Taurus Ring saw or Gryphon Wire saw

Lonman · Post by **Lonman** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 2:21 pm

I have looked at both of them and am still undecided which to buy. They both have pros and cons. Help me out.

Thanks
Lonnie

Lonman219@aol.com

Ross · Post by **Ross** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 2:42 pm

Lonnie... I tried both. First the Gryphon. I hated it. I bought the Taurus to try and loved it. I sold my Gryphon on EBAY! I heard yesterday that Taurus has come out with a newer version. I would check into it. It's supposed to be quieter and about the same price as the existing one. The existing one is supposed to go down in price.

lissa · Post by **lissa** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:11 pm

The Gryphon is awful. We have had endless problems and have found it to be very poorly made. I have not tried the Taurus and would still recommend it over the Gryphon, it MUST be better. In all fairness I must say we have done a lot with it, but it's been falling apart since three days after we bought it.

lissa.

Anea · Post by **Anea** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:38 pm

I bought an old taurus 1 used, and I love it. It makes amazing cuts and the service department is great, when I did have a problem.

Highly reccomend!!

Aimee
aka
Anea

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 4:35 pm

If you are going to cut more than one layer of glass, I would recommend against either saw. Consider one of the larger Diamond Tech saws.

Tony

lyndasglass · Post by **lyndasglass** » Wed Jul 23, 2003 5:36 pm

Lonnie,
I have had both saws and I sell both. These would be my assessments:
The Tarus saw has more maintainence. If you are someone that is not equipment oriented or someone that likes to use and abuse equipment then this may not be the saw for you. As stated above, the service department is fabulous and the saw does make wonderful cuts. As a glass fuser it is a great saw to have.

The Gryphon wire saw is lower maintainence in that it doesn't have a lot of little parts that need to be replaced. It cuts very SLOW by comparison and it has a horrible vibration. But if you haven't ever used the other saw and your someone that doesn't like to maintain tools, then this is a good choice. I think that if you are planning on doing alot of cutting with this saw you will be frustrated because it is slow.

If cost wasn't the issue (the Tarus is About $70.00 to $100.00 more)I would buy the Tarus over the Gryphon. When I sell these saws I try to screen my customers a little bit. I would never sell the Tarus to my customers that have trouble keeping their breaking pliers working right otherwise I end up being married to them tring to keep their saw running!
(oops! I shouldn't have sounded so cynical, but there are people that really shouldn't own power tools)

Naare · Post by **Naare** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 12:53 am

I have sold both. The Tarus is the better by far. the customer support is worth any price. they did a tune up on my machine and did not even charge me. and it was NOT under warrenty,. they justg want to make sure that their customers are happy people.

Susan Slack · Post by **Susan Slack** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 8:48 am

I have the Taurus ring saw. I hate it. Way too much maintance. I have spent more time and money on repairs than actual use. It has been is a cabinet for 3 years. I have thought about using it for soccer practice.

doc · Post by **doc** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 12:30 pm

check out lincoln glass.com.........taurus saw on sale for about 265.....not bad - i think

Tony Smith · Post by **Tony Smith** » Thu Jul 24, 2003 1:21 pm

ted wrote:check out lincoln glass.com.........taurus saw on sale for about 265.....not bad - i think

Sounds like Susan has one cheaper than that if you can catch it after she boots it.

Tony

Tom T · Post by **Tom T** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 9:01 am

The Taurus is fantastic, but you have to respect it. I broke several blades before I realised I was going way too fast. With familiarity, you will learn which bearings are going, when the raceways are wearing out (and what you're doing wrong to cause it), and how to make microscopic adjustments that make a huge, huge difference. I stongly urge you to buy a new one and then within a month or so, order new raceways, bearings and another belt. Then, take the saw apart to see which pieces don't look like the new ones anymore.

You can also get the 'jewelers blade', which is to the normal blade what the Taurus is to a hand cutter. I use it to cut out fine detailed figural pieces (like fingers on hands or frogs' toes). You can cut out glass as small as 1 mm (i.e., cut a 1 mm strip of glass - same size as a stringer) with the jewelers blade, properly maintained bearings, grommets and raceways, and some practice. I broke at least 50 glass fingers on hands to be used in figural work (esp. 'pinkies') before I got the technique down right for cutting out detailed pieces. One other thing - you must, must wear goggles - esp. if a blade were to break on you.

I can assure you that, having done it wrong so many times, if you are having trouble with the Taurus, it will be something you can fix with either technique or fine tuning.

Stuart Clayman · Post by **Stuart Clayman** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 10:18 am

I agree with Tom. It took me a few times to get the correct use down but now I love the Taurus. And yes, they did answer a few questions when I called them and I did get a new blade sent to me from them. But I love it now and think highly of their customer service.

Tom,
Can we see pics of some of the small work that you do with your Taurus?

Thanks,
Stuart

WarmGlass.com

Taurus Ring saw or Gryphon Wire saw

Taurus Ring saw or Gryphon Wire saw

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