Cutting 30mm granite with a TS75?

johnredl

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Can I successfully cut 30mm Granite with a TS75? I need to make about 6 x 300mm long quite accurate cuts and I don’t want to buy a specialised cutting tool for only 6 cuts. I’m happy to buy a 205mm diamond blade.
 
I would not.  I cut granite and quartz with a circular saw but use one of my old saws but it makes a mess of the saw.  slurry caked everywhere.  I would not want to subject an expensive saw to that.  I would say to pick up a cheap circular saw or a used one and use your ts75 to rip a couple 2x's or some ply nice and straight. Then put one on each side of the saw base so the saw cant drift either way(make sure the 2x doesnt hit the motor) you might need to use ply to allow enough depth of cut but it will depend on the saw.  Use a GFCI on the saw and cut in several passes with lots of water and it will turn out good. 
 
A tile saw is a proper tool for this. A cheap one costs less than diamond blade for TS75. Unless you are dealing with a large slab.
 
I’d thought of cutting it dry not wet. Which is why I thought of the TS75 because it’s dead accurate and has crazy good dusty
 
How big and heavy is the piece? Will it fit on a tile saw? I'll take wet cutting over dry one any day.
 
I cut a 1” marble vanity top with a TS 55 on a track for my neighbor. Typical cabinet depth of 25”. Used a continuous turbo rim dry blade and some blue painters tape on the top surface. The first pass was 1/8” deep, then I made 4 passes about 1/4” per pass. A vac is a must to remove the dust and keep the blade from overheating. I’d make a pass and then check the blade for heat and let it cool down. Then another pass, it was slow going but he was in a jam and this did work although the both of us were extremely relieved when this job was done. We only had one shot at it.

With a dry blade you can get a little bit of chipping or a lot of chipping depending upon the blade. Not good for a front edge but this was a side trim to fit it next to a wall. A little caulk, a little paint.
 
When I was picturing it I was picturing long rips not short 25"ish crosscuts.  Either way cutting dry sucks period no matter the saw. Some granite cuts easier than others too.  I have cut down entire jumbo slabs using my method.  8' + long rips in 2cm quartz in single pass.  Slow and steady and saw trapped between to straight edges.  I usually get my slab cut in half just so I can manhandle it but my old 7.25" porta cable circular cuts it pretty nice.  This is an older porta cable from back when it was good not todays.  Its still hanging in there but as I said its messy job and not easy on the saw.  I would not try it dry though. A cheap saw in this case will be cheaper in the long run.  Its your TS75 though Im sure it will do it but at what cost in the long run I dont know.  Cheese you're a good neighbor if the only saw I had was a TS55 I would have sent my neighbor away.
 
My worm drive skilsaw will cut 2 1/2” Philadelphia blue stone I just run the garden hose on the blade as I’m cutting, sow it is barely on. Keeps the dust down and the blades don’t dull. Have you tried using a grinder and a Dewalt cut off wheel For stone/masonry. I’ve done that for trimming sink cut cutouts.
 
Ive used a Makita 9 1/4" saw to cut up concrete slabs in the past:  3 1/2" approx depth of cut in a 4" slab.  Gets a bit slow when severing steel reo rods, but otherwise OK.  A Festool is as robust a saw as any other, so there's realistically no valid reasons why it can't be used similarly.

Just remember that it's going to be hard work on the saw.  Hard material plus full DOC all the time, so be careful to maintain max revs for correct motor cooling;  i.e. don't force the saw, & don't let it get too hot.

I've also used a guide rail mounted smaller saw (Metabo KSE 55 Vario Plus) to cut fibre cement 3/4" & old marble wash stand tops & thicker pink granite hearthstones (1 1/4" ??) successfully.  In this case, with a smaller blade.  I think it was a 125mm (5") fitted to the 160mm saw.  Fitted to the guide rail, progress was pretty slow due to the reduced blade rim speed. 

It also tended to gunk up the saw's plunge & scabbard retraction mechanisms, which required extensive cleaning after:  air blast & a toothbrush & relube.  Standard dust extraction occurred fairly satisfactorily, although I also flushed out any dust &/or slurry residues from the hose whilst still fresh & damp.  Leave it to dry & you might have problems.

Fiber cement was cut dry, the concrete & stones were cut with just the tiniest trickle of hose water for lube & cooling purposes.  An inline RCD was added to the power supply, on an already ELCB protected circuit.  Sort of belt & braces.

The only other (rather obvious) suggestion is, as with any other sawing operation, to mount the blade the correct way around.  Even continuous rim diamond blades (that will provide your smoothest cuts) have a particular cutting direction.  Sorry if I'm insulting your intelligence here, but I've made this mistake myself.

Continuous rim blades will actually be faster, as they bring more diamond grit particles to bear than segmented blades have.  They're also much less likely to chip the substrate surface.  You still won't get a lot of life from your blades working such hard materials:  if possible choose "hard" material grade blades rather than "abrasive" grades.
 
afish said:
Either way cutting dry sucks period no matter the saw. Some granite cuts easier than others too.

Cheese you're a good neighbor if the only saw I had was a TS55 I would have sent my neighbor away.

Ya you're right, dry cutting does suck, especially if you're of the persuasion that the cuts need to be chipless and clean. At this juncture wet cutting is the best solution. But in a few years...

Well I was cutting marble so it was a bit easier. That stuff's not nearly as hard as granite. Also because it's softer, it tends to chip less but it still isn't ideal. The OP wanted to know if it's possible...yes it is but there will be a few less hairs in your head when you're done.

As far as the good neighbor thing goes...he's an Italian from Brooklyn and cooks some killer 12 hour home made meatball pasta. The TS 55 is just a small sacrifice as his wife also specializes in home made pastries. So what's the sacrifice?  [big grin]

 
Svar said:
How big and heavy is the piece? Will it fit on a tile saw? I'll take wet cutting over dry one any day.
300 wide. I hadn’t thought of a tile saw. Thanks for the idea
 
mkasdin said:
My worm drive skilsaw will cut 2 1/2” Philadelphia blue stone I just run the garden hose on the blade as I’m cutting, sow it is barely on. Keeps the dust down and the blades don’t dull. Have you tried using a grinder and a Dewalt cut off wheel For stone/masonry. I’ve done that for trimming sink cut cutouts.

Here's some 1 1/2"-2 1/2" thick New York blue stone being cut with a Milwaukee worm drive saw and a Dewalt turbo rim dry diamond blade. In this case, because it's patio stone chipping isn't really an issue. Just throwing some ideas out there.  [smile]

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Cheese said:
mkasdin said:
My worm drive skilsaw will cut 2 1/2” Philadelphia blue stone I just run the garden hose on the blade as I’m cutting, sow it is barely on. Keeps the dust down and the blades don’t dull. Have you tried using a grinder and a Dewalt cut off wheel For stone/masonry. I’ve done that for trimming sink cut cutouts.

Here's some 1 1/2"-2 1/2" thick New York blue stone being cut with a Milwaukee worm drive saw and a Dewalt turbo rim dry diamond blade. In this case, because it's patio stone chipping isn't really an issue. Just throwing some ideas out there.  [smile]

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Love the paving. Good work. I’m going to have a play with some spare granite to see what works
 
Bert Vanderveen said:
Rent a proper machine w diamond blade and watercooling.

First thing I thought. Not only the best solution but also the cheapest.

A TS saw will cut stone just fine, but then it's full of that awful dust and that's not fine.
 
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