Which blade for 10" tile/brick saw to use?

[ljanmi2]

I've just got myself a 10" tile/brick saw to cut bricks for my oven. It came without the blade of course.

What brands of diamond tile saws are good enough to cut refractory bricks? Any hints on what brands to avoid?

Thanks,
Mike

[jengineer]

hint on use

No help on the blade but when I borrowed my dad's setup to redo 2 bathroom's he gave me this nugget.

-Use lots of water
If the rpm of the saw starts to slow down then you are pushing the material through too fast.
-When I cut through some real hard ceramic I actually got orange sparks off the wheel/tile. Probably form- the glaze. So i slowed down and made sure the water system was on max.

If you ever rent a machine to cut up a concrete driveway they will charge you by how many thousandths or millionths you have used up on the blade. They will tell you to use lots of water.

Most local big box stores (Home Despot/Lowe's) will carry a couple of brands. If there are construction warehouses near-by they will also have blades. I found one that had platsering materials to beat the band of the HD/L when it came to price - they also sell in larger quantities, more economical

je

[Marcel]

Diamond blades to consider

I've just got myself a 10" tile/brick saw to cut bricks for my oven. It came without the blade of course.

What brands of diamond tile saws are good enough to cut refractory bricks? Any hints on what brands to avoid?

Thanks,
Mike

(M) Mike, I believe you'll find that if a saw has sufficient power that a more important consideration is the type of blade to use. The continuous rim (not segmented) are for cuts in expensive tile where chipping needs to be at a minimum. Those continuous rim blades typically have less diamond "powder" than a segmented blade by the same company and will wear out more quickly.

(M) A place to purchase blades cheaply is "Harbor Freight Tools". If you don't have one in your area you can go on-line and order from:

http://www.harborfreight.com/

(M) I found a segmented 10" blade on-line there for only $19.99. Of course you need to consider the shipping cost but a blade is relatively light and that cost should not be excessive. If you want to see that segmented blade, which is for dry use but which can profit from added water, go to:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93878

Here follows a Copy-Paste from Harbor Freight of that item:

"
10'' DRY CUT MASONRY BLADE



High performance blade with good cutting speed.

• Segmented rim for dry cutting
• Designed for long life
• Cut concrete, brick, slate, stucco, and other masonry

7/8'' arbor, 6600 RPM max.

ITEM 93878-0VGA



$19.99


(M) Be sure that your arbor size corresponds to that offered by Harbor Freight; in this case 7/8".

Ciao,

Marcel

[ljanmi2]

Thanks

Thanks for the tips.

The saw I have is from Harbour Freight, but I was not sure of the quality of the blades they sell. I will need an adapter for that dry cut saw since saw arbor is 5/8" not 7/8".

In case that somebody else is looking for 10" tile/brick saw, I waited for the opportune moment when they had it on sale for $199 and on top of that used the 20% off coupon they sent me via email I picked it up in the store as it is close by, no shipping just tax which is better for heavy items like this.

Mike

[james]

Use and toss?

I know there are different ways of approaching tools -- I think it reflects an inner part of your personality. I've worked with guys who have great quality tools and really take care of them.

Then there's me. I've been known to buy a low-cost Harbor Freight (just down the road from me) tool knowing that I am going to abuse it and kill it during a big job.

For diamond blades, I get the mainstream Home Depot brand. They seem to last pretty long, and they definitely work well (I've done slab granite with them). Sticking to my tool philosophy, I've never been tempted by the more expensive blades that are said to last 3 times longer. I've never used Harbor Freight's own brand blades, so no help there.

James

[Marcel]

Segmented blade will splash more water

(M) I neglected to warn you that a dry cut blade to which you add water during use will splash considerably more water on the operator. There may be a compromise blade configuration called a Turbo Wet-Dry blade but I don't know if that configuration is available in a 10" size.

(M) To see what a small one looks like, click on the following URL:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=41740

Ciao,

Marcel

[DavidK]

I bought the harbor freight 10" tile saw and found it to be surprisingly well built... It easily handled both firebrick and common clay.

The harbor freight 10" continuous rim blade however didn't last more than a day and a half of cutting firebrick. I replaced it with the cheaper of two continuous rim models sold at home depot (they carry two-MK which is one of the standards in the tile industry, and another "house" brand which I don't remember the name of) It cost $34-ish and got me through the the construction of the chimney with plenty of life left for the future.

For reference you use a continuous rim blade for a wet saw; when cutting dry, segmented. There are many choices in each category and the range of prices. Some online sources are northerntools.com, amazon.com tools and Overstock.com Good luck.