Horizontal blade frag saw?

[MartinM]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the saws marketed/sold for coral fragging only offer vertical blades, and as I’m only wanting to frag Goniopora, I want to make very flat horizontal cuts as well as vertical cuts, which means I need to be able to rotate the blade’s orientation. Does anyone know if any hobby saws support this, and/or if there are any saws that will hold up to saltwater that do? Thank you!

 

[stephj03]

You could also rotate the coral no?

Or are you starting with really big colonies?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

You don't reorient the saw, you reorient the work piece. A sled or clamp on fence may be helpful..

 

[MartinM]

Yes, working with colonies at scale. I can’t just clamp it down and get a precision horizontal cut, can I? Seems like that would be especially difficult when making hundreds of frags. I haven’t found any videos of anyone making truly flat cuts on large Goni colonies with a vertical saw blade, either.

I’m looking for something like this that can stand up to saltwater:

 

[MartinM]

And if there’s no horizontal blade option, I’m open to suggestions on how to get perfectly flat horizontal cuts on larger Goniopora colonies (tennis ball to grapefruit sized skeletons).

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Yes, working with colonies at scale. I can’t just clamp it down and get a precision horizontal cut, can I?

Yes, you can by using a sled, or a fence with the bandsaw.

You are also not going to get completely flat cuts out of a bandsaw meant for coral. None of them have enough tension on the blade for what you are describing.

I utilize band saw(s) as a huge asset in my woodshop. More important than a table saw in my opinion. Much more versatile. There are hundreds of applications and devices you can make or buy to make essentially any kind of cut on a bandsaw, Just takes a little bit of ingenuity.

The medium you are cutting is irrelevant.

 

[MartinM]

So it sounds like I should get a bandsaw but not one made for hobby use? Or is there a reason that the hobby bandsaws have lower blade tension? Thanks for your help, I’m completely new to saws and cutting. And Maybe I’m asking for too much with very flat cuts. It just saves time on gluing and fragging so I was hoping to accomplish that.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

So it sounds like I should get a bandsaw but not one made for hobby use? Or is there a reason that the hobby bandsaws have lower blade tension? Thanks for your help, I’m completely new to saws and cutting. And Maybe I’m asking for too much with very flat cuts. It just saves time on gluing and fragging so I was hoping to accomplish that.

If you quote a post it makes it a lot easier to continue the conversation because it alerts the other party.

Hobby abrasive bandsaws don't have enough tension because they have thin abrasion blades that can't take a lot of tension. Lower tension leads to blade creep.

Abrasion blades need to be water cooled and water cleaned, So a normal non-purpose built for coral bandsaw wouldn't really work either. This is why Griffin has a corner on the market. The product they make works as intended and doesn't cost a whole lot. It also isn't perfect.

I have blades for my 300" saw that cost more than the whole coral saw. Not all saws are created equal.

Can you take a picture of a colony that you would be working with and draw lines how you are wanting it cut. Maybe I can help you with a jig to make it happen.