Rockwerks Lapidary Forum

I would like to buy a rock saw for slabbing. Most of my rough is about 6" thick.
Is there a difference between using a tile saw and a rock saw?

Thanks,
Reddirt

Hi Reddirt,
Welcome to the group.
For cutting 6" rough you would need a 14" saw. Tile saws only use water, and generally you want to use oil on any saw larger than 10". Tile saws are much messier, and only designed for thin cuts thru tile. You will want to go the slab saw route, I know, my first saw was a tile saw. I ended up making my own slab saws, a 24" and a 12".
Feel free to ask more questions and again welcome to the board,
KOR
Dan

Welcome to the Rockwerks forum Reddirt,
..............I notice lots of people use a tile saw. Don't they spin too fast with an rpm around 3,500? I can see them working for a piece that is already slabbed and you are using it as a trim saw of sorts. I too was about to buy a tile saw when I had no clue what I was doing and I still feel the same way. For example what rpm should a rock saw be operated? I can not find anything in the forum searches concerning this.
.......I agree with the above post from Dan. You need a large rock saw for 6" rough, tile saw is out of the question. Also I think one can be made that is better than spending big bucks on it and I plan to pick Dans brains a little more about it. I can see it is somewhat basic. You need a motor a pulley a belt an arbor to turn the saw blade a reservoir for the water and a frame to mount it on.
Blarney Stone

i think you want a blade speed of around 1500 to 1800 rpm for a slab saw and around 3000 for a trim saw. a tile saw might be perfectly acceptable for a trim saw. the issue you will run into with the tile saw is that for one that will hold up long term its going to cost as much if not more then a lapidary trim saw. welcome and let us know how and if we can help more.

Don't know about speeds, I used a tile saw for trimming. It worked pretty well. Early on I got a 16" slab saw, and it has worked on most of the rocks I wanted to cut.

I agree about the tile saws. They are great for trim work. I have been using a 4" tile saw from Home Depot for over three years now. Blades can be had for $10 or less.

But for slabbing, you need a slab saw. I have a 10" Highland Park saw that I bought on eBay. Many shortcomings, not the least of which being a poorly designed vise to hold the rough material. But for small pieces, it works pretty well. If I ever get off my lazy butt and clean it up, I also have a 14" saw that should take care of anything I have in the rock pile.