Quick recommendation: What tool for one-time cutting of inch-thick sandstone paving stones?

[dadiOH]

Well, masons used to cut bricks by scoring them with a mason's chisel...

then break them. I don't think that would work well in your case because of the layered structure of the stone. Your best bet is a diamond blade. You can get a 4 1/2" angle grinder at HF for $15; a dry cut diamond blade to fit for less than $10.00 To drill the round hole, you can get bits for that purpose...you can do it by hand with a star drill...you can do it with a saber saw with a tile cutting carbide blade (has carbide pieces sintered on)...you can do it by hand with a carbide rod blade on a hack saw. With th saws, you gotta have a hole first.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

google 'GFCI Triple Tap cord' - I think I paid $25 for mine & it gives me peace of mind-- and I only have to walk to the end of the cord if it trips.

Jim

[Chuck Banshee]

OK. I'll call it flagstone! :)

Now that was interesting!

His brown (sand?) stone looks exactly the same as mine.

The scoring was trivial! He took his rock chisel and simply scratched a line. Just one line. That was it. It wasn't even a complete line. I'm amazed that 'thin' scratched line did anything!

I wonder if that will work for circles (to make the sprinkler head fit)?

[chaniarts]

flagstone.

you could cut the sprinkler hole with a diamond hole bit and some water, but that would set you back $100 or more. easier is simply a masonary drill bit. it'd be slow, but still work ok, although there's some slight chance that the slab will crack.

if you take it to a place that fabricates granite countertops, they'd probably drill your hole for a few dollars.

[Chuck Banshee]

I'll look for a one or two-inch masonry drill bit for the sprinkler.

Actually, for this one-time-only cut, that might work best if I can't find a large enough masonry drill bit to cut the sprinkler hole.

Thanks!

[Vic Smith]

The "scoring" was just to mark a straight line. Could have used a pencil. It was hammering the chisel that did the work. And notice the rough edges after the break-off. So don't expect clean edges with this method.

No.

--Vic

[JIMMIE]

Rent a masonry saw.

Jimmie

[DerbyDad03]

No need for *me* to Google GFCI Triple Tap cord.

Long, long before GFCI-protected extension cords were readily available at any Home Center, I took about 3 feet of outdoor extension cord, put a plug on one end and a GFCI duplex receptacle in a weather proof receptacle box on the other. It lives in the same crate that my extension cords live.

I've had that same peace of mind for decades.

[Attila.Iskander]

Get a blade used to cut holes for doorknobs and locksets It goes on your drill and makes perfect holes

[HeyBub]

I'd bet a metal hole saw, like for creating extra openings in a circuit-breaker box, would work. They go up to 2+ inches and are not expensive.

Why are we sprinkling flagstone?

[Chuck Banshee]

Oh. I see.

[Chuck Banshee]

Good question! :)

The sprinkler (and the pipe to the left) need to be protected so I was figuring I'd lay the flagstones along that wall as a walkway.

When complete, the sprinkler would be within two inches of the edge of the flagstone, and it would be sprinkling the grass.

[Chuck Banshee]

Here's the angle grinder I have ... with the cutting wheels I had in stock...

[Chuck Banshee]

Those first pictures were taken in the morning shade.

Here's another photo taken today in the full sunlight at noon:

Despite the stone being flat and heavy ... it's pretty soft.

[Chuck Banshee]

While I'm at it (cutting flagstone to create a walkway) ... would you suggest I try to repair these three holes in existing flagstone set in concrete?

How would you fix these damaged pieces (all set in concrete)?

This is in the worst damaged flagsone (in a heavy load area):

This is inexplicably just starting to break into pieces: And, this one, looks like it's going to go the same route: I'm guessing the way to fix these are to chisel them out, and to chisel out the concrete below them - and then fit a custom-fit piece of the right thickness back into place.

The problem of course is fitting the piece in and cutting all the concrete out.

Is there an easier way to repair these flaws?

[Vic Smith]

Seems you could find an epoxy filler for that. Color matching would be the tricky part.

--Vic

[dadiOH]

Still not possible to ID it but it looks more like silt/sandstone than shale. If you want to know, break off a BB sized piece and chew it up...if it isn't gritty; it is shale; if it is a little bit gritty; siltstone; very gritty, sandstone. Note that I am not being facetious, geologists in the field often do the same.

[dadiOH]

Another solution is to put the sprinkler on a stone joint line and make two semi-circular holes. That should be pretty easy, no special equipment.

[Chuck Banshee]

Very very gritty!

I'm gonna call it sandstone.

[clare]

Looks like they got cracked and water got in and froze??? If you can find a stone that is a close match that can be cut to fit I'd chip the old one out and replace it. (using thin-set) If not, clean out the hole, etch with acid, and fill the hole with hydraulic cement to seal it up and stabilize it.