Do I need oil for my tile saw?

[Valerie Adams]

So I've finally set up my new tile saw! I bought fittings for my waterline so I've got direct flow instead of using a pump in a bucket. I've practiced with a Result blade but also have an MK-303 lapidary blade which states on it that it requires a petroleum based or synthetic cutting oil and a cutting fluid/coolant. It says water is not suitable to use and will result in damage to the blade's cutting capacity.

I'll probably just leave the Result blade on the saw but am wondering how I'll be able to use this lapidary blade when the Result blade wears out. Am I supposed to do something different than just let water flow over the blade? These are 10" blades.

Thanks for any advice!

[Lynn Perry]

Hi, Valerie. I asked a lapidarist friend this same question when I bought my first saw. He laughed and said glass was very soft compared to most of the stones he cuts. Water is fine for glass, but my lapidary saw is just plain steel so I always have to dry it very well after use to avoid rusting. If you notice some of the ads for used lapidary equipment, most of it is very rusty.

[Valerie Adams]

Ah! Thanks Lynn!

[Brad Walker]

I've practiced with a Result blade but also have an MK-303 lapidary blade which states on it that it requires a petroleum based or synthetic cutting oil and a cutting fluid/coolant. It says water is not suitable to use and will result in damage to the blade's cutting capacity.

We've used the 303 with water for years, no problem.

FWIW, glass is about a 6 or 7 on the Moh scale (1 =soft, 10 = hard). Some things are softer than that (steel is around a 6), but many are harder: Quartz is a 7, topaz an 8, ruby a 9, and diamond a 10.

[Lynn Perry]

Valerie, I did think of one other thing. I have a Gemstone saw, now discontinued, and the guy who owned the company told me an excellent lubricant is non-sudsing dishwasher detergent, the kind used in automatic dishwashers. I don't use it for sawing, but I do for drilling. I mix the detergent very dilute in water and it washes off when I rinse the glass pieces.