diamond vs. abrasive blade for concrete saw

[hazmat]

Besides the big price difference ($100-$150 vs. $5-$10), what are the pros and cons of the diamond blade vs. the abrasive?

I just purchased a used Stihl 14" cutoff saw on ebay. I've got a few upcoming projects:

1- I'm planning to demolish & remove my pool in a few weeks (renting a fullsize backhoe with hydraulic hammer and 4 in 1 bucket - yes I will be taking pix for y'all).

2- I also have to cut (3) 2ft x 2ft sections out of my basement floor to add footers for columns to bring my loadbearing wall / beam up to code for my 3rd floor media room.

3- Lastly planning to do a concrete paver patio w/ retaining wall next summer (where the pool was)

The abrasive wheel will wear down as you use it, but how fast?

Will the diamond wheel cut rebar? Will it outlast an abrasive by 20X?

Is the diamond cut cleaner (don't really care except for the last project)

[EddieWalker]

Every time you cut with an abrasive blade, it gets smaller. If you just have a small project then they are fine, but after awhile, the blade will get to small to cut very much.

The diamond blade lasts forever. OK, not forever, but I've never wore mine out. I have one for my 7 1/4 inch saw and my 14 inch chop saw. I use them for cutting brick pavers, stone vineer and scoring flagstone. I've also used them to cut concrete out of sidewalks and driveways.

I've never tried to do what you're going to do, so there might be other issues I'm not aware of.

Good luck and post lots of pictures!!

Eddie

[jinman]

I think the diamond blades work best with a little lubricant/coolant. I know the concrete cutting machines use coolant. For abrasive blades, I don't think coolant is necessary. It might not even be recommended.

Years ago, I worked as a research engineer for a geoscience department at a university. We used diamond blades for cutting rock thin sections. It was always a challenge to get graduate students to put their diamond blades on the saw so that they always rotated the same direction. If you reverse a diamond blade one time, you will lose about 1/2 the diamonds and the blade will soon be useless.

I would just say that a diamond blade is much better and will last much longer, but they require much more care to get maximum life. I'm not sure your saw would not be best with an abrasive blade since you won't have coolant and your cutting is not critical.

[mikim]

It was always a challenge to get graduate students to put their diamond blades on the saw so that they always rotated the same direction
Must be a science thing - we've got forecaster's here the same way - good at their job - but a screwdriver in their hand is a dangerous weapon - to themselves as well as whatever they are attacking with it...... I always give 'em a hard time about their college edication being such a wunnerful thing - cause Lord help 'em if they didn't have it.

[hazmat]

Actually it does have a water connection (see attached). Sounds like Diamond is preferred for the floor & paver cutting as they are more controlled environments, but probably should stick with abrasive for the pool demo.

[radman1]

The diamond blade will probably last more than 20X of the abrasive blade. The abrasive blade will wear down much faster and cut slower. I'm on my second diamond blade from porter cable but I don't think brand matters that much. Some blades require water and others don't. Mine are dry use blades. Water keeps the dust down significantly. I use mine mostly in my cutoff saw designed for metal use to cut retaining wall block, bricks, patio pavers etc. I did rent a saw like you have to cut the lines in the cement for my pole barn and used water on the blade. Went about 1" deep for about 200 ft. That ate the diamond blade up faster than almost all of my other projects combined. Cured cement is hard on blades. I have never tried it for cutting rebar in cement.

[Nasty135]

hazmat , I just finished building a pavestone retaining wall and bought composition abrasive blades @ $3 or less each , Well they cut a few blocks fairly slow... I got tired of changing them after number 3 or 4 and ponied up for the $30 7" diamond blade well worth the difference just for the speed of the cut... Not only did it cut faster but I almost finished all my cap blocks (about 50) before it gave out... It was my fault,I was trying to estimate my total cuts needed vs. suspected blade life and price

If I had to do as much as you say I would buy the best I could afford, You won't be sorry but you could be sorry if your blade craps out on you when you still have plenty of work for it to finish... Just my thoughts

[scott_vt]

Hi HAZ,
Im gonna jump on the same ship as everyone else here I use a diamond wheel to sharpen all of my carbide turning lathe tools and they last for almost ever with any amount of care My 2 cents !

[InlineDieselFan]

Another diamond vote, that 14" abrasive blade as mentioned will wear down quickly, so after just a little cutting it will go to a 12", then 10", 8", to totally useless.

you have lots of cutting from the sounds of it so spend the money and be done quicker and easier then with the abrasive blades.

steve