I've recently come across something that needs attention. Folks are buying tile saws to cut gem material. I don't object to the tile saws or the need to save money, I object to using the saws improperly.  A lapidary saw blade turns clock wise so that the coolant is thrown of the blade onto the rock. Some of these saws have no spray diverter ,and no provision for a vice . The most dangerous practice I have seen is pulling the rock from the back of the saw to the front. I can guarantee this will result in someone a mouth full of rock. Having been a cutter for 30 years I have dodged more than a few rocks and even more metal work thrown at me by polishers.I caught a 3 lb pewter picture frame at a scale speed of 200 miles an hour, there is still a dent in my sternum. I'm a member of the Gem Cutters Guild Of Baltimore , we recently had a new member that was grinding rock on a bench grinder. This is insanely dangerous, those wheels will shatter if pushed to hard, they were never meant to grind any thing asgard as rock.Please be careful these accidents can be fatal.

JoeM wrote on Jun 30^th, 2020 at 10:34am:

Say it isn't so... You? 

Rock8112 wrote on Jan 21^st, 2021 at 12:11pm:

I have no experience with them, so I couldn't tell you if they cut flesh or not. But... be a quick way to trim your fingernails.  Use small pieces of wood to hold and guide the stones. Wood doesn't bleed allover the place. 

Well, I thought CB might get on here and set y'all straight, but I'll give it a try.

First of all, congratulations on getting a saw, Rock. Have fun with it!

No, the diamond blade will not cut you. You can hold your finger "lightly" on the blade while it is turning and be fine. Hold it there a little longer and firmer and yes, you will fairly quickly wear a groove thru your skin and eventually bleed.

Your last idea about dopping your rock to a slab is a good one and a little closer to the title of this thread, "Proper Use of Equipment".
A tile saw is made for cutting 'flat' tiles. It also works well for cutting 'flat' slabs. So if you buy your rock in slabs you can use the saw to cut out your cabochon preforms. But, cutting rough rock or anything else and you are going beyond, "Proper Use of Equipment" period.

So you have to be creative, and as any artist will tell you, you've got to bleed a little to create any great works of art!   

The idea of making a sled to  to hold the cutee is a good one . With large slab saws irregular ruff can be difficult to clamp into standard vices. Gluing the material to a 2×4or a2×10 can eliminate this problem. Some thick kerfblades do pose a cut threat. The 4 inch , and 7inch blades have a sharper profile,  and can cut you if they are not roughed up . Put the new blade on, take the brick that you use for deglazing your sawblade and take off the sharp edges. These blades are mostly for  tile saws. The blades from Harbor Freight are cheap but tough.