Diamond saw blade?

[Richard]

I'm putting down some flagstone for a sidewalk. I have a DeWalt 4" grinder that I have a diamond blade attached to. I use this to help cut/fit the flagstone when I need to.

Sometimes, this entails cutting a 1/2" strip off the stone that might be 24" long. This makes for a lot of grinding with the little 4" grinder.

I then thought about a larger blade.

I have a Milwaukee 7" circular saw.
Milwaukee Tilt Lok Circular Saw - 6390-21 at The Home Depot

Sucker is essentially brand new so I am not keen on trashing it with a bunch of rock dust BUT... for time savings, it might be worth a tradeoff.

I've looked (via internet) on Home Depot's website for a diamond blade and thus far...do not see anything. (perhaps just not looked in right location)

Do they make a blade like that?
Am I asking for trouble trying to mount a blade like that and using it on this saw?

Is getting one of these, one of my rare moments of brilliance?

I've spent over an hour on a single stone, "machining" it to fit my need (notched for a 6x6 post and some other shaping)

I'm trying to NOT cut them as much as I can avoid it but with 2" stones, this little 4" , though better than nothing.... isn't terribly fast.

Thoughts?

 

[rus_geek]

I have picked up "generic" diamond blades from Home Depot and Menards before. No damage to my saw from them so far, cutting landscaping blocks, patio blocks and tile.

-rus-

 

[Chuck52]

Rent or buy a tile saw. Much easier to use, water to catch the dust, not real expensive. If you have many stones to cut it really makes sense.

Chuck

 

[Richard]

Indeed, I was evidently not looking hard enough.

Cement - Circular Blades - Saw Blades - Power Tool Accessories - Tools & Hardware at The Home Depot


Would these work? (the 7" blade)

would I need to remove/defeat my blade guard? I can't see that I'd be cutting this stone in a traditional way like you'd cut a board.

For the record, I'm agasint defeating a safety item like that but... with my grinder, I have to score a line and keep scoring it into the rock. Rather hard to do with a blade guard in the way.

 

[Richard]

Rent or buy a tile saw. Much easier to use, water to catch the dust, not real expensive. If you have many stones to cut it really makes sense.

Chuck

Wow... I should put some pictures up. No way at all do I see a tile saw working.

These rocks are 2" thick and go anywhere from say...20" square UP TO maybe 36"x36" (and weigh a freaking portion of a ton!!)

 

[Richard]

I guess I wasn't too clear. These are not "square" type flagstones. Nope... the wife wanted NOTHING to do with square/rectangle of any shape. These are 100% irregular pattern which means fitting them with nice tight seams (as she insists) is just about impossible becuse when I need a seam with a 90 degree angle in it... I only happen to have rounded stones. When I later need a rounded fit...I only have pointed stones.

 

[Richard]

This is a BEFORE picture but it's the only one I seem to have here at work.

(did I just admit I'm hanging around here while at work? )

Anyway, this is the original sidewalk we (I) put down and this is just before I ripped it all up so we could do our addition to the house.

Now that the addition is done, I'm in process of putting the walkway back down. I've had to buy two more pallats of flagstones (4 tons total) These new flagstones are much more consistent than the ones in the picture. The new ones are about 2-2 1/2" thick and as these in the picture, are irregular shapes. The new ones however, seem to be larger stones than these in the picture. Some of them are downright BIG and I'll use them on our stairs to replace the "piecemeal" treads we have on the stairs. (I have had one of the existing treads "flip" up on me about an inch or so when walking on the steps, I'm going to pull those off and replace with a single larger (new) flagstone)

Regardless.... this is the mosaic type of stuff I'm having to piece together. Why she didn't simply get square cut in the beginning to make life easier....is beyond me.

I think she's trying to kill me while maintaining culpable deniability

 

[moeh1]

Even HF has diamond blades for a circ saw. 20 or 30 bucks. Get one with segments since you are dry cutting. Might not want to cut all the way thru, just partial depth and chip the pieces off?
Good Luck

 

[Scooby074]

Probably not in the budget, but what about a gas powered cut off saw. either buy or rent.

I just got through killing my new makita grinder with stonedust when using a diamond wheel.

If you do use your skilsaw, try to keep the cut wet and you might want to consider a cheepie saw just for this job.

 

[Richard]

I just talked to Milwaukee Tool. Bottom line, he said I'd probably trash my saw if I used it for stone. At $150, it might be worthwile if it will cut my cutting time down. I could then use this as my 'trash' saw and get a new one (although this is new itself)

Moeh1: Regarding cutting & chipping... that's exactly what I'm doing now however, I'm trying to chip the entire section off (think of something the shape of a piece of pie). I'm trying to keep that intact so I can use those as fillers in other places rather than be "chips" and therefore, trash.

Scooby: I've thought about keeping the cut wet however, that would entail flowing water with an unprotected electronic instrument in my hands. Would create a mess and make me uneasy with the thoughts of some excess moisture finding it's way between my hands and some electrical contacts. My wife hasn't been talking to you has she?

 

[J_J]

Are your stones small enough to push through a tile saw? Maybe brick saw.

You could make yourself a nice stone cutter by using an 8 in long, 5/8, or 1 in ball bearing arbor, and drive that with a 1/2 to a 1 HP electric motor, and even add water. Use what ever blade size that will fit your arbor. Diamonds blades are cheap enough. I have a Stihl 760 14 in, and that bad boy will cut just about anything.

