Cutting york stone - Best blade to use?

[Greensteve]

I wonder if you can suggest the best blade to use for cutting old York Stone slabs using a 115mm angle grinder - there seem to be a vast range of blades from very cheap discs, cheap diamond blades and more expensive blades!

I have about 40 slabs to cut - some up to 2in thick sometimes with one or two cuts per slab.

Thanks for your advice!

[Tony McC]

It ought to be a criminal offence to cut reclaimed yorkstone flags with a blade. The neat, straight cut-line completely spoils the natural fettled edges and character of the stone.

However, with 40 flags to cut, a tidgy nangle grinder is NOT the tool to use. Not only would it take forever and a day, you will kill yourself and those around you with the dust.

As noted elsewhere on the site, since May of this year, all cutting of paving that will generate silica dust MUST have that dust suppressed. This, for all practical purposes, means using water suppression. You can't fit water suppression to a lecky nangle grinder, so you will need to hire a petrol-engined cut-off saw, which should come fitted with a stone-cutting diamond blade.

Attach a hose to the inlet nipple, or, if a hose is not available, the Hire Shop *should* offer you a water bottle that will feed water to the blade while you cut.

[Greensteve]

Thank you for your information