Cutting aerated concrete blocks

[leen...@yahoo.co.uk]

Hi all

I need to cut a number of aerated concrete blocks to the same size and along the length. So far I have been using a hand saw which has worked fine. I was thinking of using my saw table for this but was wonder what the best blade to use is. Should I use a stone cutting disk (type you would use on an angle grinder) or a normal circular saw blade (assume an old one as it will blunt it easily)?

Anyone tried this before? Any top tip? E.g. was wondering if I need to put it on a skid or something to slide it on the wooden surface

Thanks in advance

Lee.

[noth...@aolbin.com]

Handsaw or bolster. You could use a saw table, but only if you want to
make a dust cloud and wreck the saw table at the same time

[John Rumm]

On 08/06/2022 08:04, leen...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I need to cut a number of aerated concrete blocks to the same size
> and along the length. So far I have been using a hand saw which has
> worked fine.

You can get special block saws with extra coarse teeth... e.g:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-1-5tpi-wood-aerated-block-saw-16-405mm/6237v

> I was thinking of using my saw table for this but was
> wonder what the best blade to use is.

Is this a table saw designed for wood or masonry? While one designed for
wood will work, I would be less keen on what the fine masonry dust would
do to the bearings...

> Should I use a stone cutting
> disk (type you would use on an angle grinder) or a normal circular
> saw blade (assume an old one as it will blunt it easily)?

Old metal blade would probably be best, since normal table saws don't
have the rotational speed to make abrasive discs cut well.

> Anyone tried this before? Any top tip? E.g. was wondering if I need
> to put it on a skid or something to slide it on the wooden surface

You can get bandsaws adapted for the process - some of those have
sliding tables - but I expect you could cope without.

When I needed to reclaim a load of bricks and trim off existing mortar,
I built a lash-up masonry cutting saw using a 9" angle grinder:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/Masonry_cutting_sawbench

Probably overkill for aerated blocks, but would work. You would probably
need to clamp a fence to it, and then flip the block to cut from both sides.




--
Cheers,

John.

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[Rod Speed]

On Wed, 08 Jun 2022 17:04:31 +1000, leen...@yahoo.co.uk
<leen...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> I need to cut a number of aerated concrete blocks to the same size and
> along the length. So far I have been using a hand saw which has worked
> fine. I was thinking of using my saw table for this but was wonder what
> the best blade to use is. Should I use a stone cutting disk (type you
> would use on an angle grinder)

Yes,

> or a normal circular saw blade (assume an old one as it will blunt it
> easily)?

That works too.

> Anyone tried this before? Any top tip? E.g. was wondering if I needto
> put it on a skid or something to slide it on the wooden surface

Yeah, otherwise the metal surface ofthe saw table will get gouged up a bit

[leen...@yahoo.co.uk]

Thanks all for your thoughts. I should have said that the saw table is home made (similar to your post John but with a circular saw below and a fence to run the material along. All made of wood). In your grinder option John where was the dust collecting flue pipe located? Sounds like it is below the table and I assume on the side where the disk is travelling up towards the table?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes, I seem to recall that builders tend to buy the cheapest most
disposable hand saw and then throw it away afterwards


--
"If you don’t read the news paper, you are un-informed. If you read the
news paper, you are mis-informed."

Mark Twain

[Peeler]

On Wed, 08 Jun 2022 20:02:57 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

<FLUSH the abnormal trolling senile cretin's latest trollshit unread>

--
David Plowman about senile Rodent Speed's trolling:
"Wodney is doing a lot of morphing these days. Must be even more desperate
than usual for attention."
MID: <59a60da...@davenoise.co.uk>

[John Rumm]

> Thanks all for your thoughts. I should have said that the saw table
> is home made (similar to your post John but with a circular saw below
> and a fence to run the material along. All made of wood).

ok so probably not as exposed to dust ingress as a traditional table saw
with exposed trunnions etc :-)

> In your
> grinder option John where was the dust collecting flue pipe located?

This photo probably shows it best:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:AGSawWithAddedDustPipe.jpg

It was just a bit of 2" plastic pipe, and I put a slit into one side of
it at the end with the AG disc. Then placed it under the table such that
the disk was buried in it with the edge of the disc roughly inline with
the centre of the pipe. Then hot glued the end to the underside of the
table.

> Sounds like it is below the table and I assume on the side where the
> disk is travelling up towards the table?

Underside yes, but on the front "down" side of the disk where it "exits"
the table after the cut.

So if you look at:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:AGSawTestRun.jpg

I added a 1/2" clearance hole at the lip of the disk nearest the corner
of that brick. Since the blade is travelling down at this point, much of
the dust is swept down through the hole in the table.

So the pipe under the table just controls the stream of exit dust a bit
and helps drop it in a pile on the ground. You still get some airborne
fine stuff that blows away though.

[ARW]

On 08/06/2022 08:04, leen...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:

>

> Anyone tried this before? Any top tip?

Don't do it at work incase H&S turn up.

A several grand fine followed.

[Andrew]

I was watching Garden Rescue on BBC1 recently and one of
the workman was filmed using a angle grinder with a stone-
cutting disk to cut some slabs. He was wearing eye protection
and ear muffs but didn't bother with dust suppression along
the lines of an attached pressure sprayer full of water