Chop Saw vs Tile Saw

[RandyJ]

Unless you are running a HEPA vacuum cleaner I don't think you would get very far till it clogged the filter. Also trying to clean the filter would be a huge mess. Plusses for the additional cost you could more than buy a wet saw. If cost is that much of a issue then sell the saw when you are done. I bet you could get at least half back.

Randy

[dakzaag]

Has anyone checked out the new Skilsaw worm drive table saw? I think it might have enough power to run a 10" diamond blade and it has a vac port the could potentially cut the dust down to reasonable levels. Would need some sort of rolling table it seems, but it is newly in production and worth checking out.

[Gulf]

All good info. If you use the clean water bucket, you may want to think about doing something like this. The clean water bucket, like the wet saw tray, has one problem. It will run out of water. Only much faster. You will get to focusing on a cut and all of a sudden, you glance up and see a cloud. Brick dust! That that stuff you don't want to breath. Your pump is above the waterline. For you younger folks that means breathing silica. To me that means a shorter blade life .

Seriously, A cheap toilet float works great in a 5 gallon bucket. This is all that I could find of my rig. (The bucket has been reporposed for the garden) Just drill a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and secure with the commode gaskets. Connect a water hose to the bottom and you will have a water supply on demand. Note: Bought, scrounged or salvaged milk crates have many uses on an oven build .

[RandyJ]

That is the same saw that I used. Worked great. I also agree that you should use a separate bucket for the water supply. I also can see the drain bucket as a good plan. I had min set up on saw horses and the height worked out nice. You will get a bit of a spray of mud so outside is best. Good luck. The fun is about to start.

Randy

[JRPizza]

Nick, glad to hear you got a good deal on your saw. If you have your water flow set right, you should not have any airborne dust to worry about. Mine did tend to throw a little sludge when I was cutting, so good idea to work out in the drive way or somewhere a little mess won't bother you. You might also have heard recommendations to put the pump in a bucket of clean water, not in the recovery tray like the instructions suggest. This will keep the pump from clogging up with sediment. The setup I used is in the attached pic. I put the bucket of clean water behind the saw, and another bucket in front and below. I ran the saw with the drain plug removed from the tray and let the dirty water drain into the bucket. I found this setup way easier than dumping the tray (I had a hard time not spilling all over) and the elevated platform made cutting much easier.
As far as brick goes, I don't think any brick particles get picked up from cooking on the hearth, and if they did they are entering your gastro tract and not your lungs. There is an easy way out for things that enter your stomach . I am sure I have eaten my share of ash particles from cooking bread and pizza directly on the hearth, without any ill effect. You wouldn't want to breath in too much ash either.

[Brick Oven Nick]

Just got the Harbor Frieght 10" wet saw! Great sale today!

So, when you cut the firebrick with the wet saw, is there still a need for the respirator mask or is the air safe at that point.

Also, just curious, but I understand it's not safe to breath the dust from firebrick, but I'm assuming it's a safe cooking surface for pizza dough and breads etc? Obviously it must be since that appears to be how everyone does it, but what were the first pizza ovens built with? Just natural clay bricks? Any thoughts on this or place to learn more?

[RandyJ]

I sure hope you wore a respirator when you did that, and I do not mean a paper dust mask. The few few hundred dollars is part of the cost to build a oven. Also you can sell it when completed to help reduce the cost. It is very irresponsible to dry cut a whole oven due to the dust cloud you expose your family and neighbors to. The dust is very bad to inhale and could do permanent damage to your lungs. If you don't want to go the wet saw route a brick chisel and hammer would be a cheep alternative.

Randy

[fjfolsom]

I just finished my first build and all I used was my Skill saw with a diamond blade. Yes, it was dusty, yes my backyard looks like the surface of Mars. But it was cheaper than renting or buying a wet saw. Just my two cents. Also used an angle grinder for oddball cuts.

[jonv]

Unless something goes wrong with the hearth pour you should be able to lay the insulation directly, although as was pointed out on my build a barrier of some sort may be useful to stop moisture from getting into the insulation - well worth considering. If you're using calsil for the insulation you won't want to put it on anything wet - that stuff soaks up the moisture like nothing else I've seen. I reckon it would wreck any mortar and you have to drive that moisture out later too.

It's normal to lay the floor bricks directly on the insulation, with the sand/fireclay mix to level as needed. Again, mortar wouldn't be good on the insulation if you are using calsil.

I don't think there are any problems with that approach - I've seen it on plenty of builds and did mine that way.

[Brick Oven Nick]

All,

thanks for all the replys and help! HF saw it is! I will buy that and hopefully get back to building soon!

So I'm new to this forum and perhaps I still need to learn the proper posting techniques, but I'll go ahead and post another question here rather than starting a whole other thread title.

im studying up on the Hearth layers. So my concrete hearth is poured. On top of that I plan to do a thin layer of mortar to level the hearth surface. On top of that and while wet, I will put down my ceramic Insulation Board that I have already cut to shape. On top of that, it seems the plans call for a thin layer of sand/fire clay/ water mixture and then the Fire Bricks as the oven floor. All okay? I'm feeling like I want some sort of hard surface to go on top of the ceramic insulation board before the sand/clay mixture and fire bricks. Maybe a thin coat of mortar left to dry, or possibly non insulated ceramic tiles? Something to protect the insulation board from the Fire Brick Oven floor, and as a layer that encapsulates the insulation board so that the insulation fibers aren't disturbed over time. I'm not quite sure what materials/chemicals/fibers are in that material and so for better health, maybe an extra layer there is smart. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
-Nick

[Gulf]

Wow. I couldn't wait to get rid of mine once the cutting was done!

I keep finding other projects for mine .

Hey Gulf, I am a rat holer too. My HF saw sits in the garage encroaching on the SWMBO's parking territory.......LOL.

Russell, if it gets to be a real problem, I would try and talk her into a subcompact. .

[JRPizza]

+ 2 for the HF brick saw. Many of my cuts were "freeform" with the brick sitting in the middle of the platform (not against an edge or guide) and I never felt like the brick was in danger of binding or creating an unsafe condition. The RPM and geometry of those saws is targeted at cutting bricks. I'm hanging on to mine in case I do a tile enclosure or for any odd jobs around the house. I have already cut a few Windsor blocks for a garden in the back.

[deejayoh]

Wow. I couldn't wait to get rid of mine once the cutting was done!

[UtahBeehiver]

Hey Gulf, I am a rat holer too. My HF saw sits in the garage encroaching on the SWMBO's parking territory.......LOL.

[Gulf]

Like Russell, my vote is for the Harbor Freight 10" wet saw. For the money, it is the best power tool suited for this type job..................................However, unlike Russell, I have not been able to part with mine.......................... It is not for sale .