Best saw in Australia

[JeffP]

Has anybody in Australia managed to purchase a decent sliding table tile saw at a reasonable price that work well?

To clarify a little. I am looking for a decent saw for cutting things like thick pattern bars into thin (6mm) slices without the slices falling down and jamming, or shattering, or chipping horribly.

I assume a sliding table saw is best as pushing glass across a table into the saw is hit and miss in accuracy and just doesn't work well. Either pulling the saw into the glass or having in stationary on the table and sliding the whole table seems the best solution.

I did purchase a saw but now find the speed is too high (4500 RPM) for the blade I have which seems to be rated around 2000-2500 RPM. So that is just dangerous to run at 4500, and all 10 inch blades seem to be rated around this. I would have to go down to a 6 inch blade, I believe.

So I need a slower saw to take the blades that are available.

[Kaz]

I'm up in north Queensland. Last year I bought a tile saw with a sliding table from Aussie Sapphire, which has them manufactured someplace in Asia. It accommodates a blade of up to 10 inches with a 5/8 inch arbor, and after some fiddling to get the set up right (see below), it works fine for my needs. Mine was the last of the previous model. The model currently shown on their website is AU899, plus shipping, and has a 1000 W motor.

If I had been able to afford 2-3 times more, I probably would have bought one from His Glassworks in the US, which carries some 220-240 V equipment and ships to Australia.

I remember reading that someone else on this site in Australia has an Italian-made tile saw, but I don't think she mentioned the brand.

Now, about that fiddling. First off, when I was ready to move into the use of power tools for my cold working, I took a great 1-day workshop on cold working at Blue Dog Glass in Melbourne. This gave me a base level of knowledge about using a tile saw (and other equipment) that I have found invaluable. Then, I did a lot of research--into what to buy, and how to set it up for glass cutting. I think you might find a number of threads here on Warm Glass and resources elsewhere very helpful. Cynthia Morgan (aka Morganica) has a terrific blog post explaining (and showing) how she set up her tile saw that has been like my bible on this subject.

The four things that I have found essential to good cuts are: a high-quality, thin blade; stabilisers for that blade; a narrow-grooved overlay for the saw table, and a sufficient supply of water to the glass. All of these items are discussed in multiple places here and elsewhere. (Sorry, off the top of my head I don't remember much about blade speed!)

- How the blade is made affects how it cuts and its longevity. The narrower kerf of a thin blade wastes less material and makes a finer cut. Many folks with far more experience than I have given good advice on this subject. The stabilisers keep it from wobbling. I bought my blade & stabilisers through Amazon (just watch what does and what doesn't ship to Australia). See: MK Diamond 153696 MK-303 Professional 10-Inch Diameter Lapidary Blade by .040-Inch wide by 5/8-Inch Arbor; CMT 299.102.00 2 pcs of Saw Blades Stabilizers, 5-Inch Diameter with 5/8-Inch Bore. His Glassworks also sell excellent blades, and stabilisers, and ship here.

- Because my homemade saw table overlay has a much narrower groove than the one on the saw table, it supports more of the glass and facilitates narrow slicing. I made it with a piece of perspex, bought to size at a local plastics shop, and some 'rubber' bumpons glued to the underside to keep it in position.

- The glass heats up and chips/cracks without lots and lots (and lots) of water to keep it cool. The water supply can be achieved in multiple ways. The first consideration is how water gets to the saw. Mine has a submersible pump that works fine from a bucket, although I have to refill it frequently. Connections to a hose or to plumbing are other possibilities. The second water consideration is where the water feeds onto the blade and the material being cut. My saw feeds to both sides of the blade at the top; that arrangement works alright as long as the flow is sufficient, but I've also been experimenting with more focussed feeds on the blade where it meets the glass and on the glass, using LocLine (brought through His Glassworks, but there might be an Aussie distributor).

You might also want to be mindful of where you dispose of the runoff. I've constructed a very crude filtration system using a bucket-within-a-bucket; the inner bucket is half-filled with sand, has holes drilled in the bottom, and sits on 'stilts' inside the other one. I pour the water from my catch pan into the inner bucket, where the sand traps a good deal of the glass swarf. Then I use the 'filtered' water on the (ornamental, not food) garden & lawn.

Hope this is helpful.

[Buttercup]

I did read somewhere about using old saw blades as stabilizers. Sorry I can't remember where I read that but probably on here. Good luck with it, Jen

[Fiona Collins]

I have a cheap arse bunnings (full boar) sliding table saw with an aussie sapphire blade. Perspex (kitchen spashback) top, no probs 2 years in ....