H
holdendaniel
Guest
Looking into buying a band saw for coral fragging what exp. Have you had with which saws any info helps
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Hopefully Adam or Roscoe will chime in soon. They have the perfect band saw, for coral fragging, but I can't remember the brand name. I know that they are designed for glass cutting, but that's all I can remember....lol.
ashton
Well-known member
Its the speedster XL bandsaw, I have a friend using one also and they are a great saw to frag with.
jaygalindo
Mariners Fanatic
The Inland DFS-100
The Oregon club did a groupbuy on this thing and got them for like $170 a piece but oh wait we can't do group buys here...
Video
The Oregon club did a groupbuy on this thing and got them for like $170 a piece but oh wait we can't do group buys here...
Video
Let's get our facts straight and tell the entire story, shall we?
The Oregon Club, PNWMAS, DID do a group buy on them, THROUGH a LFS that was a Sponsor on their forum. That particular forum is also their official club forum. The Sponsor was TheNanoReef, the thread is located here, http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20142&highlight=Inland+Band+Saw
You CAN do a group buy, through a Sponsor on this forum. In fact, I'm sure one of the Sponsors in your area would be happy to host such a group buy.
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DonW
R.I.P.
Those inland saws have been around for years and marketed for whatever the niche of the day happens to be. Any standard drycut band saw is plenty to cut calcerous corals. Ive cut them and live rock on my tiny crapsman, little jet and PM2415. I wouldnt get cought up in the cooled blade gimick. For most just a pair of wire snips is plenty.
Don
Don
jrgilles
Well-known member
What I remember from the PSAS fragging siminar last year was that the saw was all plastic except the blade. Adam said the salt water will really mess up any metal parts on the saw, so all plastic is the way to go
Fully agree. Any band saw will do. Here on the east coast we have places like NorthernTools and HarborFreight That cut the prices in half compared to HD or Lowes. Not the best tools but I will use them for stuff like this that will get trashed in time.
If this is for your own use you may also want to consider a scroll saw instead. There smaller.
Me, I use my dremmel with the circular blades. Very light and easy to use.
Myteemouse
NOTHING
I have the inland.. And yes they have a plastic tray option. and yes the only metal part are the screws for the adjustable arm guide and the springs on the wheel.
and the stainless diamond bit blade..
any band saw will do the job, and a scroll saw would be even better..
smaller blades is KEY for detailed turns in a coral .
BUT I CAN SO tell the difference in smell and cut health on thicker LPS ... The little water running over the blade helps..
There are many other brands and type of band saws that have small blades and diamond coated ones too.
Heck if you were to speed up the saw enough you could use the small toothed metal blade on it if you went slow enough through the corals.
The question he asked was """what exp. Have you had with which saws any info helps"""
The man just want Experience with a particular tool so he can research what tool he would like to purchase for himself ..
and the stainless diamond bit blade..
any band saw will do the job, and a scroll saw would be even better..
smaller blades is KEY for detailed turns in a coral .
BUT I CAN SO tell the difference in smell and cut health on thicker LPS ... The little water running over the blade helps..
There are many other brands and type of band saws that have small blades and diamond coated ones too.
Heck if you were to speed up the saw enough you could use the small toothed metal blade on it if you went slow enough through the corals.
The question he asked was """what exp. Have you had with which saws any info helps"""
The man just want Experience with a particular tool so he can research what tool he would like to purchase for himself ..
Myteemouse
NOTHING
Oh and by the way.. that dude in the video is an idiot..
He was bogging down the motor in the saw. we didnt have any clue what he was chopping off of the one plug.. AND that said polyp on that plug he was fingering like it was ,, well ,,
his uumm nose,, (*thinks to self *that will work) .
I have seen colors rub off my zoo's when rubbed to hard
he was just flicking away at his cool polyp that was open before he zipped it off the plug..
I usually try to get all of the polyps to close first before fragging zoos and palys. not only is it safer for the polyps , it's easier to cut in between them.
BUT on the video, that big zoo rock, he was just hacking away at it. mowin polyps like they were dandelions in your grass in the summer.
He was bogging down the motor in the saw. we didnt have any clue what he was chopping off of the one plug.. AND that said polyp on that plug he was fingering like it was ,, well ,,
his uumm nose,, (*thinks to self *that will work) .
I have seen colors rub off my zoo's when rubbed to hard
he was just flicking away at his cool polyp that was open before he zipped it off the plug..
