hi all,

I have been thinking about slabbing up some stones for some projects but have come to the conclusion that I cant afford 1-3 grand for a good slab saw. I haven't had much luck finding a used one either.

What i do have is a combo disk/ belt sander (like the one pictured below) that I don't use much and think I could convert. It has a 1/3 HP motor that runs at 1750 rpm. I think i could extend the arbor out a few inches so the blade could sit in a cooling tank.

My question is...... is 1750 rpm going to be fast enough for say an 8 inch blade ? Does anyone else have experience building saws ??

I don't know much about slab saws, but I would think that slow is better for cutting stone. throw up some pictures of the type of saw you hope to have and I will think on it a bit.

you could always make it a variable speed device .

Hi DoubleTerm,
I have an Inland Swap-Top cabbing machine. It has an 8" cutting/trim blade. I checked the specs and my motor is 2800 RPM (with variable speed).
I also have a Lortone LU6X-130 Lapidary machine. It has a 6" dia trim blade. Motor is 1/3hp, 1725 RPM.
I think that your RPMs will be fine but torque may be an issue. Do you have the specs for torque on your motor? We can cross-reference and compare.

DT... I have a Lortone as well, it's a 14" slab saw that works pretty well, if you need a few rocks slabbed I'd be happy to do it. One thing to think about for your saw, the saw I have submerses @1/3 of the blade for cooling purposes in conjunction with a special cutting oil with a high flashpoint. By looking at the pic it looks like the blade doesn't extend below the table very much, you might have to find a way to raise it up so the blade gets enough cooling to it...

I contemplated that. Thats why I would have to extend the arbor out a few inches after I remove the sanding wheel. At least thats my idea. I would also bolt the base of the machine to blocks so I can have a 2 or 4 inch pan for coolant below the level of the arbor