Lapidary wire saw

Jewelry Discussion
1

I have run into a situation where I need a lapidary diamond wire saw
for a particular cut. my slab and trim saws will not work, and, due
to the geometry, I cannot use a ‘ring saw’ such as the taurus.

has any body had any experience making or using a wire saw? i need
about a 6" kerf.

Mark Zirinsky

2

Hi Mark,

 I have run into a situation where I need a lapidary diamond wire
saw for a particular cut. my slab and trim saws will not work, and,
due to the geometry, I cannot use a 'ring saw' such as the taurus.

Have you tried the 'Cuti Pi"? It’s a scroll saw made by Taylor Mfg.
(paleoart.com/members/taylor). The saw can accept diamond coated
blades as well as jewelers saw blades & others. I’ve never used one,
but have seen it demonstrated.

Dave

3

I purchased a Gryphon diamond bandsaw about 6 months ago for $175.
It will do a 6" kerf with ease in agate, psilomelane and other hard
stone. The Gryphon’s main market is stained glass cutters.

John Bozeman
It’s In The Works Studio
Little Rock

Note From Ganoksin Staff:
Looking for a galss cutter tool for your jewelry projects? We recommend:

4 
    I have run into a situation where I need a lapidary diamond
wire saw for a particular cut. my slab and trim saws will not work,
and, due to the geometry, I cannot use a 'ring saw' such as the
taurus.

g’day if you are interested in what can be done with a hard tough
material like jade, go to orchid archives ;-

http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm

and use the search engine to locate ‘te hei matau’ -john burgess

i found the diamond coated wire was inexpensive, and when water
lubricated and cooled, and used with a hand operated jeweller’s saw
frame lasted a considerable while. the slot made by the saw blade
[the kerf] was about 1/16 wide. a bit laborious; but it didn’t
last 3 minutes when used with a mechanical jig saw. diamond burrs
were used to give the final smooth shape. after sanding, it was
polished with tin oxide on a leather disc with water. 50,000 grit
diamond powder is faster, but i didn’t think i could afford that in
those days. i could now; i’m a ‘poor’ pensioner with no rent,
mortgage, car repayments, school fees, health insurance… bin
there, dun all that.

Cheers for now,
John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of Mapua, Nelson NZ

5

check out the gryphon wire saw. Very fine diamond wire that allows
you to cut very fine designs in stone slabs. Not recommended for
metal cutting.