Equipment maintenance ...The tedious, part 4

I don't mean to sound whiney! It's just that there is so much maintenance behind the scenes and post holiday season seems to be the best time to focus on those things. I continue to work on my studio cleaning and organizing. It's slowly getting better, but at about 15 minutes a day.....well, it's going to take awhile! Meanwhile I still have projects to work on...just small ones, but I need to get them done. Yesterday I started up my saw (it looks like the one in the picture above....but definitely not as bright and shiny! It's an old Taurus Ringsaw. I love it! But within 30 seconds it made funny sound....uh oh!..... and yep, just as I backed off, the saw blade stopped moving. Sigh. Step one....turn off saw and check the blade. Phew! still in tact. That's good news because my replacement blade is on back order and costs $80! Step 2, remove the saw from the water bath and inspect the belt.Phew again! Still in working order. Good news! Even though I have a back up belt, a new costs $38 so I am not in a hurry to replace it! Step 3, check the grommets. Bingo! One grommet missing, so I fish around in the cold water bath to locate it. Yup, it's broken. Good news! I have replacement grommets. They come with new blades and rarely need replacement. I have several. These ring saws are a miracle but they require maintenance. Something I haven't yet mentioned is the sludge that accumulates at the bottom of the water bath. SLUDGE! Think liquified cement....sludge. Because it's winter I can't easily hook up the garden hose to wash it all out. You can't pour the stuff down the drain either! I carefully have to pour out the water into the toilet and then scoop the sludge into the garbage. Some people like to dry it out and use the sludge (glass powder) to fuse things. I don't. I'll continue the saga of the ring saw in a day or so! Stay tuned!