ksskss

I just got a Rigid Tile Saw WTS2000L. My application requires that I cut some stones, some as large as a standard brick into slices as thin as 5 mm thick. I want to do this with the maximum accuracy the saw is capable of. Right now it's off about 2mm on a 8 inch long piece. Is this as good as it gets? I'd really like to get it down to under a mm variation. I haven't started to play with aligning the saw - not sure what to adjust - the rails, the rip fence, the saw mounted to the table etc. Any advice would be helpful. As the material I'm cutting is expensive, I'm also interested in getting as thin a blade as possible to waste less material in the cut, but not at the expense of accuracy. I'd like to hear suggestions on this too. I'll probably be cutting glass too and would like recommendations for an ideal blade for this too. My first post here, so if there's some FAQs to go to on blades or threads that talk about this already, please just refer me to that. --- Ken

angus242

Lots of info and opinions here:

http://www.contractortalk.com/f73/ne...wet-saw-25462/

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ksskss

Thanks, Angus. I read that thread before deciding to join here and ask questions. So I know that not everyone loves the Rigid, and yes Baldor motors are great, etc etc, but I got the saw in near mint condition for $300 so that was convincing to me. Now I need to know how far I can 'push' the limits of the saw's accuracy. In a related question, just how accurate can you set YOUR saw, whether it's a Target IMER Felker, etc. If things work out, my next saw down the road will largely be determined by accuracy that I can squeeze out of a saw My needs are a bit different than most pro contractors or home DIYers. Above all else I need accuracy. Next I need a thin cut. Here's why. I'm also a professional knife sharpener (kitchen, hunting, pocket,etc, including American, Japanese, Euro and Chinese designs), specializing in EXTREMELY sharp edges. I need to cut sharpening stones for specific needs. After I cut a stone, I'll be COMPLETELY cleaning the saw before switching to cutting another type of stone. I'm not in a hurry to cut a lot of stone, but I need accuracy. Potentially one stone might cost as much as $600 so one bad slice could cost me a couple hundred and the difference between a thin and thick cut could be my profit margin. So if the blade is off by a mm or more, that's a problem. I don't mind building some jigs to get this done, but I want accuracy and thin cuts. I've already cut some of these stones and just cutting the stones with a diamond blade doesn't seem to be a problem. So far, I'm not having a splash problem with the Rigid. With the side piece not used but the rear guard installed, I'm not getting any mess around the saw. I'm not seeing any blade wobble at all. NADA. I'm not concerned with high feed rates and so far the blade seems fine, even though I didn't think it would be. But I'd like as thin a blade as I can get that will cut precisely. So this is a general question. I'll gladly consider blades from Pearl, Dewalt, MK or anyone else and willing to pay a reasonable price for what I need. So what5's a better thin blade than the OEM blade. I also have a need to cut glass, so a separate glass cutting blade is another need. I'll be cutting float glass and doubt that there's something that will cut tempered glass, but if there is I certainly would like to hear about it. I know my needs are a little off the beaten path, but you guys seem like the experts, so here I am asking for your advice. If you have any kerf thickness values for blades you are suggesting, that would be a real plus. --- Ken

jarvis design

With regards to cutting tempered glass, I have not tried it myself, but, one of my tile suppliers has a large format tempered glass tile that they claim can by cut (slowly) with a porcelain blade.

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www.JarvisDesignBuild.ca

ksskss

Thanks, Jarvis.

Unfortunately I have some stones already glued to tempered glass, so ideally I'd like to cut them together or cut along the glue joint without shattering the glass. Do you think the porcelin blade would work better than a blade specific to glass?


How well do these 'hotdog' blades work? I also saw mention that the MK 225 blade is a thin blade and that might be interesting.

---
Ken

mikeswoods

I've used MK blades for years. They have a website ,I believe.However--Call the !-800 customer service tec number. I bet they will be able to help.

Another thought-google lapidary diamond blades. I let a friend's daughter use my MK101 to cut stone for a college lapidary class----Her dad bought a lapidary blade for my saw.
It too was MK,hope that helped-----------MIKE

mikeswoods

P.S. Welcome to CT. If you will post your location in your profile,I would find it easier to offer places for you to check out.

