Reciprocating slurry saw

A slurry saw including a blade head with a pair of opposing side members positioned on either side of a generally rectangular cutting area with a blade pack positioned within said cutting area, the blade head being attached to a plurality of bearing housings via respective bearing mounts, each said bearing housing being, in turn, attached to a respective one of a pair of spaced rails such that the blade head is supported by said bearing housings such that it can be linearly reciprocated along the rails, the improvement comprising:

• at least one of said bearing mounts comprising a sliding bearing mount which is slidably mounted on a first of said side members such that the sliding bearing mount is reciprocally movable inward toward and outward away from said first side member.

A rotatable bearing mount for use in attaching a slurry saw blade head to a bearing housing, said bearing mount comprising:

• a. a first plate attachable to said blade head;
• and
• b. a second plate attachable to said bearing housing, said first and second plates being attached to each other such that they are rotatable with respect to each other.

A laterally movable bearing mount for use in attaching a slurry saw blade head to a bearing housing, said bearing mount comprising:

• a. attachment means for attaching said bearing mount to said bearing housing;
• and
• b. means for slidably mounting said bearing mount to said blade head such that the bearing mount is reciprocally movable inward toward and outward away from said blade head.

A slurry saw including a blade head with a front cross member, a rear movable cross member, a rear stationary cross member, and a pair of opposing side members collectively forming a generally rectangular cutting area with a blade pack positioned within said cutting area between said front cross member and said rear movable cross member, the blade head being attached to a plurality of bearing housings, each said bearing housing being, in turn, attached to a respective one of a pair of spaced rails such that the blade head is supported by said bearing housings such that it can be linearly reciprocated along the rails, the improvement comprising:

• a front cross member stiffener including a plate with a first edge attached to said front cross member on a side of said front cross member opposite said cutting area and in a position such that said stiffener extends along at least a portion of said front cross member and is substantially orthogonal to said front cross member.

A saw including a blade head which is supported by and reciprocates on spaced rails via bearings contained in a plurality of bearing housings mounted to said blade head by a respective plurality of bearing mounts, the improvement comprising:

• a. at least one of said bearing mounts having a first part fixedly attached to a respective one of said bearing housings and a second part fixedly attached to said blade head;
• and
• b. said first part being rotatably secured to said second part to permit said second part to rotate with respect to said respective bearing housing.

In a saw including a blade head which is supported by and reciprocates on spaced rails via bearings contained in a plurality of bearing housings mounted to said blade head by a respective plurality of bearing mounts, the improvement comprising:

• at least one of said bearing mounts being fixedly attached to a respective one of said bearing housings and slidably secured to said blade head to permit said blade head to move toward and away from said bearing mount.