Why Covington Rock Saws are Superior

We are now carrying the Covington brand of saws and lapidary machines. They are a little more but they are well worth every penny.

And here is why...

1. Covington Saws are100% made in the USA. Everything is heavier duty, stronger, thicker, etc.

2. Covington saws use more oil in the reservoir at a time. This may sound like a bad thing but think of it this way: The more oil you have in the reservoir the longer you can cut without heating up the oil and the blade. This means longer cutting times with less wear on the blade. The blade is the big consumable in cutting rocks and cutting down the replacement cost is a great advantage.

3. Covington saws have a more accurate cross feed mechanism. When you are slabbing you want a very precise thickness of your slabs. Covington vises crank at a rate of 1/16" per turn (4 cranks per 1/4"). Covington's saws eliminate the guess work out of slabbing. It also saves on the grinding process. You have less to remove when making cabs.

4. Covington's 12", 14", and 16" slab saws all convert to a trim saw in less than a minute. NO other brand of saw has this incredibly versatile function. This eliminates the need for a separate trim saw which will save you about $500 dollars. This feature alone makes the Covington saw a great choice.

5. My favorite!! Covington saws use as horizontal clamp. This means the rock is clamped from front to back. This may not seem like a big deal but when the rock is being pushed through the blade the horizontal clamp gives the rock a push from the back making the pressure on the rock equal and leaves the rock with no place to go.

A Vertical clamp is very prone to allowing the rock to twist out of the clamp as the rock goes through the blade. It is when the rock comes loose from the clamp that you loose your blades. Once a blade is bent it never cuts the same smooth cut again. If for no other reason than the clamp, the Covington saws are excellent!

Come in and see the quality difference, or visit Covington Rock Saws.

Some Park City Mining History

Here are some historical facts related to Park City, Utah and mining.

Prospecting was in full swing in 1868 when some high-grade ores were found in Little Cottonwood Canyon, which led to a thorough search to the area around Park City.

Walker & Webster filed claims in 1869, the first on record.

In June of 1872 Rector Stern discovered the ore deposit that became the Ontario Mine. These are his words:

"I camped in a brush shanty for six months at the branch just below the Ontario, waiting for the snow to melt off. I went then to what is called the Badger mine, about the 15th of June, 1872, we discovered the Ontario mine. There stood right near this mine a pine tree, and near by was a fine spring. We camped under this tree and got water from the spring. When we discovered this mine we found a little knoll sticking out of the ground about 2 inches…We had the rock assayed and it went from 100 to 400 ounces per ton. We sold the mine to Hearst and Stanley on the 21st of August, 1872 for $27,000."

From 1877 to 1904 the Ontario produced more than 37,619,047 ounces of silver valued at $34,055,950.78. The Ontario mine was the biggest and richest in the Park City Mining District. There were others that produced a good amount as well. In the mining community and the mineral world, Park City is still considered one of the greats. It ranks up there with Butte, Montana and Silverton, Colorado. Every mineral collector in Utah should have a least one good mineral specimen from there.

Park City specimens are becoming more and more difficult to come by and the value is going up just as fast. We have Pyrite, Tetrahedrite, and some others from there. If you'd like information about our current selection, please call 1-888-ROCKSHOP (888-762-5746).

How to Re-use Your PSA Sanding Discs

Lapidary hint:

Many of us use the reusable sanding discs when polishing. The problem is the adhesive on the back tends to stick to everything, making them hard to reuse.

A while ago a lady came in with her sanding discs to ask some questions, and I noticed that she put them on wax paper so they pealed off easily. Then she put them in a zip lock bag. I said to myself "Self, why didn't you think of that?"

Sometimes it is just simple ideas that make our work so much easier. She was glad to share her idea with everyone.