Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

[Spinal]

I'm looking for the cheapest way to cut fire bricks...

I have a cheap (wickes) 190mm mitre saw - but can't find any masonry blades for it. Similarly, while I can find plenty of 230mm blades, I can't find any 230mm mitre saws (the only one I found costs an absolute fortune)!

Renting a brick saw (wet or otherwise) costs more than buying a cheap mitre saw...

Ideas? I must note that I'm in the UK - where tools cost an arm and a leg.

M.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

Diamond blade disc 180mm | eBay
quite a few out of Hong Kong with free postage

[Spinal]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

Thanks! Didn't think of looking for smaller blades!

Probably a stupid question... will a 180mm saw cut through the bricks? (don't have brick sizes on me at the moment - in the office )

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

180 cm is 7 inch pretty sure a brick is about 4 inch

[Gulf]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

It want cut all the way through the 4" deminsion but, it will have plenty of room ror the 2 and 1/4' side with a little room for beveling.

[tusr18a]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

I started out cheap on the saw too. Scared me half to death. Every time I picked up my skill saw with the diamond blade, I thought it might be my last. Sparks and dust were flying off the bricks. I was so focused on making sure the saw did not kick back and injure me that I wasn't cutting the bricks straight. I finally bought a wet saw that was capable of cutting through any and all bricks and cider blocks that were needed. My wallet was about $1,000.00 poorer. However, I was no longer fearful that I was going to cut off an "arm or a leg". There is something to be said about using the right tool.

[Bacterium]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

Hey M,
If tools are expensive does that mean your second hand market is good?.....meaning it makes it worth shelling out the cash on a wet saw as you"ll sell it and get most your money back.
sure you gotta have the capital first....

I picked up a top of the line brick saw as a display model marked down at a brickie trade supplier and can pretty much sell or 2nd hand and get within $200 of what I paid for it because its a tradie brand.

[Spinal]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

Second hand market is ok - but looking on ebay, they prices are still crazy. I'm not spending/investing ?1000 (almost $2k) on a saw that I will use for a week or so.

A mitre saw costs ?30-?200 for a 190-210mm one (not going into 300mm saws which start costing a lot more).

At the end of the day, it's just to make my life easy... I can always use a hatchet or a hammer/chisel to cut the bricks... that's what people have been doing for years...

M.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Mitre Saw? (aka cheap brick cutting)

Gudday
I cut all my bricks without a saw just a diamond bit in an angle grinder and brick bulster ( wide chisel especially for brick).
Its do able, but dusty work, your going to need a proper resporater not one of those paper hobby things. Mostly though its the brick bulster and hammer for most of the dome ,the top requires smaller cuts. To cut down the dust at this stage soak your fire brick first in a bucket use the grinder to mark the first inch or so of your cut then hit it with the bulster and hammer.
Would I do it again? Yes....done it twice on other ovens.
Does it take longer? No.....even though I am in awe of some of those beautiful cut brickwork ovens ( check out Gulfs) you'll still get a good functioning oven for less expertise.

Anyway thats my take on it

Regards Dave