Today I was looking forward to a gloriously uninterrupted day of work in the studio. O happiness!  O joy!

You already know what happens next.  About a half-hour into cutting tile and adhering it to my mosaic design with mortar, my ring saw drive belt broke. So, no more sawing until I take apart the saw and replace the belt.  I DO keep a spare belt in my supplies.

Fighting the urge to hurry through the project, make mistakes I must undo, and generally damage the equipment, I calmed down enough to act as if I felt systematic.  One step at a time, people, one step at a time.

This is the tile piece I was cutting when the belt broke and the blade stopped spinning.

The much-used drive belt finally went the way of all things. Here it is looking pathetic and frayed, lying on my saw table.

While looking at the saw manual, I noticed that the company recommends cleaning the little saw parts by running the saw with a bit of detergent in the reservoir before rinsing out the whole thing.  Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that!  So, after opening up the saw housing and replacing the belt, I did as the manual recommended.  Here is the foam on the saw table:

Using a few drops of detergent in the water reservoir underneath to help clean the moving saw parts.

Um, yeah, so after that, it was time to take the machinery outside in parts and clean the tile sludge out of the whole thing.

Hose, artist’s paint brush, and a little care to clean the saw parts of sludge build-up

See the track of the drive belt inside the plastic saw housing?

Now, back upstairs on the porch to dry for awhile:

Drying the saw parts, including the felt used to cushion sliding parts, with my trusty box fan.

Finally, back to work with a happy tool, ready to do my bidding.  Finished up this:

Bottom of a wall mosaic section glued on mesh and ready for its fitting with the section above.

Don’t forget to visit my website from time to time for updates or new pictures.  Also, the blog, “New Life from Shards” is the one to follow for the unfolding story of the creation of a large, community-built mosaic wall that I have designed and directed.