LAPIDARY DIAMOND SAW BLADES

DO's AND DON'TS

BLADES AVAILABLE:

Musto Industries, Inc. provides you with the largest selection of premium quality metal bonded diamond saw blades available for lapidary. Whether your requirement is for precise trimming of precious gems in preparation for faceting or the slabbing of boulders, we manufacture a diamond saw blade that will meet your needs.

Our MK Diamond Products Division has been engaged in the research, production, and sale of  sintered metal bonded diamond abrasive saw blades for over a quarter of a century. MK Diamond was one of the first to develop the process for manufacturing low-cost notch-rim diamond blades for the lapidary hobby. We market world-wide under the well known "MK" and "CONGO" labels as a number of private brand labels.

To provide maximum choice, addition to notched rims we offer a selection of diamond saw blades with other rim designs. These include the sintered metal bonded continuous rims-both standard and thin rim-and the INTERLOC "segmented" rim.

COMPOSITION OF LAPIDARY DIAMOND SAW BLADES:

Diamond saw blades produced by: "MK" are composed of four basic materials. THESE ARE: diamonds, silver solder, powder metal and steel core. As a manufacture, these materials, as well as the total manufacturing process  a diamond saw blade must go through, are of major concern to us. However, of even greater importance is Quality Control.  Through record keeping  and a quality control program with checks and balances at all stages of production enable "MK" to consistently produce premium quality diamond blades.

We use General Electric "Man Made" diamonds in all our lapidary saw blades. After the development of "Man Made" industrial diamonds, "MK"  conducted extensive research into their use its lapidary saw blades. These diamonds have a number of attractive characteristics, whole crystal rather than crushed powder, uniform practical shaping , and excellent production quality control with predictable. For these reasons "MK" switched to "GE" "MAN MADE" industrial diamonds, in 1964 and selected 60/80 mesh size. High grade steel cores having excellent tensioning characteristics are used. Silver solder is used as a eutectic binder to hold the diamonds in place.  Powdered metal distributes the diamonds uniformly in the rim notches and is impregnated with silver solder in an oxygen-free-atmosphere furnace.

SELECTING THE BEST BLADE:

Several factors should be considered when selecting a diamond blade that will best meet your cutting requirements. Among these are the capacity of the saw and its condition, the type of material to be cut and its purpose, operator experience and price. If the blade is going to be slabbing  primarily hard, dense agate and/or petrified wood, and material loss is not critical. standard rim blades with studier cores should be selected. However, if material loss must be held to a minimum, then a premium notched rim {ARTISAN THIN INDUSTRIAL}, rim blade should be your choice. Similarly, if you are considering the purchase of the thin rim trim saw blade versus one of standard thickness, consider the material you'll be sawing. If it is precious, such as sapphire, YAG, spinal or ruby, your choice should be a thin rim. But if it is Brazilian agate, jasper or other material, a standard, more durable blade will be the correct selection. Thin rim blades are extremely delicate and require an experienced lapidary's patience and touch. If your trim saw will be operated by inexperienced people, for example students in a class, thicker rim diamond saw blades must be considered.

Your choice of diamond saw blades for slabbing should be determined by the condition of your equipment. Thin industrial blades can only be used on machines in good condition which are capable of high RPM. Criteria for good sawing of slabs are parallel sides and smooth surface finishes. If your slab saw is in good condition and you are an experienced operator, you may want to consider a continuous rim blade.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE:

Blade installation time is ideal for thoroughly cleaning  and inspecting your saw thoroughly.

The following are some easy checks which you can make at this time:

 1- ARBOR SHAFT PLAY- It must spin smoothly. To check for radial play grasp the blade end of the shaft, and try to move it back and forth. If you feel any movement, there is radial play. To check for axial play, try move the shaft in and out. Any movement indicates axial play. If either condition exists, the blade will not run smoothly when sawing. Radial play will cause the blade to pound against the work piece causing short blade life.  Axial play will cause the blade to shift, dishing it, or even causing loss of tension. The core will fatigue and eventually break out of the center. Arbor shaft play indicates worn bearings or bent shaft. It is wise to install new bearings and if necessary, an entire arbor assembly.

2. ARBOR SHAFT SURFACE- Lapidary blades are manufactured with an arbor hole  .005" over size to provide a snug fit on the shaft. If the shaft is worn the blade will not spin concentrically with the arbor. A worn down arbor shaft should be replaced before any cutting is done.

3. FLANGES- Very special attention should be given to the blade {COLLARS}. Their purpose is to support the blade 9ver a large surface area and to help prevent deflection at the beginning and ending of a cut where there is little or no work piece support. Flanges must meet current safety standards.

Remove both from the arbor, clean and inspect them thoroughly. If you detect gouges or burns on the contact surfaces, they should be replaced or resurfaced at a machine shop. When the contact surfaces are put together they must lie flat and no light should be visible. If there is, then the faces are not parallel and will distort the blade. They should be recessed approximately three quarters of their diameter-flange contact surface must contact the blade away from its center in order to support and not distort it. When you install the blade, tighten the arbor nut firmly, but not so much that you will collapse the flanges. NEVER grip the blade for tightening leverage. Instead hand-grasp the arbor drive.

4-BELT- adjust the bell tension so that you can squeeze the bell approximately 1/2" on a trim saw, 1" on a slab saw.

5- ELECTRICAL POWER - Check all connections, especially the motor cord for breaks in the insulation. Keep motor cord as short as possible to prevent power loss. If you installed the drive motor your self, it should have the same horse power and be the same rating as that recommended  by the manufacturer.

6- MACHINE LOCATION-Make the floor or platform beneath the machine is sturdy and level. If not the machine will vibrate and cause the blade to flutter. With slab saws it is important to be aware of carriage-vise assembly alignment. This assembly must travel parallel to the arbor shaft in order to make straight cuts. High quality slab and trim saws are precision aliened by the manufacturer and should rarely require re-alignment, except when the arbor assembly is removed for repair or replacement.

In addition, prior to doing any cutting, two very important need consideration. These are the speed of which to run a blade and the use of a suitable coolant/lubricant: each  of these has a profound overall cutting performance, in terms of life, cutting quality and speed. The speed at which a blade runs is expressed in two ways, either in revolutions per minute {RPM}, or in its peripheral speed-surface feet per minute (SFPM}. The formulas that follow will provide you with answers to speed and pulley diameter calculations.

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

MINIMUM ORDER $30.00