The neighbors were gone yesterday!  That is important.  It allowed me to power up the drop saw.  Today my arms feel 3 inches longer.  Let me explain.

The drop saw is REALLY loud. Even with my airport grade head gear my ears buzz afterward.  I have no idea why my LA neighbors never complained.  I used to cut all softer material on it.  That changed when we moved here.  Between the colder temperatures and a complaint it's use went way down.

Using the drop saw requires a lot of upper body strength, which I no longer have.  To be able to reach the handle when the blade is up requires me to stand on a step.  When cutting, I end up doing a squat to get the blade down through the rock.  All the while I must keep the square stable so it does not shoot out the back side of the machine.  I am now reminded of muscles that I seem to seldom use.  LOL

My big accomplishment yesterday was to corner 10 cubes.  Among those were Yttrium, Desert Storm, Chrysocolla, Hematite with chrysocolla, and some other random pieces that were at the bottom of the cube pile.  That is almost a months worth of cutting in one saw!  Now to hand grind.

Thanks for reading.....