A New Slab Saw

Shortly after starting rock hounding I purchased a used ten inch trim saw to cut my rocks.  After cleaning up that saw and adding an auto feed from another ten inch saw I had a pretty good saw for cutting.  The only problem was I couldn’t cut a lot of the materials I brought home.  The limit for that saw was about three and half inches.  I quickly realized I needed a bigger slab saw.

I began to look online for a new slab saw and was shocked at the cost of a new saw.  It was hard to image spending thousands of dollars for a saw when I was just starting with the hobby.  What if I found that rock hounding was just a temporary interest?  I then started to look for a used saw.  This went on for a couple of years.  I would find a saw for sale and not have the money.  Then I would have the money but no saws would be for sale in my area.

Royal Slab Saw

Last August my friend Tony called one evening and told me had just picked up a sixteen inch Royal slab saw in Portland, Oregon.  He asked me if I wanted it and told me he could drop it off at my house on his way home.  I really wanted to say yes but once again I didn’t have the money.  I had just spent a ton of money on a mini vacation to Montana, a surgery for my kid and vehicle repairs.  I told Tony that I couldn’t do it at the time but if he still had the saw in September maybe I could do it then.

September came along and I did have the money and Tony still had the saw.  The only problem was I needed the money for a trip to Wyoming that I had been planning for almost nine months.  I really wanted to go rock hounding in Wyoming but I also really wanted the saw.  A decision needed to be made and after some thought I decided to cancel the trip and buy the saw.

Spider Man Jasper Slabs

A few weeks ago Tony delivered the saw to my house.  I was so excited and could hardly wait to start cutting some rocks but first I had to go help Tony load a rock collection he had just purchased.  After loading the rock collection my fried Jason who also helped with loading the collection headed back to my house to start up the saw.  We put oil in it and found that there was a small leak.  After getting the leak under control we loaded a rock and flipped the switch.  Yes! I was finally cutting big rocks.

Picasso Marble Slabs

After the first face cut everything looked great.  I adjusted the vice to cut a slab, set the auto shutoff and started again.  Jason headed home and I went inside for a few minutes.  When I returned to the garage I found oil flowing all over the floor.  The little leak we thought we had under control turned it a really big leak.  I turned the saw off and yelled for my wife.  My wife helped me get things under control then I used my shop-vac along with a collection bucket I made to clean my ten inch saw to clean the mess and remove the remaining oil from the saw.

Later that evening Jason called to see how the cutting was going.  I told him about the problem and we talked about ways to resolve it.  I also told him that I was not upset because that is part of buying used equipment.  All but one piece of my equipment I purchased used and I had to repair every piece including the new piece to get them working correctly so why would this be any different?  A couple days later Tony called and said that Jason had told him about my saw and that he would be in town Saturday and would come by and fix it.  His call was just in time because I was literally in the car heading to purchase a piece of metal flashing to patch the holes.

Wild Horse Jasper Slabs

Tony came by Saturday with a torch and brazing rods.  As he would patch one hole another would open up.  This went on for a while before we decide that a section would need to be cut out and replaced.  Tony took the saw with him and told me he would bring it back repaired.  The following Thursday he called and told me that he had replaced the complete bottom and added a drain valve.   He said that he would be in town in a few days and would bring the saw back then.  Wednesday morning he called to tell me he was on the way.   I was not home so he left in the garage.

That evening I came home from work and started using the saw.  I have been cutting almost every minute that I have been home and awake since then.  The new saw has been running like a champ.  I am very thankful that Tony went above and beyond to make sure I had a good running saw.

Agate Nodule in Saw Vice

If you are looking for used lapidary equipment or rough rock Tony is the man to contact.  At last count he had 22 saws.  Clicking the banner below will take you to his website where you can contact him.  The items listed in his site are a very small sample of what he has to offer.