question for slabing rock???

[Shooter_G22]

    i dont know if thats a proper term "slabing"

but here is my question i have a few stoes i picked up and i posted some of it up on an earlier thread to come to a semi-conclusion that it must be some grade of chert...  well i have absolutely no experaince in knaping nore do i have any tools... however i do have acces to a quicky saw with 14" mason diamond chip blade that is used for cutting block brick and stone for mason work... as for that is my trade... 

sooo here is my question since i have stone and a diamond saw that could easily cut the stone into any thickness i choose waht would be an ideal size to cut slabs for arrow point size??  and i think i want to do this to give it a try and see if i could attempt to make points...

also i might want to cut slabs and put up for trade on the trade post to see if i could get some knaping tools and maybe even some instruction video's

my question is ....    what thickness would be ideal fro cutting slabs out of chert for points??

[leapingbare]

Shooter.. i ant so sure your saw will work.. i could be wrong i never cut flint.. but it takes a saw with a weight and a oil or water drip. and could take 15min to 2hrs to make 1 cut. thats why there is a weight.
 If you got some chert that is soft enough I'd say cut them 3'' long, 2'' wide and about 1/4 thick.
  Also slab knapping is not good to learn on.. because the tec used on slabs is different then what is used in bi-faceal reduction.. it could handycap you in the long run.

[mullet]

  I'm using a 10" diamond brick saw to cut slabs. I also have a 4" trim saw. I'm using water and soap to keep the blade cool. Good raw flint, coral,jasper and chert will take the diamonds right off my blade pretty quick. I can't imagine how fast it would heat up cutting dry. The harder material I usually heat treat first. And sometimes heat treating low grade chert doesn't make a difference.

[Shooter_G22]

wow ok..  i didnt realize that it the saw i have wouldnt work...   well we do have big 20" block saw's that run water through a pump... over the balde and cut surface but i dont hae one of those big bad boys issued to me and those things just get sent to big jobsites... sooo if i have to use one of thosse it might be a while befor i can get some of this chert cut into slabs... i will have to try to cut some tomorrow.. and see how it goes...  i will try and remember to post up the end result of this quick saw idea if i remember to test it out tomorrow...

thanks for the tips gents...

[mullet]

 You can take a water hose and let it run on the blade. That will help.

[DanaM]

Don't get fired because you ruined a $1000 blade

[mullet]

If the blade cost a $1000, it will probally work.

[cowboy]

Post pic's of your results if ya can shooter. I've never slabbed but would like to see how that goes.

[Shooter_G22]

i was able to cut some of that chert type stone today...  it was a little tuff on the blade and i probably wont cut any more till i have somebody holding a water hose over the blade or a pump spray... we have used a pump spray on certain types of stone in the past when  we laid or when  we built this stone bridge over here in north texas... 

but i did cut a few slabs of this stuff i have here.... and it worked well enough but i do believe it will probably cut a little smother with some water stream while cutting...

as far as the blade goes... we switch those blades every soo often.. and its not to big a deal for me to go into my companies shop and tell the shop guy that i need a new blade...  and when i do switch blades i'll just end up haveing a good blade for knife making or trade points.. and that will probably end up here for trade as well..    the company i work for is pretty good about keepig us supplied with good blades... and we use them up too... soo its not a biggie to need a new one... however if i end up having to change blades real often then i could see it becoming a problem or raising a question flag..   as to why my saw is chewing up blades faster than others...   but then again some crews or formans just use the quick saws more than others... soo not likely to be a problem at all...  but i dont want to be the guy screwing the company for personal use... but it shouldnt be a problem for me to be able to cut some slabs  every now and agian...  it aint like im going to be doing it every day....    but we do use the saw's everyday..  so a little slab cutting here and there shouldn't hurt at all...  hell we even use them diamond blades to cut through rebar and stuff like that sometimes...  but if we are going to be cutting alot of rebar than we are suppossed to change to a carbon blade...    but sometimes that dont happen either...

the blades i have or that we use are not $1000  bucks lol...  more like $150 or soo...   depends on what supplier we get.. we dance around on blades sometimes becuase suppliers are always trying to give use deals and sometimes if we go through one for a big jobsite they cut deals on blades or or other stuff we go through alot...

i'll try and post pics of what i cut today...  i'll snap some pics and post up later...

[mullet]

 If you use a spray pump, try using soapy water or use a light oil. It will be smoother. And Man! do you take a breath when you type?

[Shooter_G22]

thanks for the tip mullet...

  yup i might try the soapy water... sounds like it makes sense...   yea im sorry sometimes when i get to picking at these letters i really dont think to stop or use proper puntuation... sorry folks... i'll try and do better... and i know i get carried away... and even get of topic... sorry for that as well...
but i got to tell ya'll this...   when i get on here and read and reply i feel like im hanging out with a bunch of friends shootin thi $hit and talking about this primitive archery...  it's great and i luv it...

 

[sailordad]

for a minute there i thought you were going into another long type session   lol

[mullet]

 LOL,,, Yea, we are all hanging out.  Just playing with ya.

[Shooter_G22]

lmao... .. .. ..   hahahaha hee

dot damn it... sailordad..lol...  you got there mang...lmao... 
oh $hit... wheew i bustd out laughing on that one...
oh man i didnt realize it was that bad...

[jcinpc]

I have 2 different saws,both of them I got from Claude.On the bigger one I use a 14-16 inch blade,its a home made saw from a quarry but this other, its a highland park and I use a 8 and 10 inch blade.Heres some close ups of the saw and the type blade.I too  use only water and a little dish soap on my coral. This 6 inch slab only took me 5 minutes to cut. I havent fixed the feed tray on this one yet but will soo. I make cabs outa my coral and other rocks I trade for. hope these help.