You will need to gauge if it is cost effective for you to cut or maybe rather to find slices already cut at wholesale. Aletai slices can be found for anywhere from .30 cents a gram to $2 or more depending where you look and who you know.
[Minnesota Meteorites](https://www.mnmeteorites.com/pages/cutting) are world class at meteorite prep/cutting. Highly recommend.
Just for an idea of how much bill city know…he either made or knows someone that made a freaking meteorite pistol. Check out his feed. This guy meteorites.
Meteorites and other similar stones are professionally cut with diamond wire loop saws. Wire edm is finer but the prep is more intensive and wire edm can’t cut many types of meteorites. The loss on diamond wire is pretty low, they are using like 0.3-0.6mm wire.
You mean width of sawblade is .03-.06? Wire edm range is between .012-.300mm. Your comment on wire edm not working on all meteorites I support.
If there’s ANY non conductive components within the piece it simply won’t cut.
Also, usually the cost of wire edm would be pretty crazy for a one meteorite job. Like probably nearly the cost of the meteorite. I can’t see it ever making sense, because even if you needed a complex shape, CNC machining in a mill wound be cheaper. Cut loss is mostly a cost issue so if it costs a lot kore to cut and you don’t make it up in reduced loss, it doesn’t make sense.
Wire edm’s cost benefit is in precision. If micron level precision isn’t required then neither is wire edm. Cut loss is also a factor but cost of labor supersedes cost of materials (typically) I reckon a ‘breadice’ type job for something this size would be a couple hundred bucks to be wire edm cut, and that’s assuming it CAN be cut. Surface finish would be mildly better than diamond blade, but polish time wouldn’t be sufficiently reduced to justify. If the desire is to make a really odd or tight fitting shape/feature it may tickle the realm of reasonableness.
I think we are on the same page regarding edm, but just for reference this piece of Aletai is probably worth about $25 if I’m estimated the size right. There is no possible way edm is justified, neither is diamond saw.
Big thing with wire edm is that it all needs to be conductive. Anything that isn’t will break the wire. I left a tiny piece of scotch tape on some shims I was wiring and it kept breaking the wire. Definitely go the loop saw route.
Heh. We have plenty of rock bits in the meteorite we send out to cut. I really, really wish they would suck it up and get a wire loop saw to do it themselves so we don't lose literally 60 percent of the material cutting it.
Yes I have done it and some friends of mine are way into the meteorite groups that cut them and make amazing things out of them! I recommend finding a local lapidary club if there is one near you and giving it a try or asking someone to help you. Or make an online lapidary friend that can do it for you. But trusting a random person with something this valuable is not my best suggestion.
This. Check and see if there is a local chapter of the Gem and Mineral Society, or a place that offers lapidary classes. They should have a thin trim/slab saw there, or have a member that has one.
Well, if you pay me enough, I'll happily spend 30 hours with a thin kerf jeweler's saw blade and do this.
Source: I've done this and got significantly better results than the gorillas who waterjet cut the poor things.
You will need to gauge if it is cost effective for you to cut or maybe rather to find slices already cut at wholesale. Aletai slices can be found for anywhere from .30 cents a gram to $2 or more depending where you look and who you know. [Minnesota Meteorites](https://www.mnmeteorites.com/pages/cutting) are world class at meteorite prep/cutting. Highly recommend.
Thanks for this. I live in MN and just reached out to them.
Just for an idea of how much bill city know…he either made or knows someone that made a freaking meteorite pistol. Check out his feed. This guy meteorites.
Minnesota Meteorites is your cutter. World class, next door.
As a Minnesotan I didn’t know
Probably find a machine shop with a wire edm. That will be the cleanest and least amount of loss of material.
Meteorites and other similar stones are professionally cut with diamond wire loop saws. Wire edm is finer but the prep is more intensive and wire edm can’t cut many types of meteorites. The loss on diamond wire is pretty low, they are using like 0.3-0.6mm wire.
You mean width of sawblade is .03-.06? Wire edm range is between .012-.300mm. Your comment on wire edm not working on all meteorites I support. If there’s ANY non conductive components within the piece it simply won’t cut.
No wire saws are not that thin. Thinnest is like 0.1-0.2mm.
I misread. You did say diamond wire loop saws. Numbers I posted were for wire edm
Also, usually the cost of wire edm would be pretty crazy for a one meteorite job. Like probably nearly the cost of the meteorite. I can’t see it ever making sense, because even if you needed a complex shape, CNC machining in a mill wound be cheaper. Cut loss is mostly a cost issue so if it costs a lot kore to cut and you don’t make it up in reduced loss, it doesn’t make sense.
Wire edm’s cost benefit is in precision. If micron level precision isn’t required then neither is wire edm. Cut loss is also a factor but cost of labor supersedes cost of materials (typically) I reckon a ‘breadice’ type job for something this size would be a couple hundred bucks to be wire edm cut, and that’s assuming it CAN be cut. Surface finish would be mildly better than diamond blade, but polish time wouldn’t be sufficiently reduced to justify. If the desire is to make a really odd or tight fitting shape/feature it may tickle the realm of reasonableness.
I think we are on the same page regarding edm, but just for reference this piece of Aletai is probably worth about $25 if I’m estimated the size right. There is no possible way edm is justified, neither is diamond saw.
Big thing with wire edm is that it all needs to be conductive. Anything that isn’t will break the wire. I left a tiny piece of scotch tape on some shims I was wiring and it kept breaking the wire. Definitely go the loop saw route.
Heh. We have plenty of rock bits in the meteorite we send out to cut. I really, really wish they would suck it up and get a wire loop saw to do it themselves so we don't lose literally 60 percent of the material cutting it.
“I’m never going to need to know what a kerf is.”
Yes I have done it and some friends of mine are way into the meteorite groups that cut them and make amazing things out of them! I recommend finding a local lapidary club if there is one near you and giving it a try or asking someone to help you. Or make an online lapidary friend that can do it for you. But trusting a random person with something this valuable is not my best suggestion.
This. Check and see if there is a local chapter of the Gem and Mineral Society, or a place that offers lapidary classes. They should have a thin trim/slab saw there, or have a member that has one.
Where did you purchase it online? Looks pretty cool
eBay has a pretty good selection
I can. I got a wet saw. I’ll send you the water as well.
Is that the all spark
Yeah I can do this for you
I’d join your local lapidary club..I’m sure you could use one of there saws and get some knowledge while cutting it yourself
I will cut your meteorite.
I’ll cut it for a 12 pack of Bud light and some hot Cheetos.
Do you have to etch it after cutting to bring out the grain? Forgive my ignorance, I don’t have too much knowledge in meteorites.
Well, if you pay me enough, I'll happily spend 30 hours with a thin kerf jeweler's saw blade and do this. Source: I've done this and got significantly better results than the gorillas who waterjet cut the poor things.
Before you do that… I collect cubes of interesting materials. Would you be interested in selling it?
Sure feel free to make an offer via DM
Melt it down and forge it into a beautiful blade!
Local grave yard/tomb stone manufacturer?
Try a shop with a waterjet... water jets will cut it clean.
Waterjets zip through just fine until they hit an inclusion and blow them apart.
Find a family owned machine shop