Cutting fire brick with a mitre saw?

[hotponyshoes]

I've got a couple of clay fire bricks (114mm x 25mm) that I need to cut to size.

I've previously done it with a diamond blade in an angle grinder which works fine but it's hard to get a decent 90deg cut when doing it freehand.

I thought about making up some sort of table/jig to mount the grinder in, thought I could mount it onto the folding stand for the Evolution rage saw I have, then thought maybe I could just chop them with the Evolution instead?

Any thoughts?

Also, if I do try it, should I use a new blade, part worn one or a knackered one?
I've only got the regular tct evo blades, not sure if there is anything more suitable that will fit?

 

[James1979]

If it’s just two knock a mitre block up out of scrap ply and use grinder.

 

[gaz1]

cut a piece of wood at the right angle

fit it over the brick and use the angle as a guide

for a proper guide reference over a brick fasten 2 pieces of latte on a flat board or plank then cut it at the right angle using the mitre saw

once you have the guide mark remove the guide the cut is up to you if you get it straight or not

 

[hotponyshoes]

once you have the guide mark remove the guide the cut is up to you if you get it straight or not

This is my problem!
The bricks take a pencil line well and it's easy enough to run along that with the grinder but keeping it at 90deg to the face is a bit more of an issue.
A way of doing an accurate bevel cut would be handy as well..

 

[Agroshield]

One of these, upside down:

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Screw a bit of 6mm ply to it and then nail a fence parallel to the diamond blade. Would do the bevels as well by tilting it over.

 

[Pete.]

Stick your brick between two tohers, put another on top at 90 degrees and run along that.

 

[hotponyshoes]

One of these, upside down:

Angle Grinder Cutting Bracket Special Cutting Machine Stand Holder Fixing V6Y4 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Angle Grinder Cutting Bracket Special Cutting Machine Stand Holder Fixing V6Y4 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Screw a bit of 6mm ply to it and then nail a fence parallel to the diamond blade. Would do the bevels as well by tilting it over.

I was thinking about making something like that, then looked at the Evolution and thought "i wonder"...

 

[Agroshield]

I was thinking about making something like that...

The difficulty with anything that normally takes a saw blade (that cuts with teeth) is that it will spin too slowly to make best use of a diamond blade (that abrades with a grinding action). A better starting point from a speed perspective might be an abrasive chop saw, but they only go up and down on a pivot not slide like a mitre saw. Saw blades of any particular diameter tend to have different bore sizes to abrasive (diamond) blades of similar diameter.

If you had loads to do, something like a Makita DCC500Z would be nice because you can buy an attachment (198673-2) that allows it to run on a guide rail and turns it into a diamond-bladed TS55.

 

[hotponyshoes]

The difficulty with anything that normally takes a saw blade (that cuts with teeth) is that it will spin too slowly to make best use of a diamond blade (that abrades with a grinding action). A better starting point from a speed perspective might be an abrasive chop saw, but they only go up and down on a pivot not slide like a mitre saw. Saw blades of any particular diameter tend to have different bore sizes to abrasive (diamond) blades of similar diameter.

If you had loads to do, something like a Makita DCC500Z would be nice because you can buy an attachment (198673-2) that allows it to run on a guide rail and turns it into a diamond-bladed TS55.

I've got plenty of metal saw options and also a plunge/track saw, I've also got some jigsaw blades that are some sort of abrasive carbide ..

I don't fancy getting stone dust into any of my metal saws really and I've never had much luck cutting 1" thick wood or metal with a jigsaw..

I don't know if I need the sliding action of a mitre saw (the bricks are only 115mm wide)
I've got a cheap abrasive chop saw somewhere.. I'll dig it out and see what size blade it has..

 

[hotponyshoes]

I've got a bosch metal saw that looks a lot like that makita,
I think the rpm on that is probably far too slow though even if I found an abrasive disc to fit it.

I don't mind spending a few quid to get a decent result but I don't have any makita stuff.
A mains powered version would do though..

 

[gaz1]

use a diamond blade not the other type masonary blade a full blade not the one thats segmented with cuts into the blade

only use as casual cutter

i wouldnt advise it but it can be done wear a mask dust off you and anything else while the mask is on

the diamond blade cuts like a tile cutter blade dont use water


i can cut using a 3x2 or 4x2s as a guide but im using a 9" grinder

 

[hotponyshoes]

use a diamond blade not the other type masonary blade a full blade not the one thats segmented with cuts into the blade

only use as casual cutter

i wouldnt advise it but it can be done wear a mask dust off you and anything else while the mask is on

the diamond blade cuts like a tile cutter blade dont use water


i can cut using a 3x2 or 4x2s as a guide but im using a 9" grinder

The 9" grinder might actually be the simple option, that would give me plenty of excess blade to run along a guide block...

 

[HughF]

Non segmented blade, circular saw...

 

[GRW]

I've got a universal mounting stand that takes a 9" hand-held grinder.
A bit of a faff to set it up so it cuts square, but works ok once done.

I've not used it to cut stone (though with the correct disc in the grinder does chew stone/brick well - just not tried it in the stand) ... but I was cutting steel box & pipe in it with an abrasive disc in till I got my 6x4 Sealey (horribly loud and sparks everywhere for that job).

Think it was under £60 when I bought it a few years ago (the vice clamp was naff for steel, so I modified it to a screw type)

 

[DAPPH]

Bosch cut all discs appear to cut most things easily . mark and cut from both sides witht eh guide securely clamped in place once you ar fairly deep cut the ther side and tap with a heavy sof hammer to break along the cuts when both ends are suspended a few mm from the table .
This is what i used to cut 25 mm thick 150 x 150 fire bricks for my forge ... any tiny furry bit was easily removed with the edge of the blade

Bosch cut all discs at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[drjim]

Iused one of these to cut my block pavers in the evolution mitre saw, works perfectly. Will undoubtedly do firebricks. Cheaper at screwfix but couldn't click the link on my PC for some reason!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolution-Power-Tools-Diamond-Blade/dp/B003OJ1UK8?th=1

 

[hotponyshoes]

Iused one of these to cut my block pavers in the evolution mitre saw, works perfectly. Will undoubtedly do firebricks. Cheaper at screwfix but couldn't click the link on my PC for some reason!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolution-Power-Tools-Diamond-Blade/dp/B003OJ1UK8?th=1

I didn't even think to look to see if they did blades for it!!

Didn't have any in my local screwfix yesterday but I've just had the text to say it's arrived now!!

 

[drjim]

You will not be disappointed.