Had the new Taurus for about a week now. Taurus 2 was good, but the 3 is a big improvement. It is a little quiter, but not as much as I hoped. They eliminated the red and yellow bushings that were high wear replaceables, and replaced them with big grooved rollers. Will see how long they last, cause nothing is going to stand up to diamond forever. The work light is great, but I,m greedy for lumens and will add a spot halogen. Operation is identical to the 2. Have not used the feature that lets you remove the saw from the table, but I will. That is one of the reasons I bought it. I see all sorts of possibilities! I have the blade that seperates, but again, have not used it yet. When I first got the Taurus 2, I figured it would be a 6 times a year tool, invaluable when you need it, but most of the time on a shelf. It is such a useful tool that it is an indispensable as a grinder to me now. I may hold on to my Taurus for just that reason, as well as to see if it really holds up. Sometimes when manufacturers update a product, they end up taking a step backward. Ask any long term computer user. Will let you know how the new and improved Taurus ages.
Tony Serviente wrote: Sometimes when manufacturers update a product, they end up taking a step backward. Ask any long term computer user. Will let you know how the new and improved Taurus ages.
I can relate to that.
I have the taurus 1 and in my humble opinyon, it is better that the 2.
Jim
I've had the new Taurus ring saw for a couple of weeks. I really like it. It seems to have more power and is somewhat quieter. I have been using the separating blade on my Taurus 2. I plan to keep my Taurus 2 with the separating blade and use the new Taurus for regular cutting. This way I won't have to change the blades which is a pain.
Had mine about 2 weeks now. LOVE IT!!! Man does it eat through the glass. Cuts in all directions. My only concern is the width of the cut. Is there a narrower blade? But it is awesome.
I have the Taurus II (got it right before the III made its debut....rats!) and I love it even though it is rather noisy. I use my separating blade quite frequently and the one thing they never tell you is that you have to take the blasted saw apart to install the new blade!!?! The first time I did it, I was very nervous about getting everything back exactly where it belonged but now I feel like I know my saw inside and out (whether I wanted to or not!). I've mainly done inside decorative cuts on jewelry and the like. I think you're wise to keep that old Taurus just for the separating blade and saving yourself the hassle of conversion.
I was about to buy the Taurus 2 and someone at the Warm Glass Conference said... WAIT!!! There's a new one coming soon!
Thanks for all the input! Seems like everyone really likes the product. I'm really excited about the possibilities of the model 3, especially the flexibility.
I haven't but the 3 has almost two inches of cut depth. The 2 has a little over an inch. I don't see why it wouldn't work for bar cutting, but would be hard to do a straight cut on it, and you'd be wearing the blade much more quickly than with the usual 3 or 6mm.
judith, would you be willing to provide us a report on your experiences with it after the road test? i'm looking at this as my next piece of studio equipment but coming to your studio would be a tad costly.
I have had the 3 for about a month. I think it is much better than the 2. It is not as noisy,it does have a bigger work surface and a ledge behind the saw that I put little pieces on after I cut and they dont vibrate off. I am not impress with the light or the little shield. I have a swivel light that rotates back and forth between grinder and the saw. That works great. There is a finer grade blade for the 2 that will fit the three but does not cut as fast or hold up as long thats according to gemini. They have a new blade called mega blade which is the blade they recommend for pattern bars. It is about a $100 and it will not fit on the 2. It is not an omni directional blade it just cuts on the front surface. Like others I kept the 2 with my seperating blade also. I got a good deal on mine $318 couldn't pass it up.