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Hi. I cannot stop the scum i get from cutting my fused glass with my taurus 2 ring saw. I thought it was devit but now i am sure it is just from my saw. I have tryed scrubing my pieces with many different things, like acetone, tiolet bowl cleaner, dish soap, but nothing gets rid of the scum completely. Cleaning the water from the saw helped some. I am really wondering about the blade i use. I have been using the standard blade the saw comes with, and maybe i should use a different blade. I looked at the info i got with the saw and it says something about a super blade for fused glass. Does anyone else use this super blade. Also was thinking of getting rid of the taurus and buying a gryphon saw. Does any one outthere get scum with their gryphon saw? I might try changing the blade more often on my taurus, cause it could be getting dull and causing the scum, but the blades are not cheap. I was wondering if i file the blade i have on now, if that might pep it up a bit. So, please someone help me get rid of this scum!!!!!

did you try borax? green scrubby pads?

scum stinks

ladybear wrote:

Hi. I cannot stop the scum i get from cutting my fused glass with my taurus 2 ring saw. I thought it was devit but now i am sure it is just from my saw. I have tryed scrubing my pieces with many different things, like acetone, tiolet bowl cleaner, dish soap, but nothing gets rid of the scum completely. Cleaning the water from the saw helped some. I am really wondering about the blade i use. I have been using the standard blade the saw comes with, and maybe i should use a different blade. I looked at the info i got with the saw and it says something about a super blade for fused glass. Does anyone else use this super blade. Also was thinking of getting rid of the taurus and buying a gryphon saw. Does any one outthere get scum with their gryphon saw? I might try changing the blade more often on my taurus, cause it could be getting dull and causing the scum, but the blades are not cheap. I was wondering if i file the blade i have on now, if that might pep it up a bit. So, please someone help me get rid of this scum!!!!!

i have had a problem with scum from my diamondmax grinder and i bought the 220 grit abrasive pads to use when i do heavy duty grinding on thick glass-never had the problem with thin - and it smooths down the grooves that are holding the scum and no more problems - i bought mine from abrasive technology - do a search in google for them using quotes and you should get to their website easily...

as far as the blade issue i can't say - i only have a tile saw and that cuts the sides so smoothly it's never an issue...
D

Does the scum show up when you are sawing or does it show up on the
fired piece ? What does it look like?
Thanks, Carole.....

The diamond handpads are from abrasive technology at http://ecprod.abrasive-tech.com/product ... dSubCat=83
They come in a variety of grits and are less expensive than the 3M pads available from other dealers.

You didn't mention if you are firing on thinfire or some other fiber paper, but the scum is usually caused by contamination from the burned out organics found in the thinfire. If you are firing on thinfire, try firing on a kilnwashed shelf instead... you may be surprised at the difference.

Tony

Tony... I checked out the abrasive pads. What is the difference between the mesh plated pads and the mesh resin pads and which would be the rpeferred pads?

The plated pads will last longer (read: forever), but you can only get the plated pads in the lower grit numbers.

Tony

Hi. i use kilnwash, never thin fire. When i saw my fused glass the saw does leave a rough grinded looking edge on the glass. The scum shows up after i firepolish, and it looks like a white scummy substance only where i cut with the saw. I use superspray sometimes with no success. Does the borox work better or is it the same stuff basically? I think i will get some of these scrubby pads. Do You just put some dish soap on the scubby pad and clean away? Does anyone have a gryphon saw that causes scum? Do you like your gryphon saw? Thanks......Jackie

Jackie,

It sounds like your rough surface may be initiating the formation of devit. The best thing to do is to reduce the surface roughness by using the diamond handpads.

You should use the diamond handpads under running water or with a frequent water rinse. It's important to use water to keep the glass dust from building up between the diamond particles and to keep it from becoming airborne (and being inhaled). If you decide to use them dry, you should wear a dust respirator to keep the glass dust from being inhaled and settling in your lungs.

Tony

Tony Smith wrote:The plated pads will last longer (read: forever), but you can only get the plated pads in the lower grit numbers.

Tony

I get plated bond belts as high as 600 from abrasive technology. They're not really useful as a 600 grit belt though. Plated bond abrasives are in their own world as far as grit size compared to sic or resin bonded diamond. To the lady's question its all about 1. a smooth surface; grind out the saw marks if you can so the edge is smooth and 2. most important thing is proper, pathologically compulsive cleaning. Rinse first to get the excess off so it doesn't foul your wash water. Then with a toothbrush and water/dishwashing soap, scrub away. Then rinse and rinse and rinse. Do NOT touch the cleaned glass with your fingers. Air dry or daub with an absorbant cloth.

Ps. I just got back a 70 grit belt I had sent to be repaired it came apart at the seam that cost me I think 40$ and shipping. So forever is relative. On the other hand, when I got the belt back they included a little note saying "please read our do's and don'ts (regarding proper belt usage)" So I must have been doing a don't. What it was I haven't figured out.

There's a big difference between belts and handpads though. You can easily overheat a belt by not having sufficient water flowing over the surface or overstress it by the way it is stored. Handpads are pretty tough, but you're right, "forever" is a long time.

Tony

This is a timely thread because I have been meaning to buy some abrasive pads. What grit size(s) are most appropriate for routine polishing of a ground edge prior to fusing or fire polishing?

Cliff

I think using the 120, 220 and 400 grit pads progressively for smoothing edges works well. If you routinely clean up "needles" from fiber paper or overfiring, you should also consider the 70 grit pad.

Tony

Jackie,

After cutting your pieces do you put them in water until ready to clean them or do you let the pieces dry and then take em to the cleaning bath?

Surprisingly if you keep the cut pieces wet until ready to clean up you won't be letting that nasty glass cutting scum stick to the glass . . . once dried it is near impossible to get off. You shouldn't need to do all the scrubbing that's been recommended if you follow this waterbath fix:) When we do use a saw or grinder we've found this takes care of so many nasties. We simply put the pieces in a collander and swish through soapy water, rinse and dry. If it's an element to go on top of a piece we lightly run one of those abrasive pads around it and we simply use scotchbrite. . . very low tech here:)

Hope this helps,

Sara

ladybear wrote:Hi. i use kilnwash, never thin fire. When i saw my fused glass the saw does leave a rough grinded looking edge on the glass. The scum shows up after i firepolish, and it looks like a white scummy substance only where i cut with the saw. I use superspray sometimes with no success. Does the borox work better or is it the same stuff basically? I think i will get some of these scrubby pads. Do You just put some dish soap on the scubby pad and clean away? Does anyone have a gryphon saw that causes scum? Do you like your gryphon saw? Thanks......Jackie

[quote="Sara"]Jackie,

After cutting your pieces do you put them in water until ready to clean them or do you let the pieces dry and then take em to the cleaning bath?

Surprisingly if you keep the cut pieces wet until ready to clean up you won't be letting that nasty glass cutting scum stick to the glass .

Right. I do that too.

Hi. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped me with my scum problem. Thanks for all the tips!! Jackie