Cutting masonry with a circular saw

[sleepdog]

dust may

Skilsaw, $40 retail, use a $2 masonry blade from HD.

[Steve Manes]

Is there anything I should know about circular saws and masonry blades before I attempt a finish cut on a 2" limestone cap on my front deck? Will this damage the saw or the limestone? I've seen masons do this with big, honkin' internal combustion saws and large blades so I don't know if my Milwaukee will have the juice for it. Or if the dust may damage it.

Steve Manes Brooklyn, NY

[Fred]

They still have the water kit and roller attachment at Amazon.com and other sites. I've used abrasive blades before, slow and ware out faster than you could change it - diamond is the only way to go.

[SteveB]

A vacuum will catch most of the dust as it is produced. Don't try to go too fast or push the saw, or you will heat up the blade and motor. Nice and easy and straight.

Steve

[Ulysses]

Do you have a gas-powered lawn edger? I put a masonry blade on one and used it to cut concrete. It worked great and got the dust etc further away from me. The adjustable depth control was a plus (normally used to adjust along the sidewalk, curb etc.). It's been a while but I'm pretty sure I was able to keep the surface wet while I was cutting.

[Ranieri]

If you have more than a couple cuts to make, rent a gas powered concrete saw with a diamond blade. It's a little cumbersome, and kicks up an ungodly amount of dust - but it's definitely the correct tool for the job.

[Joseph Meehan]

In my limited experience the cutting is slow going and the dust is nasty. I would not use a good saw and I would - did wear full face and dust protection. The saw I used was an old Sears I bought as is about 35 years ago for $3.50. Nothing will kill that thing.

[Sacramento Dave]

You can get a dry Diamond blade for your saw, There was a water feed made for a circular saw at one time. If they still make one that would increase the blade life and cud down the dust. When they did our granite the used a dry diamond blade (6"to 8") in a grinder, I have used a 4" grinder ( some times called a peanut grinder) with a diamond blade to cut tile and stucco. If you use a regular abrasive blade I can't imagine how long it would take or the dust but I've never cut Flagstone.

[dadiOH]

Limestone is quite soft, a resin masonry blade and your saw will work just fine. Just go slow and easy, don't force. Forget a diamond blade...they make dust too and it would be silly to buy one for one cut. IMO, YMMV.

Possible but I use my circular saw with a masonry blade occasionally to cut concrete caps - about the same as your limestone would be as far as hardness and abrasiveness - and haven't damaged my saw. Clean it well after, blow out dust from the inside too.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Tim Fischer]

I just installed a small patio/landing for our deck steps and had to cut some pavers in half. I used an abrasive blade on my saw, and had my wife standing next to me with the garden hose nozzle set on "trickle" wetting down the cut as I did it. This kept the dust down to a minimum and seemed to help keep the blade running smoothly.

Of course you don't want to get the electrical part of the saw wet -- just the blade area.

-Tim