Buying Taurus 3 - which extra blades should I get?

[seachange]

Hi,

Have finally (after waiting a few years in the hope that something better would appear in the market) decided to buy a Taurus 3 for intricate and curvy cuts (do have a good tile saw with good glass blade for straight cuts, pattern bar slices, etc).

The Taurus 3 will travel all the way from the US to Australia, therefore would like to buy some of the most needed extra blades and spares at the same time, cost of postage is always a biggish factor.

Will use it mostly for jewelry pieces, I use a lot of dichroic glass. Will probably cut most pieces after fusing, total thickness 4 to 6 mm, 1/8 to 1/4".

I'd love to have some recommendations on the specialty blades.

There is a dichroic blade, a slim blade and a slicer blade.

It seems that the slicer blade has the smallest kerf.

The dichroic blade mentions the diamond size. There is no mention of this for the other blades, so can't compare. Is it better for dichroic than the slicer blade, even so it is fractionally wider? Have you seen a noticeable difference between the slim and the dichroic blade? The kerf is the same, so if there is a difference must be a finer diamond grit.

Also if you could please let me know what type of grommets and other bits should I order straight away.

Usually I am all excited in anticipation when about to get a new tool...they take a while to arrive so have plenty of time to enjoy the prospect .

Must admit this is my first tool purchase ever that does not make me very happy. Have researched the reports for a long time, even used one a long time ago. There seem to be as many unhappy users (mainly with blades and other parts breaking or failing) as there are happy ones.

So, a 50/50 chance that mine will work and not give me too much trouble. If it fails (mechanically or electrically) is too expensive to send it back for repairs or replacement.

By now I have collected a small stack of projects where I can't move forward without this tool, so.......

Many thanks as always, seachange

[Mike Jordan]

I've had the Taurus 3 for several years now and believe the slicer blade is all but useless for slicing bars since most bars are going to be 1/4" thick or thicker and though it will cut thicker than 1/4" thick glass, you won't want to do it very often. The only time I broke a blade was after cutting 3/8" round bars into 1/2" slices. I just use the standard blade for everything although I have thought about getting the blade that comes apart to do inside cuts, but I've not really had a project I've needed it for yet. For thin and less than 6mm glass it cuts like butter and I've cut out a lot of stuff in 3mm glass without problems. I've got the replacement pulley set but I've yet had to replace them. About the only problem I've add with it is that the first time I changed the blade the rubber band the blade sits on was binding and I had to call the company. They were great working with me over the phone. I finally got the band adjusted correctly and I was able to turn it by hand and it didn't bind. The band is a bit touchy on adjustment, but is fine when you get it right. The other thing with this saw, change your water often. As soon as it gets a bit dirty from cutting a lot of glass it gets noisy... well, noisier. change the water and it quiets back down until it gets dirty from the glass particles again. The other thing about the blade... don't let your attention wonder or the blade will take off in a direction you don't want it to go. Don't ask me how I know.

I wish it would cut thicker glass, even 6mm, as well as it does the thinner stuff, but over all, it is a good saw. Since you are cutting small things you probably won't get as impatient as I do cutting stuff out of several sheets of 10x10 glass, but by about the 2nd one I'm tired of the noise (I wear ear plugs sometimes on longer cuts) and vibration and start trying to rush the cut, so I force myself to slow back down so I don't break the blade. Have fun with it.

Mike

[Kevin Midgley]

Before you spend the money I would look at this option.

http://www.ameritool-inc.com/store/inde ... 4-inch.cfm

The blades you can get for it are THIN.
You don't want to waste dichro. The kerf width is crucial.

If I was cutting cabs, this is what I'd get and with the vise attachment.
It looks the best choice for thin slicing in straight lines.
If you need curves cut, you might want to stay with your current choice.

[seachange]

Hi Mike, many thanks for your detailed reply. I will remember to slow down, always a difficult thing for me

Re the separating blade, that's the one I tried, a few years ago. Had this project with lots of pieces needing irregular shapes cut out from the middle. The problem was that using the separating blade was such a lot of work. If I still remember correctly, I had to open the case (with wet hands) and release the blade from its mounting to open it, then install it again and close the case for joining it. Repeat this for each piece, got tedious very very quickly, I gave up on that project.

Can't remember if the video shows this in detail, might be worthwhile checking it before you buy the blade, unless you have the patient of a saint

Best regards, seachange

[seachange]

Hi Kevin

Many thanks for that link. Yes, this time the project requires lots of curves.

Have a 10" tile saw with a very thin blade (can't remember now the name of it). It needs stabilizers, and works nicely.

I tend to pre-cut into shape, then assemble and fuse, instead of fusing a large piece, then cutting. But for some other jewelry size jobs have often thought that a small tile saw would be really handy to have. Specially in my case where I have to cart the big saw from the storage shed to the veranda, then clean, dry and cart it back.

Thanks again and best regards, seachange

[seachange]

Hi

Found detailed information about blades (differences, sizes, etc) on this page from the Gemini Saw Company http://www.geminisaw.com/taurusblades.html

Does not replace the very valuable information from someone actually using the saw, but it helps.

Cheers, seachange

[Jerrwel]

a 50/50 chance that mine will work and not give me too much trouble.

Thank goodness you are not looking at the Apollo saw from them - overpriced and oversold - totally incapable of performance claimed and the polishing cartridge is a total joke and requires a change of the drive belt not just the cartridge. My experience with this company's products (had a Taurus II before) is that I spend as much time on adjustments and maintenance of the saw as time actually using it. Unfortunately, they still seemed to have the better of the products I looked at. Based on my experience with the Apollo, which I think uses Taurus 3 belts, I'd suggest you buy extra belts too. Keep the water clean so as not to cause additional wear on the parts.

HIS Glassworkshttp://www.hisglassworks.com/cart/cart. ... _list&v=12, a board sponsor, has the best offering of Gemini saw parts I've found.

[seachange]

Unfortunately, they still seemed to have the better of the products I looked at. Based on my experience with the Apollo, which I think uses Taurus 3 belts, I'd suggest you buy extra belts too. Keep the water clean so as not to cause additional wear on the parts.

HIS Glassworkshttp://www.hisglassworks.com/cart/cart. ... _list&v=12, a board sponsor, has the best offering of Gemini saw parts I've found.

Hi Jerry, my feelings entirely. My dream has been that someone would come up with a professional version, a sort of workhorse, like my other tools are.

Anyway, there are no alternatives at present and I need to move on and cut those curvy bits, so have to enter into a new mind set where I feel happy that there is a way to do them

Thanks for your advice re getting extra blades straight away and about the water. Will check also again with His, last time I looked he had good prices on the 240V/50HZ version for Australia.

Best regards, seachange

[dee]

for cutting multiple layers i recommend the speed blade, time effective, last the longest of the blades for the t3 and cuts thicker pieces well. i only use the standard blade for cutting a single thickness of glass - 3mm or 2 mm.

Dee

[seachange]

Thanks Dee, noted it down

Best regards, seachange