[meteorite-list] Why not oil /diamond blades for cutting meteorites?

From: dean bessey <deanbessey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:32:52 2004
Message-ID: <20040320181949.34522.qmail_at_web12304.mail.yahoo.com>

I have tried oil and it works great. The cuts are
smooth, fast and the blades last forever. However, the
oil got imbedded in the meteorite cut surface and
stained them (And possibly weathered them more also)
and it made a huge (And I mean HUGE) mess that took me
three months to completely clean up.
Alcohol also worked very well and almost as good as
oil and made no mess whatsoever and cuts were smooth
and fast and do no damage to the meteorite. I have
seen tons of sparks that went directly into the
alcohol filled cooling pan and no evidence that I was
about to start a fire. I ocasionally use alcohol on
delicate things like Bensour for example but what I
didnt like was that it made a lot of fumes and since
most alcohol is piosenous I was worried about health
concerns from breathing in the fumes and so dont
typically use it. If you could devise a totally
outside air supply to breath then alcohol in my
opinion would probably be the best thing to use as a
coolant. Maybe I could rig up my scuba regulator or
something.
As far as blades go I find that those meteorite blades
dont last very long. The worst blade was ADVANTAGE
which literally fell apart on me after 30 seconds. I
couldent get over how bad those were. Theres bad
blades and then there is advantage blades.
I really give blades a hard going over so I would make
a good tester for companies wanting to develop new
blades. And I give a major thumbs down to Advantage
blades.
I use pro slicer blades and find them the best overall
but they wont cut Iron (I have never been able to
manage to cut Irons). There is a certain MK model
blade that I like better but it cost more than twice
as much and only lasts 50% longer so my opinion is
that pro slicer is your "workhorse" blade and best
value for the money. I buy them 50 at a time from the
manufacturer to get the maximun discount.
When I was a teanager we used to pick berries by the
multiple 5 gallon can and brewed them in 45 gallon
drums for 5 months (Mother nature loves me - the
berries ripened in august and christmas was in
december) and then ran off the wine that we brewed
from it (And I was good, my stuff ignited and burned
forever - just like the flame of vesta). After all
those years I am not sure if I still have my
distillery skills but for making high quality (And
highly potent) meteorite coolant, I bet that if I
tried really really hard, I could still manage to, ah,
nawwwwww - I have better things to do.
Most dealers use water as a coolant. After cutting I
then bake my meteorites in the oven to get all of the
water out as fast as possible.
Cheers
Dean










--- Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_cox.net> wrote:
> Hi Elton and all,
> I am surprised no one who does more cutting
> than I has responded.
> It goes like this:
> Oil is fine for irons and even pallasites.
> Oil sucks for stones (and mesosiderites) because it
> discolors them
> horribly. (I do know one fine finisher that does use
> oil, but then
> puts all pieces in cat litter [the kind free of
> chemicals - this is
> important]
> for a minimum of 3 months to leach out the oil).
> Most do not have
> the time, space, patience and ability to delay
> financial return to
> utilize such a technique. I assume it works, as his
> stuff is dandy.
> So, since oil horribly discolors stone, this
> is why most use alcohol.
> Water (usually used with "cutting" solution added)
> is a no-no because
> water is the enemy of meteorites.
> Some use water and then immediately immerse
> the piece(s) in
> 99% alcohol which has a phenomenal propensity to
> absorb water,
> then put them in a stove with a pilot light where
> the humidity is
> near zero. The alcohol, which absorbed the water, is
> then evaporated
> rapidly.
> Be warned: alcohol is highly flammable, burns
> with a nearly
> invisible flame AND IS MUCH HOTTER than say a candle
> flame. When
> cutting with alcohol I always use as small amount as
> required, have
> a towel handy and running water near by. Still makes
> me nervous,
> but it is my preferred method - except in the
> exceptionally expensive
> pieces, where I use a new blade and NO cooling and
> toss the blade,
> such as with small Martian and Lunar specimens.
> In any event, I avoid oil at all costs.
> Best wishes, Michael
>
>
> on 3/19/04 11:21 AM, E. L. Jones at jonee_at_epix.net
> wrote:
>
> > Ok, I know this was covered recently but my
> archives are gone.
> >
> > I've been here years but, pretend I haven't and
> review for me the
> > technical nuiances.
> >
> > Why is cutting with transformer oil not desirable
> for cutting/ windowing
> > meteorites?
> >
> > Why do some recommend a carbide blade vs a
> diamond blade? Is this a
> > distinction for iron vs stone samples?
> >
> > Any recommendations for cutting impactites such as
> Reis Seuvite?
> >
> > (Actually my 14" saw finally arrived after nearly
> two years and I wan't
> > to cut something! I'd rather not be swapping out
> oil and ethanol each
> > time I get in the mood to saw different
> materials.)
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Elton
> >
> > ______________________________________________
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> >
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>
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> probably
> meant don't kill them.
> Anonymous
> --
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>
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html
> --
> cool message fro Ben & Jerry:
> www.TrueMajority.org/oreo
> --
> AMAZING photos of Aurora Borealis, etc.
> http://faculty.rmwc.edu/tmichalik/atmosphere.htm
> --
> Hubble space telescope - AMAZING photos!:
>
http://wires.news.com.au/special/mm/030811-hubble.htm
> --
> http://www.costofwar.com/
> --
> SUPPORT OUR TROUPS:
> http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html
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> Worth Seeing: Earth at night from satellite:
>
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg
> --
> - Interactive Lady Liberty:
> http://doody36.home.attbi.com/liberty.htm
> --
> Earth - variety of choices:
> http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/vplanet.html
> --
> Michael Blood Meteorites:
> http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/
>
>
>
>
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Received on Sat 20 Mar 2004 01:19:49 PM PST