Are you ready to up your glass cutting game with a stained glass ring saw? As you probably know, glass saws aren’t necessary for creating stained glass, but if you’re wanting to be able to make difficult cuts that just aren’t possible with a glass cutter and grinder – you’ll need a good ring saw.
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I knew pretty early on that I was going to need a good ring saw if I was going to be able to fabricate half the stained glass designs I was creating. There were just aspects of my designs I wasn’t willing to break up, and this is still true today. Like my stained glass woman designs…
So if you’re like me and your style of glass design calls for some pretty intricate and difficult cuts, here’s my honest review on the stained glass ring saw I’ve been using for over a year – The Taurus 3 Ring Saw
Pros
Detailed Instructions – The Taurus Ring Saw comes with a DVD with detailed video instructions on every aspect of the saw. From set up to cleaning, and everything between.
Easy to Use – Even if you aren’t like me and go through the DVD from start to finish, this ring saw is very user friendly and comprehensible. I’ve yet to have any issues with it working exactly as intended.
Heavy Duty – I haven’t needed it yet, but when the time comes to start creating tile mosaics this ring saw can handle that as well, whereas some other ring saws are meant only for thin sheet glass.
Size – The Taurus 3 has a nice size work space for larger pieces of glass, but it’s not too large that it doesn’t fit on my workbench or take up too much room.
Easy to Clean – To clean the ring saw after every use, I just pull the saw off the water tub and pour the water out. This is all you really need to do for daily maintenance, and every so often I like to take a scrub brush to the innards of mine to remove the glass debris.
Affordable Replacement Parts – Unless you purchase a special blade for specific jobs, like the separating blade to cut pieces out of a solid piece of glass, or the speed blade for faster, straight cuts – you’ll find that the replacement parts are pretty reasonably priced.
These are the replacement parts you’ll eventually need to purchase, and what they’re currently priced at (April 2023)
Cons
Price – As far as stained glass ring saws go, the Taurus 3 is on the higher end in price.
Availability of Parts – So far I’ve tried twice to order the separating blade and both times it was on backorder so long that my orders were finally just canceled. I’m talking months! However, since then they seem to be available. Like the one I found in the link above – now that I don’t need it. Go figure.
And there you have it! So far I really don’t have many negative things to say about this tool. It’s sturdy, quick, and hasn’t failed me yet.
While there’s something to be said about using the old fashion method of cutting and grinding, as 21st century stained glass artists we have access to tools like this that allow us to create works of art that would have been impossible years ago. And that.is.exciting 🙂
What ring saw have you been using and how do you like it? Leave a comment below.
Happy creating <3
