Hi. Was wondering what gryphon saw owners thought about their saw. Also, has your gryphon ever left saw scum on your glass. Does it work well for thick fused glass. Thanks for any opinions!!!!
Gryphon wire saw
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ladybear
Gryphon wire saw
Hi. Was wondering what gryphon saw owners thought about their saw. Also, has your gryphon ever left saw scum on your glass. Does it work well for thick fused glass. Thanks for any opinions!!!!
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Jackie Beckman
- Posts: 475
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:01 pm
- Location: Arizona
- Contact:
I have to disagree. I didn't get involved in this thread when the topic came up last week, but I did share my opinion about the Gryphon on the old board. I'll do it again here, for those who may not have been reading the old board then.
First, let me say that wire saws, any wire saw, will get fairly minimal use in my studio. They have one purpose in my opinion, and that is to cut intricate shapes from a single sayer of glass that will eventually be fused. That happens fairly infrequently in my studio, however, when the need arises, there is no other type of saw that will do this job.
That said, my Gryphon has been a fantastic wire saw for me. I've had it about a year and a half, and have not replaced one thing, not a guide, nor a blade - well, not true, what I meant was I haven't had to buy a second package of blades. That's because they come three to a package. The entire 3-pack costs about $15, so when I do need to purchase more, it will cost next to nothing.
Second, I paid exactly half for my Gryphon than I would have a different wire saw my supplier offered. The other saw is sold with a VIDEO to learn how to maintain it and repair it! My Gryphon has a single one sided instruction sheet, and I have yet to even refer to it. That's how self explainatory a tool this is. I like low maintainence tools, as I don't pamper them - not a bit. I've not so much as cleaned this saw, other than wipe off the splatter.
Now, should I try to use my Gryphon for a purpose other than it's intended function, I may not be as happy - I don't know, I haven't done it. I do know that a wire saw, any wire saw, will do a decent job of making impossible cuts in glass. The Gryphon just happens to be less expensive, easier to maintain, and uses far less costly blades. Should I want to make more intricate cuts in a slab of fused glass, this job requires a bandsaw, not a wiresaw. And if I want to make straight cuts in slabs of fused glass, this job requires only a tile saw.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be frustrated with your wire saw for not doing the job of a bandsaw - that's not it's intended function.
I am quite pleased with my Gryphon, and IF what you need to do can be done well by a wire saw, the Grypon is just fine. Yes, it can become a paperweight, as can any wiresaw in my opinion, because it's not that often one needs to make these type of cuts. But when you need one, they are handy to have, and I'd much rather have a $180 paperweight than a $400 one.
First, let me say that wire saws, any wire saw, will get fairly minimal use in my studio. They have one purpose in my opinion, and that is to cut intricate shapes from a single sayer of glass that will eventually be fused. That happens fairly infrequently in my studio, however, when the need arises, there is no other type of saw that will do this job.
That said, my Gryphon has been a fantastic wire saw for me. I've had it about a year and a half, and have not replaced one thing, not a guide, nor a blade - well, not true, what I meant was I haven't had to buy a second package of blades. That's because they come three to a package. The entire 3-pack costs about $15, so when I do need to purchase more, it will cost next to nothing.
Second, I paid exactly half for my Gryphon than I would have a different wire saw my supplier offered. The other saw is sold with a VIDEO to learn how to maintain it and repair it! My Gryphon has a single one sided instruction sheet, and I have yet to even refer to it. That's how self explainatory a tool this is. I like low maintainence tools, as I don't pamper them - not a bit. I've not so much as cleaned this saw, other than wipe off the splatter.
Now, should I try to use my Gryphon for a purpose other than it's intended function, I may not be as happy - I don't know, I haven't done it. I do know that a wire saw, any wire saw, will do a decent job of making impossible cuts in glass. The Gryphon just happens to be less expensive, easier to maintain, and uses far less costly blades. Should I want to make more intricate cuts in a slab of fused glass, this job requires a bandsaw, not a wiresaw. And if I want to make straight cuts in slabs of fused glass, this job requires only a tile saw.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be frustrated with your wire saw for not doing the job of a bandsaw - that's not it's intended function.
I am quite pleased with my Gryphon, and IF what you need to do can be done well by a wire saw, the Grypon is just fine. Yes, it can become a paperweight, as can any wiresaw in my opinion, because it's not that often one needs to make these type of cuts. But when you need one, they are handy to have, and I'd much rather have a $180 paperweight than a $400 one.
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Mark Wilson
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2003 9:45 am
- Location: St. Paul, MN
- Contact:
i have one of these wire saws, and for the most part, it was a waste of money. i hardly ever use it. there are certain shapes that cannot be cut by hand, and require much too much grinding, and then is when it gets used. i wash the sawed glass off after the saw does its thing, and have not noticed any skum on the glass. the saw does however leave the sawed edge quite rough so that it might trap some air when it fuses making the edge less refined that you would like.