how to use it to cut stony meteorites.

>>

>> So, please forgive the stupid nature of these questions -

>>

>> 1)  How do I lubricate with this saw?  It doesn't appear to be a "wet

>> saw" - I see no place to add lubricant or no tank to hold it.  What am

>> I supposed to do in this respect?  Am I missing something?

>>

>> 2) I have a very thin "Lapcraft Laser Dia Blade" that is .006

>> thickness.  It seems impossibly thin and "floppy" - how is it possible

>> to cut a straight line using something like this?   Doesn't it wander

>> all over the place while cutting?  I assume that this blade is only

>> useful for friable specimens that would offer little cutting

>> resistance?

>>

>> 3) What lubricant should I use?  I have heard to use pure alcohol and

>> some use distilled water.  I bought something called "Dia-Cut" that is

>> a red concentrate to be mixed with water.  But I later read that

>> lubricants like this should be avoided.

>>

>> 4) What kind of blade is recommended for general cutting of H and L

>> type chondrites?  I have the blade that came with the saw (not sure

>> what it is exactly), the .006 blade I mentioned above, and a

>> "Meteorite" blade that is .012 thickness. The meteorite blade is a

>> Johnson Brothers that I bought from Graves.

>>

>> Here is a link to the saw I have -

>>

>> http://www.therockshed.com/equipment/modj6.jpg

>>

>> (I didn't buy from that vendor, it's just the first photo of it that I 

>> saw)

>>

>> Thanks in advance!

>>

>> MikeG

>>

>> -- 

>> .........................................................

>> Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)

>> Member of the Meteoritical Society.

>> Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.

>> Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com

>> ..........................................................

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