Diamond Tools & Saw Blades    

Diamond tools or any other power tools for can be potentially dangerous if not used correctly. This article will touch base on a few of the do’s and don’ts of general diamond saw blade usage.

Things you should check before you begin cutting.

(Always wear proper safety equipment)

1. Make sure the diamond blade has no damage to it (shipping or previous use) before mounting on your saw.

2. Make sure the arrow indicates the correct rotation direction when mounting on the saw, if you put a diamond blade on backwards the efficiency will be greatly reduced and you will not get the full life out of the saw blade.

3. Tighten the flanges (plates that hold the diamond blade on the crank shaft) to avoid the blade from slipping during the cut and to ensure full cutting performance.

4. If you are using a wet cutting saw, make sure the waterways are clean and unobstructed to prevent overheating of the diamond blade and to clear the cut of any slurry. (cutting material left behind during the cutting process)

5. Make sure you know the correct RPM speed of the blade and use the saw accordingly.

6. Wear respiratory safety gear to avoid breathing any potentially hazardrous air born dust cause by cutting. (Even when wet cutting, it is always recommended to wear all the proper safety equipment)

7. Make sure the diamond blade still has cutting segments! All diamond blades have a welding line, whether it be laser welded or sintered there is always about 1mm of useless segments. Check your diamond blade periodically when you notice the segments are nearly worn. By cutting with useless segments you can damage your cutting saw.

Tips to ensure correct cutting procedures.

1. Make sure your saw has proper maintenance: Check the flanges, crank shaft (arbor), bearings, belts, filters, oil, etc.

2. Make sure your cutting saw’s arbor shaft spins on a true axis. A shaft than has any type of wobbling will greatly reduce the life of your diamond tool.

3. Use light to medium pressure when cutting, allow the diamond blade to push through the material at a safe speed.

4. Never apply excessive pressure or you may overheat the diamond blade or worse yet, throw a segment which can be potentially fatal considering the RPMs at which the saw runs.

5. Make sure your time blade has enough diamonds protruding on the surface or it will not cut effectively. Common cause of this is cutting a material that is too hard for the diamond blade’s bond. You can cut highly abrasive materials to resharpen the diamond blade, such as asphalt or abrasive cinderblock.

6. Make shallow cuts in the material you are cutting. For example, if you need to cut 4 inches deep you should cut in 2 passes. The 1st pass at 2″ deep and the second pass at the full 4″ depth to avoid overheating and extend the diamond blade’s life duration significantly.

7. Never use a diamond blade for grinding materials. A diamond blade should ONLY be used to make straight cuts, if you try to cut in curves it is very likely that the diamond blade will get stuck or break a segment and send it flying at dangerous speeds. At the very least, the blade will wear unevenly and overheat (since the diamond segments lose their width they also lose their potential to retain heat, thinner objects overheat much faster)

8. Make sure the diamond blade isn’t bent, this is a hazard since it could get caught in the cut and throw segments.

9. Never stand in front of the saw, it can send the cutting material forth at high speeds and potentially cause injury.

10. Use the diamond blade only on materials it is specifically manufactured for. Using the wrong diamond blade on specific materials can cause segment loss, smoothing of the segments (causing it to cut very slow and ineffective), extremely fast wear or not cut at all.

If you follow these simple steps you’ll save time and money through the effective use of diamond blades and save yourself lots of grief or possibly injury in worst case scenarios

Thanks for reading, good luck on your upcoming cutting projects!

Diamond Tool Information – Diamond Blades – Core Bits – Grinding Cups

Diamond saw blades are generally used for cutting concrete, asphalt, brick, block, stone, tile, ceramics, porcelain and other similar materials. Saw blades are usually used by contractors or home owners for DIY (do it yourself) projects, home improvements, repairs, building construction and restoration.

There is a large variety of saw blades designed for different cutting materials. When choosing your diamond blade it is extremely important that you know the material well. Selecting the wrong saw blade for your cutting application will result in poor performance, premature wear and possible damage to the blade, saw or operator.

Diamond blades are designed for different cutting materials depending on the abrasive properties and how hard the materials are that need to be cut. For soft abrasives such as asphalt, you will need a specific asphalt saw blade. These asphalt diamond blades typically have wider U-shaped gullets (spaces between segments) to help remove the slurry (abrasive leftover materials from the cut) faster to prevent premature wear beneath the segments. The premature wear under the segments is known as “Under Cutting” and it can lead to possible segment loss of the diamond blade.

To prevent undercutting, asphalt blades typically have a drop segments (multiple taller segments to distribute the slurry away from the segment supports) or small carbide or diamond inserts between some of the gullets. Another reason it is important to choose the right blade for cutting asphalt is the diamond blade’s bond.

Diamond blades for cutting concrete are quite the opposite of asphalt blades. They have narrow key slot shaped segments for smoother cutting of hard materials. Since cured concrete is a hard material, the diamond blade will need a soft bond for a faster wear rate. If the bond is too hard for the material you’re trying to cut, the diamonds will glaze over and become smooth. Smoothing of the diamonds will cause the diamond blade to stop cutting effectively or completely and more importantly it can cause damage to you, your equipment or the blade itself.

A few ways you can avoid this is by checking the blade from time to time, making sure the segments still feel rough to the touch. This assures that sharp diamonds are exposed on the cutting surface and everything is working fine. If the segments feel smooth then you should use a softer bond for your cutting material which means that the segments should wear down faster allowing new diamonds to be exposed quicker and allow the worn diamonds to fall out.

If you make short cuts in a softer abrasive material it will “sharpen” the blade by wearing down the segments quickly. It’s recommendable however that you acquire a different blade instead of trying to reuse the current one as the same situation will occur.
Diamond blades are commonly use on gas powered high speed cutoff saws, handheld electric angle grinders, walk behind floor saws, table mounted saws and rail saws to name a few.

Some diamond blades have very specific uses such as concave diamond blades for cutting curves or tuck pointers for removing old mortar for brick wall repairs.
Other similar diamond tools are core drill bits and grinding cup wheels for concrete.

A core bit is a long tube with diamond segments on the tip used for drilling concrete, stone or other masonry materials. Make sure to choose the right dry or wet cutting core bit for your cutting equipment.

Grinding cup wheels are cup shaped wheels with diamond segments for grinding or polishing concrete and stone. There are various types of segment designs depending on the desired finish.

For fast aggressive removal of concrete you should use a turbo segment or double row grinding cup. For a smoother finish you should use a full turbo grinding cup with the largest segment surface area possible.

Always remember to wear proper safety equipment to protect yourself and make sure you have a well ventilated work space to avoid breathing harmful air born dust caused by the cutting materials. Be sure to maintain your cutting equipment and check it periodically to ensure fast cutting and proper distribution of water flow.