Best wet tile saw

[lvschiavo]

can anyone tell me what's the best tool for LPS fraging anywhere from $100 to $200 dollars

[coralfever]

HD or Lowes sells a small wet saw for under $100. It is the one with the blade mounted under the table, like a regular woodworking table saw. I use it all the time, its great but the over spray gets you soaked.

[ksteiny]

A dremel tool might work for you as well.

[RokleM]

If you watch Harbor Freight (if you have one nearby), they typically have one for sale at 50-60 every few months.

[Blackwood]

What Dremel and what bit do you use?

[RokleM]

Most seem to use any "rotary tool" (Dremel is one obviously) with a diamond tipped circular blade.

[lvschiavo]

Originally posted by ksteiny
A dremel tool might work for you as well.

thanks,but i was asking about a tile wet saw

[RedSonja]

Keep an eye out on the pawn shops and look for a Felker wet saw. We got a TM-75 model. New, they run $300 but you might find one for half that if you don't mind a used one. Bear in mind the blades are a continuing expense, though; they definitely don't last forever. :/

-Sonja

[lvschiavo]

Originally posted by RedSonja
Keep an eye out on the pawn shops and look for a Felker wet saw. We got a TM-75 model. New, they run $300 but you might find one for half that if you don't mind a used one. Bear in mind the blades are a continuing expense, though; they definitely don't last forever. :/

-Sonja

HOW LONG DO THE BLADES LAST?

[RedSonja]

We've used ours for our porcelain tile project in our house, more than fragging corals so I can't tell you exactly. I know porcelain is much harder than coral skeleton so it's going through blades a lot faster than if we were just fragging. But we can make about 250 cuts of porcelain tile per $55.00 saw blade. Which is a big part of why our floor still isn't finished.

For cutting coral, you should get a lot more use and be able to use cheaper blades. Say, 700 or so cuts as a rough estimate/wild guess.

HTH

-Sonja

[lvschiavo]

Originally posted by RedSonja
We've used ours for our porcelain tile project in our house, more than fragging corals so I can't tell you exactly. I know porcelain is much harder than coral skeleton so it's going through blades a lot faster than if we were just fragging. But we can make about 250 cuts of porcelain tile per $55.00 saw blade. Which is a big part of why our floor still isn't finished.

For cutting coral, you should get a lot more use and be able to use cheaper blades. Say, 700 or so cuts as a rough estimate/wild guess.

HTH

-Sonja

thank you very much

[highquality]

I know your asking about a tile saw, but I picked up a table band saw for 100$. works great and the blade is thin. you can curve some as well. I have a hard time with the hardest of hard corals like echinopora. Micro and acan and zoa rocks are a breeze and clean. good luck

[lvschiavo]

Originally posted by highquality
I know your asking about a tile saw, but I picked up a table band saw for 100$. works great and the blade is thin. you can curve some as well. I have a hard time with the hardest of hard corals like echinopora. Micro and acan and zoa rocks are a breeze and clean. good luck

how come you didn't get the wet tile saw?

[RokleM]

The problem with a band saw from what I've heard is the fact 1) it isn't wet 2) the minimal salt water on your frags will rust it with a quickness. That's the benefit of the wet tile saw.

[Meisen]

Yeah Harbor Freight is not a bad place to try....their stuff is low quality but very cheap. For the abuse that soaking in saltwater and coral grime creates, better to not have too much invested. I think I got my small one at HF for 35.00 plus 5.00 for a pack of replacement wheels. FWIW, I use the regular abrasive grinder pads (on the advice of Dave at Oceans Floor) instead of the original diamond saw wheel that came with it. These run wont open up your finger or hand if you touch them while cutting the coral. If you are cutting something very tough, you will probably need to put the diamond wheel back in but for most Acans and other brain-types, the grinding wheel works just fine. I like the diamond wheel too when working on Duncans or other smaller pieces since it is thinner and much more precise. While a dremel would work here too, the wet saw is nice b/c the water acts as a coolant and you dont get tissue burn back around the cut.

And yah, anticipate a big mess while you are doing any cutting with a 10K rpm wheel spinning in saltwater and coral goo.

[Ken668]

If you want nice quality cuts with less tissue damage, skip the tile saw and get a lapidary saw. The blades are much thinner and creates less heat buildup. Anthony C. uses a portable version of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/INLAND-LAPIDARY-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

[Thricelll]

Originally posted by Meisen
Yeah Harbor Freight is not a bad place to try....their stuff is low quality but very cheap. For the abuse that soaking in saltwater and coral grime creates, better to not have too much invested. I think I got my small one at HF for 35.00 plus 5.00 for a pack of replacement wheels. FWIW, I use the regular abrasive grinder pads (on the advice of Dave at Oceans Floor) instead of the original diamond saw wheel that came with it. These run wont open up your finger or hand if you touch them while cutting the coral. If you are cutting something very tough, you will probably need to put the diamond wheel back in but for most Acans and other brain-types, the grinding wheel works just fine. I like the diamond wheel too when working on Duncans or other smaller pieces since it is thinner and much more precise. While a dremel would work here too, the wet saw is nice b/c the water acts as a coolant and you dont get tissue burn back around the cut.

And yah, anticipate a big mess while you are doing any cutting with a 10K rpm wheel spinning in saltwater and coral goo.

How bad are the cuts on fingers if you accidently bump into the blade? I've had some near misses trying to cut up large blocks of Acans.

[Meisen]

With the diamond saw you will likely cut through quite a few layers of skin....depends on how hard you hit if of course. Anyway, not the best thing to be exposing your deeper tissue layers and bloodstream to to all the compounds and microbes in coral slime. JMO, I am not a MD or anything lol.