[meteorite-list] Cutting An Iron

From: John Pierce <lumin9_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2016 11:27:51 -0700
Message-ID: <CADugjYp=EMPUii2c7JmuZr3EGfhCSeFBaQRjbm+9DLob23=qRg_at_mail.gmail.com>

Al,
Thanks for the information about the CBN blades. Good to know!

I took the meteorite to the folks at PSU. They inspected/tested it and
advised that their equipment is not big enough to hold/cut the stone.
I didn't see their saw, so I don't know for sure what their limiting factor
is, but their blade is only 4 inches diameter.

I appreciate your advice, but I trust myself more than I trust most other
people, and I am pretty capable at most shop things. I've done a lot of
machining on steel, and I have another small iron meteorite (if it is even
genuine) that I purchased years ago that I would "practice" on. I have a
horizontal milling machine in my shop that is much more rigid and precise
than any band saw, and which can outfit with a saw blade. With appropriate
care, I can cut a slice of steel that has faces that are parallel within a
few thousandths of an inch. So, while I will consider your advice very
seriously, I'm not quite ready just yet to completely give up the idea of
cutting an analysis sample myself.

Thanks for your wishes of good luck.

On Sat, Jul 2, 2016 at 11:10 AM, <almitt2 at localnet.com> wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> Using a CBN Blade sold by the company you referred to is a bad idea in my
> experience. In the past I used their blades and they were great early on.
> Don't know what happened but the quality of the blades went down and I
> coudn't even cut a half inch before the material on the blade wore off. I
> could feel on the blade where it was smooth and other areas maybe still a
> little cutting material left.
>
> I commented to the company owners before they sold the business and they
> were concerned as I showed them the blades and mentioned how long the
> blades lasted. However the problem was never solved and I stopped wasting
> my $$ on the blades.
>
> I don't recommend that someone who hasn't cut meteorites before cut off a
> sample. Picking the right spot so as not to detract from the mass is
> important. No doubt you will get a lot of people offering to cut for you,
> some good some not so good. Why not take it to the meteorite lab in
> Portland to have a sample cut. I would bet they would allow you to be there
> during the cutting.
>
> I'd make sure they know what they are doing as I have seen cutting jobs
> messed up by some of the best known institutions. One place lost over a
> kilo of material from their lack of knowledge of the material.
>
> Good luck!
>
> --AL Mitterling
> Mitterling Meteorites
>
> Quoting John Pierce via Meteorite-list <
> meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>:
>
>
> > Hello All,
> >
> >
> >
> > This is my first post here. I joined recently because I found a lovely
> > nickel-iron meteorite, and that has spurred my further interest in this
> > subject. My meteorite has been confirmed as the real thing by staff of
> the
> > Meteorite Lab at Portland State University, who would like to perform
> > classification. It is 11.2 kg, and according to PSU staff, it will be
> only
> > the seventh classified meteorite ever found in the state of Oregon.
> >
> >
> >
> > I?ve enjoyed reading these archives, but I haven?t yet been able to find
> > answer to my question.
> >
> >
> >
> > I?m posting here to ask if anyone has any experience cutting an iron
> > meteorite with the CBN blade that is sold by Johnson Brothers Lapidary.
> They
> > advertise it as just the thing for cutting irons. I?m interested to know
>
> > anything about blade life, rim speed, feed rate, and using plain water
> as a
> > coolant/lubricant. For cutting the analysis sample, I have machining
> > experience and very suitable tools, except for the blade, which I would
> > like to be a circular blade.
> >
> >
> >
> > I welcome replies here on the forum, or by private email.
> >
> >
> >
> > Kind regards,
> >
> > John
> >
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/private/meteorite-list/attachments/20160702/cf0b47f9/attachment.html>
Received on Sat 02 Jul 2016 02:27:51 PM PDT