need brick cutting tips & tricks

I just laid the main part of a 4x25' curving brick walkway. Now comes the part where I need to fill in all the little angled and odd pieces. I have rented a brick saw for the weekend but I am looking for tips & tricks to accurately measure the angles and holes I have to fill. I plan on using a tape measure and marking on the brick then cutting, but could use some advice if anyone has any. Thanks JD Chesapeake, VA

Reply to
JD
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I know a stone mason who cuts up a huge pile of tar paper squares as large as his largest stones.

They are super simple to cut and try in the location. Once the tar paper fits, he uses it as a pattern.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

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Reply to
DanG

Maybe it doesn't work in your situation, but there is a standard technique. You would like to place the brick to be cut in the hole at the end of the row where you want it to fit, and then draw a cutting line on it... But that's awkward at best. So, you use a whole brick up against the end of the row that covers the next to the last brick in the row. Scribe that, remove it, cut it, and replace with a new whole brick. Now, the piece you cut exactly fits at the end of the row.

Reply to
William W. Plummer

Choose your method of transferring the pattern.. Biggest thing to remember this can be a wet and messy project. Use lots of fresh water, clean in the saw. Go slowly. They probably will measure the thickness and the diameter of the blade when you return it. They charge by the inch as well as the day. Diamond blades ARE expensive. Ask lots of questions before you sign on the dotted line. Brick is pretty soft compared with other types of stone and tile. Just let the saw do the work and you will minimiumize the wear on the blade.

Reply to
SQLit

I believe my mason said that the good blades are $300. There are crappy ones that are worthless for about $100.

Reply to
Art

And there are good $30 dry-cut diamond blades that will go in a 7 1/4 skil-saw & might last a lifetime for a homeowner.

Except for the dust these will work fine for brick or tile & are workable with block & stone. [I minimize the dust by duct-taping my shop vac to the saw]

As a data point I have used a single blade to cut a dozen or so 8x12 solid blocks-- turning them over & cutting both sides 2.5 inches deep before splitting them; 10 more of the 3" cap blocks, cutting 1.5 inches deep on both sides; maybe 2-300 pavers; 50' of 2" concrete to install a drain in my basement. . . and it is showing no signs of wear whatsoever.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

I buy all my blades for cutting at Harbor Freight. I have 2 for the skill saw, and 4 for my mini tile saw. I have done 2 home with the tile saw and as long as there is clean water the blade keeps trucking. I keep the others as spares. Price is right and the average homeowner will not care about the price of HF blades.

After all this guy is renting a machine.

Reply to
SQLit

I use a abrasive blade on my saw...

Reply to
n3whs

I just finished cutting ceramic tile with a grinding disc on my hand saw. I imagine it would work just as well on bricks or any other masonry. It works fine but raises immense amounts of dust. Wear a mask and, if possible, work outside.

Reply to
Dick Smyth

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