 

[Uncle Doug]

You might be able to pick up a used circuler saw at a yard sale or pawn shop. That would keep you from trashing a good saw. While I have never cut stone with one I do have 2 saws, one I have used to cur sheet metal by turning around a plywood blade. Makes lots of noise but cuts throught it.

 

[polo1665]

I guess I wasn't too clear. These are not "square" type flagstones. Nope... the wife wanted NOTHING to do with square/rectangle of any shape. These are 100% irregular pattern which means fitting them with nice tight seams (as she insists) is just about impossible becuse when I need a seam with a 90 degree angle in it... I only happen to have rounded stones. When I later need a rounded fit...I only have pointed stones.

I know your pain I just got done with about a 500 square foot patio and 11,000 lbs of the same material. I found out that I am not very good at jigsaw puzzles.
To answer your question: Yes those blades will cut your flagstone. I bought a 7" masonry blade for $20 because I had some block to cut and ended up using it for the flagstone as well. Ended up going through two blades.
I didn't trim too much of the stone, I tried to fit it together as well as I could. Be prepared for a lot of dust. I strongly suggest a decent respirator. I've included a pic of my project. It turned out pretty well. Now I'm starting phase II of the operation.

Mark

 

[Q-Saw]

I used to work for a mason, and he had an old worm-drive skilsaw with a diamond blade in it that he used for cutting concrete.

He had someone fabricate some small (maybe 1/8" ??) copper tubing into water jets that were aimed at both sides of the blade (the ends of the tubing were flattened to produce a fan-type of spray pattern). The copper tubes were joined and then connected to some (about 3/8" x 10') vinyl tubing that had a garden hose connector on the end. Somewhere in there was a very small needle valve to adjust the flow rate.

I was concerned about electrical shock when I first saw it, but he assured me that it was okay because he used a double-insulated motor (no ground prong in the plug). I think I would still want a GFCI unit to plug in to.

Anyway, it worked very well and kept the dust non-existant. We would sometimes use a wet/dry vacuum along with it to suck up the slurry as it was produced. That kept everything pretty clean, but we needed a separate electrical circuit for each tool to avoid tripping breakers.

Perhaps this might give you some ideas.

- Marty

 

[Egon]

I've used a 4 1/2 in angle grinder wit a dry cut rock blade on granite stones.

I also have a 14 in. dewalt circular saw with dry carbide rock blade. It has cut through 5 in granite.

I assume you are cutting as deep as you can for the full length of the piece that has to be removed and then using a wide chisel on the backside to break off the piece. When doing so do you have both sides of the cut supported full length and off the ground so the rock can break properly? The long side support should be as far from the cut as possible.

Do you make one cut and then turn the stone over to cut the opposite side?

Pictures Not flagstones but granite rocks that have been split just to show saw cuts.The saw cuts are quite hard to see but they will be on the side where the drilled holes start.

 

[Steve C]

I'm putting down some flagstone for a sidewalk. I have a DeWalt 4" grinder that I have a diamond blade attached to. I use this to help cut/fit the flagstone when I need to.

Sometimes, this entails cutting a 1/2" strip off the stone that might be 24" long. This makes for a lot of grinding with the little 4" grinder.

I then thought about a larger blade.

I have a Milwaukee 7" circular saw.
Milwaukee Tilt Lok Circular Saw - 6390-21 at The Home Depot

Sucker is essentially brand new so I am not keen on trashing it with a bunch of rock dust BUT... for time savings, it might be worth a tradeoff.

I've looked (via internet) on Home Depot's website for a diamond blade and thus far...do not see anything. (perhaps just not looked in right location)

Do they make a blade like that?
Am I asking for trouble trying to mount a blade like that and using it on this saw?

Is getting one of these, one of my rare moments of brilliance?

I've spent over an hour on a single stone, "machining" it to fit my need (notched for a 6x6 post and some other shaping)

I'm trying to NOT cut them as much as I can avoid it but with 2" stones, this little 4" , though better than nothing.... isn't terribly fast.

Thoughts?

Rent or buy a gas powered 14" or larger saw with a diamond blade. (looks like a chain saw with a round blade instead of a chain) You will be able to cut your stones in a matter of seconds. I used one to cut thru cement pipe, it cut like it was butter. It does make a bit of noise and a lot of dust but it gets the job done in a hurry. It is the tool you need for the job at hand. You can have a helper spray down the stones with a misting sprayer on a garden hose to help keep the dust down while you are cutting. Lay out your stones and mark them for cutting before you rent the saw. You will be able to cut them all in 20 minutes or so.

 

[TheKid]

Don't trash your good saw. You can get cheap one at HF for $30 or $40. For a few bucks more you can get the extended warranty in case it lets the smoke out. As long as you're plugged into a ground fault outlet you can run some water to keep the dust down.

I used water when I was cutting some 2" thick quartz counter top with an 8" angle grinder and didn't have any problems.

 

[hilld]

As others have said, use the right tool for the job, most rental yards have this one for rent.

Cutquik? Cut-Off Machines - Professional Cut Off Machines, Concrete Saws, Masonry Saws - STIHL USA

Hope this helps.

D.

 

[sawdust_maker]

I strongly suggest a decent respirator.

Definitely use a decent mask of some sort. You don't want stone dust in your lungs.

John

 

[JohninCT]

I cut a bunch of 18 x18 x 2 inch thick concrete paver blocks with a circ saw and it worked fine. Don't take the blade guard off. It will make more of a mess and be more dangerous. Make a foam filter sleeve to keep rock dust out of the saw motor. You can try to rig up a shop vac hose near the bottom of the blade guard to suck up some of the dust. Definately wear safety glasses/goggles and a mask!