7/6/2023 0 Comments Quicky sawBut the advancements in dry diamond blade technology increased the use of masonry saws on all types of construction projects and became a multibillion-dollar industry. A 7” dry cut blade sold for over $100, and 14” and 20” blades could sell from $ 400 to over $800. In the 80’s and 90’s, cost was a major drawback to the diamond blades. You could use it right on the scaffold, but they were not as accurate as using a masonry table saw. The “Quickie Saw”, as it was nicknamed, became a very fast way to make cuts. With the availability of the new laser welded 12” and 14” dry cut masonry blades, contractors started to use handheld power cutters. This opened up a whole new set of opportunities for mason contractors to use dry cut blades on their wet cut 14” and 20” wet cut saws, as well as other electric tools like angle grinders and 7” worm drive saws. This all changed in the early 1980’s when laser welding from the aerospace industry was used to laser weld a diamond segment onto the steel blade core. In addition to the silica dust, asbestos was also found in some of the blades.ĭuring this era, dry cutting was not typically a consistent option because of the excessive blade wear. Now you are dealing with not only the dust generated from dry cutting, but also the dust and debris generated from the carborundum blade as it disintegrated. Within 10 to 15 minutes you could go through a 14” blade. Although the cost was much less than diamond blades, a major drawback was that the blades wore out and disintegrated fast. Mason contractors started to cut dry using carborundum type abrasive blades. Options for dry cutting masonry in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s was limited. A secondary benefit of using water was that it helped control the dust. All of these saws required water to keep the blade cool. Water was required to avoid over heating the blade, melting the brazing or weld between the segment and the steel blade core, and potentially losing one of the diamond embedded segments. In those days you were a considered a “real” mason contractor if you had 14” and 20” masonry saws on your jobsite.įor many, many years, wet cutting was the only way to cut. These were all wet cut designed to be run with water. These new masonry saws became widely used in the 50’s and 60’s, especially as electric versions powered at 120 volt or 240 volt, or powered by a small gasoline engine became available. They created similar stationary masonry saws that could also be used on jobsites. Over the next 40 years, several manufacturers jumped into the masonry saw business. This new saw, coupled with the diamond blade, changed the way masonry materials could be cut on jobsites and it started to replace the trusted hammer and chisel for cutting. That changed in 1936 with the invention of the Clipper Electric Masonry Saw. At the time, there were no practical applications for use on a jobsite. Diamond blades, as they were called, were used in factories on very large specialty machines. These segments were brazed/welded to a steel core and completed the blade. The cutting or grinding was possible by using diamond grit or chips embedded in a metal matrix creating the segment. In 1926, a blade was invented that could cut stone, brick, and concrete masonry materials. In this part of the article, we will now focus on the Masonry saws and blades. The last 80 years, however, have seen the greatest innovations in the trade. Masonry has been around for thousands of years.
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