I use mineral oil for slabbing lapidary materials, I have a 14’ drop
down slabbing saw… It isn’t the most inexpensive but it is the safest
by far… and AND it has no odor to speak of. Always wear a
respirator… lipid pneumonia comes from from inhaling vapourized oils.
When trimming on my 6" saw I use WATER lots of water… yes I have
to clean up after every session and apply some spray on wd40 to
everything to keep the corrosion off…good idea to clean up
everytime any way :>) and the water is really cheap hehehehehehe
Again I wear an organic respirator when trimming even with
water…for that matter I wear eye and ear protection as well…
Being a musician and a visual artist means taking care of the parts
:>)
Your query should generate more than a few opinions…use your
own best judgement and be careful out there.
All the best in all things
With my server finally back online and screamin fast!!! YIPPEE
The best cooling medium for your saw depends in part on the type of
stones you work with. If you are working with soft, porous stones like
chrysacolla, turquoise or variscite, you would be wise to avoid any
oil based coolants – they will discolor your stones, and may even
cause them to crumble and fall apart. When cutting these stones, you
can use water without fear of burning up your saw blades. If you are
going to be cutting agates, jaspers, petrified wood, or other hard
stones, I would recommend Almeg oil if you want your blades to last.
I tried cutting agates with water and a popular additive and my blade
didn’t last the night. Almag oil stinks, and it’s messy, but it gets
the job done. With regard to using food grade oils, word of mouth is
that you should avoid soy oil. It turns into a gummy mess and
guarantees you will spend many hours getting the gunk off of your saw
blade, arbor, bearings, et cetera. Hope this helps!
Re: food grade oils as lapidary coolants - these are petroleum based
oils, not plant extracted oils; they are used in food preparation
because the plant extracted oils gum up the works, just as they do in
lapidary applications; slightly cruder oils such as Pella or Almag
work fine for sawing hard stones; Pella and mineral seal oil are
almost entirely odorless
May I just make a suggestion please. You might try some of the
synthetic coolants available from MSC industrial supply:( on the web: www.msc.com ?) Such as “syncool”, and others. They are listed on the
site. This is used by my husband when grinding. They have no
petroleum content, and are non-clogging. If you want further info about
these coolants, you could contact my husband at: theforge@worldnet.att.net
thanks for reading
Miki C ( since there is a miky on this group)