Cutting fossils and rocks with a cheap tile saw

[FranzBernhard]

Hello,

here is my experience with my cheap little tile saw purchased 12/22/2020. That´s the setup at the moment:

Some modifications and additions:

- I rotated the saw by 180°. This is first to reduce spraying into the face. And second it is much easier to "feed" from the back. You also have much more visual control producing an even cut in this way. Electric switch is now at the back right, which is no problem.

- Glued two thin plates (2 mm) onto the table, touching the blade. The table has a big gap at one side of the blade to allow tilting of the table. That´s a nuisance, specimens can get easily jammed in this gap during feeding, resulting in very uneven cuts. The line where the two plates (nearly) meet is also a very good visual guide. Cutting height is now 32.5 mm.

- Build a hood out of wood and toilet paper bags, not many words needed.

- Saw is sitting in an old backing tray.

- Cable connection needs to be a little bit lifted with a small rock, otherwise it is bend outside the anti-kink device and is dipping into the water... (faulty design!).

- A lamp was already there.

 

Results:

- The blade cuts extremely well, the motor is powerful enough. Cutting one of the larger fossils only takes half a minute or so.

- It consumes a lot of water, dripping onto the backing tray. No problem, just suck it up with a sponge cloth regularly. Used about 2-3 liter for 8 specimens, refilling at least after every cut!

- The motor becomes warm rather quickly, it takes about 250 Watt running idle. It is rated for 600 Watt and 10 minutes short-time duty. I don´t think, it would survive that... So I have to let it cool down regularly, when it becomes very warm to the touch (maybe about 50° C surface temp.?).

- The cuts are quite uneven for my taste. This comes from the fact, that the diamond-bearing ring is relatively thick compared to the metal disc carrying the diamond-bearing ring. But that´s the way it is. The better your fine motor skills, the smoother the cut. Mine are not good...

- Highest specimen I have cut was 69 mm high. This resulted in a little "knob" in the middle, had no problem to grind it away with the saw blade.

- Saw is situated in the basement, have no sink there. This is also a little bit of a nuisance, but that´s again the way it is. Using a bucket instead.

- It is potentially dangerous. I have nearly 30 years experience with such kind of saws. I you have none, I strongly recommend personal and practical advice of someone experienced with these kind of machines and work.

- Safety googles are a must, of course.

- Gloves may be good, but such diamond blades are quite smooth, no real danger for accidental serious injuries by the blade itself.

- Ear protection can be worn, but it is not extremely loud and when you are using it only for a few minutes every week or so, it does not matter.

- Biggest danger are flying rocks when feeding the saw improperly. But this never occurred to me in 30 years. Just feed it correctly.

 

Here are the results of today´s early morning work, box is 30x20 cm, biggest specimen to the lower left:

 

Feel free to ask anything.
Franz Bernhard

[Ruger9a]

Thanks for the idea Franz!  I have an older tile cutting saw that I was just recently thinking of getting rid of, but, now I think I'll try your setup and see if I can trim some of my fossils..........

[Sjfriend]

Nice little set up. Though I do wonder why you're using such a saw to cut cinnamon rolls 

[FranzBernhard]

2 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

Though I do wonder why you're using such a saw to cut cinnamon rolls

Have you every tried to cut an 80 million years old cinnamon roll with a knife   ?

 

Btw, I don´t cut "nice" snails, only partial ones or some totally covered with firmly sticking sandstone, without any visible spira. The "nicely" weathered ones are all still alive and will stay alive:

Trochactaeon Kainach uncut specimens (external site)

 

Franz Bernhard