I usually try to get all of the polyps to close first before fragging zoos and palys. not only is it safer for the polyps , it's easier to cut in between them.
BUT on the video, that big zoo rock, he was just hacking away at it. mowin polyps like they were dandelions in your grass in the summer.
Adam, I knew you'd eventually chime in, with an experienced point of view from someone who's used one.
Don sounds like he's had good experience, using other options.
I've yet to use a band saw or scroll saw. However, I've had lots of experience, fragging with a cheapy wet tile saw. It works great, is "gentle" on the corals, but doesn't give you the flexibility of making curved cuts, that you get with a Band or Scroll Saw.
I don't know about the wet vs. dry band saw, but I do believe that the wet tile saw offers a better cut than a dry one would. I fill the reservoir with salt water. This keeps the coral cool, while cutting and rinses the cut edge with saltwater. I would think the same could be said, for the "wet" band saws.
Don sounds like he's had good experience, using other options.
I've yet to use a band saw or scroll saw. However, I've had lots of experience, fragging with a cheapy wet tile saw. It works great, is "gentle" on the corals, but doesn't give you the flexibility of making curved cuts, that you get with a Band or Scroll Saw.
I don't know about the wet vs. dry band saw, but I do believe that the wet tile saw offers a better cut than a dry one would. I fill the reservoir with salt water. This keeps the coral cool, while cutting and rinses the cut edge with saltwater. I would think the same could be said, for the "wet" band saws.
Brie
BRA
Just my 2 cents, get the reefkeeper Inland saw. Not the 100 model. We got the 100 model for the store, and given we use it ALOT, probably way more then a hobbyist would, but keeping the bearings inside the wheels from rusting has proven to be impossible. Constant muriatic acid baths to strip the rust and thorough coatings of mineral oil have been the only way to keep the saw functional. Those bearings rusted into one big solid piece(and this is with rinsing/drying best I could after each use). I found it funny that as soon as I opened the box on this saw, it had a huge neon orange sticker on it saying "NOT FOR REEF USE!" on it. heh. Now we're like "ok so THATS why that sticker was on this thing".
Ichthys
Well-known member
This might work
If you are doing a LOT of fragging you might want to step it up a notch. Check this out, maybe overkill but I bet it would do a great job..
http://www.flowwaterjet.com/en/wate...ms/mach-4/cutting systems/Mach 4b models.aspx
Found a nice used one on Ebay for less than 140k
http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-FLOW-WATER...764?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0546e56c
If you are doing a LOT of fragging you might want to step it up a notch. Check this out, maybe overkill but I bet it would do a great job..
http://www.flowwaterjet.com/en/wate...ms/mach-4/cutting systems/Mach 4b models.aspx
Found a nice used one on Ebay for less than 140k
http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-FLOW-WATER...764?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0546e56c
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DonW
R.I.P.
I have the inland also and to be honest its cheap junk and has been remarketed to reefkeeper. It sits in my attic and is never used. I bought it long before they started marketing to reef keepers for stone furniture inlay's. Its a cheap lapidary saw that doesnt work well for that either and nothing more. Novel but a gimick none the less.
As stated the bearings rust quickly and there is no way Id put saltwater in it. The minerials just from cutting rock is plenty to keep the bearings good and rusty.
Any cheap band saw like the little 10" 'ers with a 1/8 to 1/4" blade slice through coral like butter and leave a very clean cut. The blade does not smoke nor does it cut so slow that the blade gets hot.
A scroll saw cuts with an up and down motion vs just down like a band saw. The difference is you need to apply downward force on the coral to keep it from lifting during a cut. Enough force to damage polyps.
Don
Good point on the scroll saw. I see where a band saw would be a more efficient tool for the task. Me, I just grab and break. Sometimes I would use my hammer on those stubborn encrusting corals
Sometimes I would use my hammer on those stubborn encrusting coralsThe only difference that I can see technically between the Inland DB-100 and the DFS-100 Reefkeeper is that the DFS-100 has a plastic cutting table and a stainless diamond blade. The DB-100 has an aluminum cutting table and a wood cutting blade. Other than that the two models are identical inside.
Red C Aquarium
Well-known member
Thinking about this model,anybody heard a thing?
Omni 2 diamond wire saw.
Its states only for glass should I be scared?
I like moving around while cutting
Omni 2 diamond wire saw.
Its states only for glass should I be scared?
I like moving around while cutting
