Gryphon

[PjFish]

Hi Everyone,
As I fish along the north Cal coast I collect small pieces of natural polished abalone that has already washed up on the shoreline. I give them to my daughter who turns them into custom made jewelry for her business. She has been cutting and shaping them with a small hand saw which is a vary tedious process having to keep them wet to avoid airborne dust which can cause serious health issues. She also uses anvils and various torches in her studio..
My question is if the gryphon band saw would cut abalone?
I've seen it cut glass but I've never used one before only have experience with larger concrete and tile saws in the past.
Before I purchase one for her business would like anyone's opinion on the subject..By default then I'll have access to use it as well for corals lol..
Posting a few pics of her work so you get a better understanding of the shapes from raw pieces I find to finish.
Thanks
Paul

 

[PjFish]

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[PjFish]

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[H2OPlayar]

My opinion here is that I don't think the bandsaw has a strong enough blade holder for the detail work this takes. It often jumps off the top wheel and the cut stops and needs to be restarted. Maybe with a new/ higher quality bandsaw you could do this, but I would do this work with a Dremel rotary tool mounted to a table with a vise to make it hands free. Then go through the aluminum oxide cutting wheels because they are disposable and will cut through anything with a steady hand.


Depending on size/speed needed, I would either get this industrial one or a common one from your local home improvement store. We have a setup with this at work that holds this unit in a round vise, then gives a foot pedal control to control speed.

Robot or human?

Something like this would free up both hands for the work piece and give precise control of speed.

Foot Switch Speed Control

Foot control for accurately controlling speed while maintaining power. Speed increases as pedal is depressed and stops when pedal is released.

www.dumoretools.com

 

[JVU]

I don’t know the answer to your question, but I wanted to say the pics you shared of the raw materials as well as the finished products are beautiful.

 

[PjFish]

Thank you everyone for the replies great advice!!...I'll look into the products mentioned . The abalone has to stay wet while cutting which is why was considering the gryphon .

 

[Coral reefer]

I’m sure she could try one of the club saws to see if it works.

 

[PjFish]

I’m sure she could try one of the club saws to see if it works.

Thank you !! Thought about that but want to keep it separated from club stock..Plus we can always return the item if it doesn't work out.

 

[BAYMAC]

I have used them to do this. Go slow.

 

[Kremis]

Yeah agree with others, not sure if it would be precise enough for what you need but it would definitely cut it, at least for me the band frequently slips out of the little notch that holds it in place, my band is also very old though

 

[Srt4eric]

@PjFish the gryphon is sold as a jewelry bandsaw on riogrande.com . as long as you let the blade do the work and don't force it I think it would be perfect.

 

[BAYMAC]

Yeah agree with others, not sure if it would be precise enough for what you need but it would definitely cut it, at least for me the band frequently slips out of the little notch that holds it in place, my band is also very old though

They can be very accurate. Most people overpower the blade tension with pushing too hard. Eric said it perfect.. as long as you let the blade do the work and don't force it, yuou'll be ok.

I cut mini 5/64 stars out of ab shell for inlays.

 

[PjFish]

They can be very accurate. Most people overpower the blade tension with pushing too hard. Eric said it perfect.. as long as you let the blade do the work and don't force it, yuou'll be ok.

I cut mini 5/64 stars out of ab

Thanks for the real hands on info cutting abalone..Ordered the gryphon xl will advise my daughter slow is the key...Cool now I get to learn cutting corals woot!!! I've seen a few fragging workshops here on Bar in the past wondering when the next one will be?
Thanks
Paul

 

[BAYMAC]

You are most welcome. Ab's hold a special place in my heart.

You knew the most important tip... work them with water.

 

[JVU]

Thanks for the real hands on info cutting abalone..Ordered the gryphon xl will advise my daughter slow is the key...Cool now I get to learn cutting corals woot!!! I've seen a few fragging workshops here on Bar in the past wondering when the next one will be?
Thanks
Paul

We don’t have it scheduled yet but likely early next year before a swap.

We have a few members on here with lots of experience using the saw who would probably just show you hands-on if you arranged it

 

[Flagg37]

They can be very accurate. Most people overpower the blade tension with pushing too hard. Eric said it perfect.. as long as you let the blade do the work and don't force it, yuou'll be ok.

I cut mini 5/64 stars out of ab shell for inlays.

That’s so tiny. Do you have any pictures?

 

[BAYMAC]

That’s so tiny. Do you have any pictures?

I don't. I didn't make many (~30) and some attempts didn't work as the shell flaked, I cut too deep, etc. I inlayed them in purple heart.

I first cut pentagons, the barely pushed in for the stars. Only 1 had even starts but that was fine as it looked cooler with the unevenness.

I did follow up by hard with a jewelers file to get the center part of the stars sharper.

The funny thing is, since doing that, I went into machining and most the stuff we did was micro. The tooling was so small, you could barely see it.

 

[PjFish]

I used to dive alot when younger for abalone very special critters..I would find fairly large abalone pearls at times... wish I hung on to them since their values are crazy now lol..One thing I've observed if you see alota river otters or a den in one area most likely their will tons of abalone shells...I've also seen them take out seagulls you'd think ducks would taste better

 

[PjFish]

 

[sfsuphysics]

Not sure at the level of cutting you need to do, but they make diamond ring saws that are similar in that they cut through hard stuff, but the "blade" is stiff. Something to look into