[meteorite-list] CBN blades

[JKGwilliam]

Good morning List,
I agree with Franco and Bessey.  The CBN blades are really impressive for 
the first few minutes that you use them; after that, their ability to cut 
disappears pretty quickly.
Dean mentions using a blade called the Pro Slicer.  I use this blade almost 
exclusively now based on its longevity and cutting quality.  These diamond 
blades can be used to cut irons, but you must perform an occasional 
maintenance step that most people don't know about.  When cutting irons, 
the steel core of the blade has a tendency to roll over the diamond 
particles along the edge.  This exposes less and less of the diamonds at 
the cutting surface and the cutting action gets slower and slower.  To 
remedy this, the diamond blade must be "dressed" to remove this small layer 
of steel.  This is done buy cutting a block of material that is abrasive 
enough to grind away the unwanted steel.  Most old timers in the lapidary 
business use a small block of common red brick.  While this will work, it 
can take several passes of the saw through the brick to achieve the desired 
results.  I've found that making a few quick, short cuts through a piece of 
an old lapidary grinding stone does the job very nicely.  Simply break a 
worn out stone wheel with a hammer and make a few quick cuts on a piece of it.

Best,

John

At 05:54 AM 1/3/2005, dean bessey wrote:
>I dont like the CBN blades either. They are the best
>that you can buy for about two minutes and then pretty
>much stop working.
>I have had people tell me that they will work cutting
>iron meteorites which you pretty well cant do using
>diamond but I havent done it myself so wont comment on
>cutting irons.
>But as far as chondrites go, I have tried them all,
>various lubricants ect and what I use is pro slicer.