It is quite impossible to cut concrete if you don’t have an excellent saw blade regardless of whether you’re just boosting concrete with decorative scoring, sawing the control joints, or even cutting the present concrete for replacement or patching. All in all, like a chef that needs to have an assortment of tools to prepare multiple food specialities, you cannot just use a single type of blade to perform all the tasks. Furthermore, you may need to use different types of blades when cutting through different concretes. The team at Cardiff Lawn & Garden recommend anyone undertaking DIY projects to thoroughly study the safety guidelines before handling concrete disc cutters.
Since there are many types of blades in the market, finding the one that suits your demands can turn out to be a daunting and tedious process. So, to help you find the blade that perfectly cuts through concrete, we have outlined the tips that you need to follow. Keep glued to this site to the end to find out more about the steps that you need to follow when it comes to buying a blade for cutting concrete.
Understand How the Blade Works
If you fully understand how a blade works, you will certainly have an easy time when choosing a blade based on the characteristics and cutting quality that you need. The main blade components that you need to consider include:
Metal Core – a perfectly designed steel disk that contains a segmented rim
Synthetic Diamond Crystals – they’re the sharp cutting teeth which typically cuts through a concrete
Weld – it typically attaches the cutting components to the core
The Matrix – a metal bond which generally grasps the diamond particles in one place
An essential factor to consider is that how hard a matrix determines how quickly a blade tears and wears. A general rule that you need to follow is that a blade that cuts abrasive and soft materials needs to incorporate a stiff metal. Equally, a blade for cutting nonabrasive and hard concrete needs to incorporate a soft material to create a room for easier matrix erosion.
What are You Cutting?
It is always advisable to match a blade with the material that you intend to cut for optimal blade life and cutting speed. When it comes to cutting concrete, you need to consider its characteristics such as the hardness and size of the aggregate, the compressive strength, as well as the type of sand. Generally, the blade manufacturers see a concrete comprising a strength of about 3000 psi as a soft material, while a concrete that has a strength of about 6000 psi as a hard material. Thus, it would help if you used a blade that contains a hard bond to cut through low-strength concretes and cut the high-psi concrete with a soft bond.
The Nature of the Concrete Material?
If you want to cut a new concrete, you can either make the cut on the control joints when the concrete is about one or two hours old or during the next day. Ordinarily, a concrete hardens after a day. In this case, the timing of cutting the concrete determines the blade to use.
Dry or Wet Cutting?
The decision of wet or dry cutting comes down to your job requirements and preference. Besides eliminating an untidy wet slurry, a dry cutting gets rid of the necessity to equip saws with hoses and tanks. Conversely, using a wet blade lowers dust but makes it compulsory to clean up and contain the slurry. With this in mind, you need to use a dry-cutting blade if you are performing an indoor task in an area that you’ve to keep dry. Usually, the primary difference between dry and wet blades is the weld. Therefore, the dry-cutting blades incorporate segment welds that do not need water for cooling as they resist heat.
Performance vs Price
Manufacturers usually sell blades at various costs and quality, ranging from the standard blades to premium blades. Largely, the crucial difference between the two options is the concentration of the diamond. Usually, the diamond mostly forms the raw material used during the blade manufacture. Opting for a premium blade, such as the ones found on STIHL cut-off saws, over a standard one may raise the purchasing cost by a considerable percentage. All in all, you will get not only a high diamond concentration but also a blade that lasts long.
With this in mind, you will have to decide what is much more essential to you; the initial blade cost of the overall cutting cost. On the whole, you can opt for the standard blades if you’ve small cutting tasks where you’ll not need to overwork the blade. For frequent use and large tasks, on the other hand, buying the top-quality blade may genuinely turn out to be a cheap purchase in the long run.
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