Two really neat and useful products were introduced at Coverings 2013. The first is the Raptor, which is billed as the next generation rail saw, but that description is incomplete.  The Raptor does make all conventional rail saws obsolete, but if you start using it, you may find that your bridge saw will become a coat rack – just like your Wizard. Here is why:  

√ Cuts through even the hardest 3cm stone in one pass – no step cutting.

√ It cuts about as fast as the typical bridge saw, but setup is faster and easier.

√ Because it glides on a film of water, it is far less likely to scratch the stone and it is less fatiguing to the operator than any rail saw.

√ It is easier to use than any other rail saw, does not require bulky truck-ship only rails, and weighs significantly less than typical rail saws. It can be shipped anywhere and even taken to a job site.

√ It runs on standard 120 volt power, no need to run 220 volt lines.

√ The Raptor uses a 6 inch blade, resulting in less stone waste where cut lines intersect.

√ At the show, the Raptor using a Cyclone Turbo blade cut 1,040 linear feet of dark granite and the blade had about 25% of its useful life left. This works out to about .03¢/foot for diamond consumption.

The second product introduced is the SR2 by Stone Pro. This support rail uses a medical grade vacuum pump to provide enough suction for even the most textured surfaces. Battery power provides suction for 4 to 6 hours. Stone Pro has always made functional products but they went all out in the industrial design department when they created this product. During setup, Brad demonstrated the rail on the back of a slab that had scrim glued to it. During the show, Brad used the rail on textured stone to demonstrate curls. (Brad is a big guy). The unit worked perfectly. On either textured or polished stone, this unit makes other rails obsolete.

Have a good read,

Rich Hassert

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