[meteorite-list] thin section waste?

[MeteorHntr at aol.com]

Tom,

Depending on the kerf (saw blade thickness) you can get quite a few thin sections out of one block that is 10mm thick.  once you cut the block off, you can polish the new face and glue it to the next slide and do it all over again.  It saves time if you can epoxy one time but get 10 thin sections out of it, rather than take ten 1mm thin slices and try to epoxy each one.  

Also, a block is much easier to square up for the first cut.  A bunch of thin wafers are not so easy to impregnate.  If your little thin slice is not real level to start with, then the maker has to grind down that face to square it up.

Also realize that MOST material that thin section makers use as source material is not priced by the gram but rather by the ton, so waste to them is not usually an issue.  Of course with meteorites, it is a huge issue.

Steve Arnold