[Rockhounds] Color of Minerals

[jb]

Kris Rowe wrote:
> Echoing Kriegh's comments, oil is a far better lubricant than water in most
> workshop applications. However, some materials such as howlite, wonderstone,
> and other porous materials that can be affected by oils necessitate the use
> of water or other water soluble lubes. So, for those on a limited budget, or
> with limited space or cutting sensitive materials, the water solution may be
> best.
> As Kriegh outlined, detailed cleaning and drying will be needed to preserve
> your equipment and extend its life. As many do, I learned the hard way to
> drain and clean my trimsaw, after forgetting to do so. If you do the same,
> you'll find out just how quickly a saw blade will rust! Sloppiness gets
> expensive very quickly.
>   
The best solution I have found is to use oil, but soak the stock in 
water before cutting to minimize the oil penetration.

Cutting specimen rather than lapidary material might entail a different 
approach, but the surface penetration of things like howlite is easily 
handled if the material is water saturated to begin with. Even agates 
and jaspers will soak up enough water to make the technique work.

Of course, the saw will have to be cleaned a little better to make sure 
there is no water, but one does that anyway. And there is surprisingly 
little water that escapes into the oil; it is easily removed later from 
the slab by thorough drying.

I use mop oil which is cheap and effective as a lubricant, though it 
does mist a lot. And it tends to cake with things like rhyolite dust and 
rhodonite. Works like a charm on agates, quartz, and other silicates.


john