I studied Jewelry Design and Construction years ago and now plan to
pick-up where I left off. I have also accumulated some used
Lapidary equipment after living in New Mexico for several years and
am in the process of refurbishing that gear.
I have a Loritone 12" slab saw that needs a new blade, but I can’t
seem to find much comparing the variety of replacement
blades available. Seems like the factory blades run about $130
through a local Lapidary supply, but I have also seen blades
advertised for about half that price on the net. Much of what I
plan to cut is hard - agate, petrified wood, rhyolite, and some
other minerals.
I’m also curious how I can effectively slab an entire specimen in
the Loritone by extending the specimen outside the vice - any easy
methods besides gluing the rock to a piece of lumber?
Mark - Given what you plan to cut, you should buy a high quality
blade. Likely this will be over $100, and even at a discount will be
at least $75. The difference will show up over time, as it wears in;
the better blades last far longer than the inexpensive ones. If you
don’t want to glue your cutting material to wood, then you can cast
it in “bricks”, using either plaster of paris or sand mix concrete.
I use paster; some folks object to how long it takes to settle out.
I use 1/2 gallon milk/juice cartons for my molds, and put in as much
material as I can while retaining some space between pieces for the
plaster; load the carton as you pour in the plaster; let it cure for
12 hours or so, and there you are! Always use a good cutting oil for
cutting with your saw.
I’ve yet to determine whether I have a local distributor for these
blades - the one rock shop I visited offered the Loritone 12"
replacement blade for $138; that was the only blade they had in
stock.
The MK301 will be my choice - a good blade should last me a long
time. If I wear it out, I will have created much for others to
enjoy.