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

Thu May 21 17:20:40 EDT 2009

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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