Do you have a lapidary supply place any where near you?
Some of the lapidary people have an amazing depth of knowledge and like to share it.

angus242

Ken,

The only blade I use for cutting tile is Raimondi. It's an EXCELLENT blade. They make a glass blade in different sizes but I've never used it.

http://www.raimondiusa.com/db_glass_2008.html

Angus

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mikeswoods

Thanks for the last post Angus-----MK has gone through a lot of changes recently--Always good to know another supplier.--MIKE

ksskss

Thanks. Angus. Ramondi - I'm going to follow up on this lead.

Mike, I'll post my location (Tracy, CA) in my info. I'll also call up the MK tech support folks for more info too.

I lucked into getting an old lapidary saw I'm restoring, but it's a bit small for the stones I'll need to cut and seems to require oil for the cutting which I absolutely can't use. It does use 10 inch blades, so I'll check it out and see what the lapidary people are up to.

So if I get a blade that's thin, what are the downsides to this? Is the blade more apt to warp? I'm perfectly fine with using a very slow feed rate to keep this from happening, gladly sacrificing speed for accuracy, a thin kerf and keeping the blade from warping. Are glass blades thin and am I looking for the same thing in a glass blade as I am in a thin blade for stone cutting?

Again, thanks for all the info!

---
Ken

angus242

The Raimondi glass blades are made to use on a tile wet saw. Thin blades spin faster because they are removing less material. I wouldn't worry about warping. A blade designed for cutting glass should have smaller (and a lot more of) diamond chips on the edge for a smoother cut. If you use a blade that's designed for cutting the material you're using, you shouldn't have any problems. If you are using the wrong blade, I can see how problems could happen.

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mikeswoods

Blades are graded by diamond count and matrix hardness(Hardness of the bronze holding the diamonds)

A Tile blade has a very hard matrix because the tile emits a lot of course grit to eat away at the bronze.

A granite blade -much softer bronze because the stone emits a finer grit that will not wear away the harder matrix of a tile blade.

Seems backwards hard stone =soft bronze----------soft tile=hard bronze

I found a fine explanation long ago on a blade suppliers site. GOOD LUCK

mikeswoods

You will be able to run you"re old lap saw with water(no oil)

Blade stabilizers should be available for thin blades.(They look like fancy washers)

There are lots of lapidary clubs around all welcome guests.

mikeswoods

Howdy Angus,You and I must work in the same neighborhoods occasionally.

angus242

Thread hijack!

I'm in Plainfield. We go all over....Tinley, Palos, Batavia, Oak Brook.....

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mikeswoods

I'm mostly in Naperville ,Lisle,Wheaton,Glen Ellen ,Aurora.Any place with a good paycheck.

ksskss

Thanks again, guys! While we are going OT, I'm not used to the thank you buttons? What's the etiquette here? I'm glad to be clicking away thank yous. Does one get some sort of bonus for most thank yous, or is this just building up 'good karma'?

Angus it's sounding like a glass blade may solve both issues - thin kerf and finer cut too. I'll 'work over' Raimondi tech support too and if I get some interesting comments, I'll put them up here.

Both of your explanations of grit sizes and the underlying matrix substrates make sense. I use diamond for knife sharpening so this is somewhat familiar turf for me, using grits from 120 grit to 160,000 grit for my knife edges (0.1 microns). Now you've got me curious about what grits are used in these blades. For sharpening plates, I believe a nickel matrix is usually used. I know I'm asking too many questions in one thread (hijacking my own thread ), but the idea of revitalizing these blades by grinding away some of the matrix is a new one for me. This might have uses for my plates too. What's the best way of doing this?

---
Ken

angus242

A dressing stone. Raimondi will promote theirs:

https://www.tiletools.com/product/ra...-stone-958.cfm



EDIT: Use the Thanks button at will. We get nothing other than "status"

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ksskss

Excellent! I like the size too. Might try this on my older plates too.

While I was there I found this:

Raimondi® T3 Razor™ 10" Super-core Diamond Blade

(Sorry I can't post the full URL). Here's a partial one

.../product/10-t3-diamond-blade-raimondi-razor-t3-triple-threat-560.cfm

with a 0.05" kerf.

Might be just the ticket. I'll ask the tech folks to compare these two Raimondi blades. Great! I feel like I'm getting this going.

---
Ken

angus242

Ken,

That's the blade I use ($$$). However, remember the size/quantity of the diamond chips on the rim. Even though it's a thin blade, you still may be better off with a glass-specific blade. Tech support should be able to tell you the kerf size of the glass blades.

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