The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:52 pm**

Hi,

New member. Complete novice. Based in Dublin.

I have a 12m x 1.8m front path on a slight curve, leading from gate to front door... standard herringbone blocks.

I want to replace this and have decided that I like granite. Specifically yellow/beige mixed size flags 600x600 600x300 300x300, all 30mm thick.

Edging will be in yellow/beige granite cobble.

I want to create a circle at the front door (i.e. the front door is at the centre of the circle, so my first problem is how do I cut the flags at the edge???

I have no idea what I am doing. My plan at the moment is to go to the local hire shop and get a petrol hand saw thing with a "diamond blade".

Will this suffice? Or what else do I need to think about?

Is cutting granite beyond a novice's abilities?

Thanks

Posted: **Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:18 pm**

on the cutting part only, hire/buy a 110v angle grinder 9" and some diamond blades. as a novice you will find this much easier to control. also get a good quality dust mask.

for the rest, all of the information you require is given in great detail on the main site. :;):

Posted: **Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:28 pm**

Hi, Granite is a very hard material , there are Diamond discs on the market that will cut , but you will find most will glaze within a few mins cutting, this is caused by overheating , you can clean the blade by cutting some softer but abrasive stone ie sandstone, but the only real answer for granite is by using a wet bench saw or a mobile air driven wet saw, the water cooling will save you time.Under no circumstances use an electric cutter with water !.
We recently had to cut some circular holes into some tanks and we purchased a so called dry cut diamond core drill. 1 hole took 2hrs to cut so we gave up and purchased a wet drill it then took 10 mins for the same job with the same core bit.

Posted: **Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:56 pm**

Thanks,

Are wet bench saws or mobile air driven wet saws easily available at hire shops or are we talking big money and industrial strength equipment??

Posted: **Fri Jul 02, 2010 5:55 pm**

when cutting harder materials you need a better blade, you get what you pay for. hard concrete blade will go through it no problem, brands like hilti etc but it is better to wet cut.

The Brew Cabin

Cutting granite