A Closer Look At Selecting Diamond Blades
Contractors have many questions when it comes to choosing the right diamond blade for the job
. With so many different materials out there to cut and so many types of saws to run them on, how do you know what blade is best for you? Many blades are now designed as general purpose style blades. That means they will cut a wide variety of materials with optimal speed and life. The problem is that materials range in hardness and materials range in abrasiveness. These 2 characteristics make a world of difference when selecting the correct blade. It should be noted that diamond blades come in many grades from economy and standard to premium, supreme and professional. The grade you choose has much less importance than the right style or bonding of a blade in many situations.
For example, cured concrete in Maryland is not the same as cured concrete in New Mexico. Therefore, 2 operators using the same blade on the same type of saw will get 2 completely different results while using the same blade. Why? The answer is simple. The aggregate of the material will cause the blade to behave differently. One is hard concrete, while the concrete in Maryland is softer and more abrasive. Every diamond tool manufacturer has a way of making a diamond blade. Some tend to make the blades a little harder and some tend to make the blades a little softer. This has nothing to do with the quality grade. This is only the bond that holds the diamond in place.
It has nothing to do with the grade of diamond or the diamond concentration level. We are talking only about the metal that holds the diamond in place. This has a lot to do with the speed and life of your blade, even more than the grade or quality of the diamond itself. For example, if you have a blade with the very best diamond that money can buy, and the diamond concentration is very high on the blade. You have an expensive blade and will have very high expectations about the speed and life of this blade you purchased.
Well, say this blade is softer bonded, meaning that the metal bond that holds the diamond in place is softer materials, and you run this blade on some abrasive materials, such as a soft concrete with a lot of limestone in it, or you are cutting light weight masonry block. These are abrasive type materials that are easy to cut for almost any blade. The problem is because they are abrasive they will cause the diamond segment to wear away faster than the diamonds are wearing. Therefore the segment life will be short and your expensive high end blade just got wasted because all the good diamond fell out of the blade before it got used up. Conversely, let us take another situation. Let us say you have a blade and you have to cut some hard brick, clay, concrete pavers, or even some hard natural stone like quartzite or flagstone. Most of these are very dense and hard, and the problem you face is twofold. How do I get good life out of my blade, but more importantly how do I get the blade to cut fast on these hard materials?
Time is money, and whenever you are facing a job where the material is a hard one to cut your focus should always be on blade performance and not the life of the blade. You sometimes have to make a sacrifice with your blades, and we believe that time and labor is far more expensive than the cost of any blade. So always look for a blade that gives you high performance over life when working with hard materials.
If you run a blade on hard materials, and you find that the blade is sparking, bouncing, or cutting slow, you have what is called a bonding issue with the segment. Again, this has less to do with the grade of the blade, and more to do with the hardness level of the segment that holds the diamond in place. When working with harder materials you want a blade to have a softer segment bond so the diamonds do not glaze over and they stay exposed through the cutting process. When a blade is bouncing or sparking or just cutting slow you either have to redress the blade or look for a different style of blade to do the job. The best way to redress a blade and open the diamond segment back up is to run it trough a soft abrasive material such as block or sandstone or even asphalt. This will clean up the glaze on your blade left from the hard material and will expose the diamonds for you. Understand this is a temporary fix. You might have to do this process several times to get through the job
Now here comes the million dollar question. How do you the contractor know what to ask for, or how to choose the right blade? Let us understand this. Most of the local suppliers around the country that sell diamond blades are not experts. They carry blades to fill and support your needs and for them to make sales. But they are far from experts and they do not carry the variety of products to support everyone's needs. That's not their business. They sell diamond blades as an accessory item. It is usually one blade that will serve the purpose of most people.
So, where do you go? What can you do? Here are some helpful; tips when making a choice of blades for your work.
Blades come in 4 primary styles:
1.Segment
2.Turbo
3.Segment turbo
4.Wide gullet blades
Segmented blades are generally the most general purpose style blade and do well on most block and concrete.
Turbo blades will cut the same materials but will do it faster. They will also perform better on harder materials like brick and stone. Segmented turbo blades are a cross over type blade. They have the segments like a regular style blade but have castellated teeth to add speed to your blade without sacrificing life. So this gives the operator the best of both worlds. Segmented turbo blades are ideal for harder materials like hard brick and pavers.
Wide gullet blades are for working with the hardest of materials such as natural stone, fire brick, clay, or concrete pavers. Why? The speed and the life of the blade are good. You can cut a hard brick in 10 seconds instead of maybe 30 seconds with a conventional blade. With labor costs between 23-35 dollars an hour you want to get the job done fast.
When searching the web looking for a supplier of your diamond tools make sure they carry what you need. Make sure when you speak with them they ask the right questions about what you are doing. And most importantly make sure you provide them with the most information possible so they can hopefully get you the best blade possible for your job.
In conclusion let me say this, there are a lot of companies that sell and provide diamond tools on the internet. Most of them are no different than your local supplier. They have no clue what they are doing. Ask questions, explain your needs. Keep an open mind when they make a suggestion to you. Do not get caught up in price. Everyone has 30 dollar blades and 300 dollar blades. When you ask the right questions you should get the right answers.
by: Brian Appelbaum
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