Cutting pavers with a 14" diamond blade

[Scooby074]

Anybody ever use a 7" grinder to cut pavers with a 14" diamond blade? I got a good deal on a 14" blade so I bought it (rather than paying outrageous useage charges on a rental blade, been there, got screwed over), but now Im wondering if I can run it on a Makita 7" Sander/polisher so I dont have to rent a gas chop saw at all. These pavers are 50yr professional grade ones that are supposed to be quite dense. Manufacturer of concrete masonry & landscaping products | Permacon

Is this feasible?

I know a gas saw is the ideal choice, but if I can save a $65/day rental, Id be pretty happy.

The Makita I have is like this:Makita 7 in. Sander/Polisher-9227C at The Home Depot
120V, 10A 3000RPM

Husqvarna now makes an electric concrete saw, the K3000 for comparison.
120V, 15A 4000?RPM





So is it just a waste of time to try the grinder? I know it might be a bit hard on it. I figure I'll have about 60 linear feet of pavers to cut

 

[rmk700]

I'd say it should work fine. I just cut a few pavers using a chop saw (with diamond blade) and it cuts a lot easier than say a concrete sidewalk. Pavers must not have much concrete mix in them.

 

[Scooby074]

Ive cut "regular" ie:cheap, pavers with a small grinder and 5" diamond wheel before.... and they did cut pretty easy. These ones Im getting are "premium", supposed to be much denser. Thats where my concern comes from

 

[duroc]

A couple of things I'd be worried about is how to keep the blade running true and how to keep the flying debris and the blade away from me - especially without a guard. I used an old power circular saw to cut my pavers and had good results with it. The biggest problem was, the dust wants to accumulate in the motor, but after cutting every brick, I blew the dust out with my compressor. The other prob I had was holding the paver to be cut. I only made about 30 cuts but I managed to get the job done.

 

[alchemysa]

I'd say no way. Its too dangerous. I once put a 7" blade in a 5" angle grinder and it terrified me. The blade is too big for the guard so you will probably have to remove the guard. If anything goes wrong its deadly. I also doubt that the smaller grinder is built strong enough to handle the forces of the much larger blade. Isn't the hole in the middle the wrong size anyway? If it is theres no way I would use it with a 'spacer'.

The ergonomics are also all wrong. You are trying to make vertical cuts with a grinder thats designed to be used horizontally. Centrifugal forces of a 14" blade are huge. You need correctly positioned and very strong handles.

 

[Egon]

The 14 in. Blade requires significant increase in torque to make it work.

Then you have to consider blade tip speed.

Then there is that big open blade right by Your hands !

The pavers can be cut 1/2 in. or so and then broke.

 

[alchemysa]

The biggest problem was, the dust wants to accumulate in the motor, but after cutting every brick, I blew the dust out with my compressor.

When cutting pavers or bricks with a grinder or saw I've found it useful to soak them in water for a while before cutting. They don't soak up much water but it does seem to help keep the dust down and the cutting wheels last longer.

 

[s219]

Why not use a 7" masonry cutoff wheel in the 7" grinder? :confused3: I've done this to cut bricks, pavers, cinder blocks, you name it, and it always works fine. The wheels are cheap, and at least that way the wheel is matched to the device. Putting a 14" wheel in a 7" device seems nuts to me. Balance would be a killer.

 

[Scooby074]

I should have added to my OP that much of the cutting is along a curve and will need to be cut in place before the soldier course can be inlaid.

I ended up with a 14" blade because I got a good deal on it, and was looking for a way to avoid being screwed over on blade rentals. Last time I rented a gas saw, blade usage was way mroe then the rental of the tool.

I was just going to rent a gas machine for the cuts, which is the easy way to cut the curve, then I saw that electric concrete saw at the rental place and thought, HEY! maybe I have something already that I can use.

Im starting to think that it might be just better (and faster) to just rent the proper gas saw and use my blade.

 

[Egon]

<I was just going to rent a gas machine for the cuts, which is the easy way to cut the curve, then I saw that electric concrete saw at the rental place and thought, HEY! maybe I have something already that I can use.

Im starting to think that it might be just better (and faster) to just rent the proper gas saw and use my blade.>


Good thinking.:thumbsup: