Care and Feeding of a 20" Slab Saw

[1dave]

I bought an Iron Worker Built 20" Slab Saw.
Talk about HEAVY! He built the bottom, sides AND lid out of 1/4" sheet Iron!

Hard to believe, but my wife won't let me keep it in HER kitchen, Worra Worra, what to do?

Nobody knows the trouble a slab-saw can bring, Nobody knows my sorrow!
- Well. that is a little over-dramatic. Actually I've enjoyed every second of it.

Jeff's 18" build reminded me of some design items I like and dislike in my own (far from first owner) saw.

I like: the 1 1/2 hp motor, the gear reducer belt feed to easy change 3 speed feed drive, and the bearings outside the box.

I don't like: the hood being made of 1/4" sheet iron. The unit was already way too heavy.
The hood holding arm needs a notch so it can automatically drop into place when lifting the hood.
The vice mechanism was inserted too far away from the blade. Whoever put the angle iron on helped.
The box requires way too much oil.
The tension spring on the feed drive belt hooked directly to the leg, causing the belt and pulley to rub on the box.
The 1" drain was reduced to 3/4" 90 degree faucet. full of sludge and worthless.
The motor support rod is too hard to adjust.
The previous owner included a fan to keep the motor cool. -It was fed with a 20' 18 gauge lamp cord!
I re-wired with 12/3 SO cord and never had any over-heating problem!

But Where to keep it? In the shop out back of our new home? Nope, too messy for there . . . Oh Oh!

I just took the cover off the electrical panel there. Only fed with two #4 cables, each brought through a separate knockout - that can induce a magnetic current in the metal between the two wires causing it to heat and start a fire. Worse, there is no ground wire!

Ditch digging time at my age?





Yep, there is the old phone wire too.

I put in a new power feed, phone line TV cable, control wires for a future inter-com, and a natural gas line to heat instead of wood.

Once the trenches were filled in I built a work table over them.

Well, I'm going to need a shed on the north end of my shop and winter is getting close.
Might as well pour a slab AND supports for a gantry. Did I mention this thing is HEAVY?



Slab poured, started building the north wall with a 20' length of 4" angle iron on top to hold up the roof.



I had a camper shell with bubble windows I decided to make into skylights.
I had to wire it for night work. At 76 I take a LOT more breaks than I used to.



Roof on, west end closed in and sheet-rocked, time to build a gantry and get the saw under a roof.



Building the rolling cross-bar.



Making sure the parts will fit on the trolley.



Putting it together.



And in place. Finally the saw is inside. Did I mention it is HEAVY?



Winter is here and I need more than a roof! Time to build doors.



I decided to make them sliding doors so I used uni-strut with pipe sliders inside.



Doors in place, Window time!



Snow.



I changed my mind about the east wall, so when it warmed up I made it into a door that opened UP.

[1dave]

The first improvement to the saw was replacing the lamp cord power feed with 12/3. NO heating problems. Now the 1 1/2 HP motor works fine. No heat problems, don't need the fan I was given.

Second was the switch. The old one was nearly filled with cutting oil, and the plastic switch handle had become brittle.
I bought new deeper handy box and new cover, new toggle switch and drilled a small hole in the handle for a wire to connect to a jack chain inside the saw that attaches to the vise carriage. When the cut reaches the desired distance, this gently pulls the switch to the OFF position.

One problem. It was easy to bump the wire when pulling the carriage back, turning the saw back on. Not fun.

I placed another switch in the circuit and ALWAYS turn IT off before opening the lid.



Other "fixes" are:
1. Installing an adjustable hook to ease belt replacements and adjust tension.
2. The new switch to keep from getting an oil bath.
3. A new spring location to keep tension on the feed drive belt.
4. Replace the 90^o 3/4" faucet with a 1" straight ball valve for clean-out.
5. Blocks under the front feet to tip the oil back to the blade. i need less oil this way.
6. drilled, tapped, and installed 4 hardened 1/4" bolts for attaching lift cables.



FINALLY 200 years later ( or so it seems) I'm ready for my first slabs.
After a while I find I want to slab a batch of small stones, awkward shapes and dangerous fractures.

I built a form, placed them in it and poured mortar mix cement over them.
Some people object, citing increased rock snot. Not my concern.



This way each pass produces many slabs. Fractures in rocks are not a problem that could destroy the saw blade.

[1dave]

I like the bottom of this Diamond Pacific unit.
If the front legs were longer, and a drain added at the bottom back, that would allow water and rock particles to be periodically flushed out. A one inch ball valve (it could come out on an angle!)for changing out a glass pipe should it break and another ball valve at the bottom would provide a "self cleaning" feature.

[1dave]

I just saw Foxtail's new 20" saw!
I thought what the _ is that bolt? Ohhhhhhhh!
That is to keep the right side of the vice from binding!
For 50 years I've been using wood scrap combinations to do that. Duh!

Gotta go drill and tap a hole!
(Sorry Foxtail, I should have asked before using a piece of your photo. Forgiven?)