What's the proper tool for cutting concrete or brick walls, fiber cement boards, concrete blocks, etc.? A cordless sawzall had no problem cutting, but everything turned out crooked and skewed. A 5'' grinder was doing fine, but the disc was too small and, because it was corded, I couldn't close the door and my whole house is covered in dust. I'm now considering a cordless circular saw with a concrete-cutting disc, but even 7.24'' makes pretty shallow cuts (everything above that is expensive as fuck) and I'm worried it's not gonna be powerful enough, or a bigass grinder, like pic rel. I'm looking for something that isn't a one trick pony and would come in handy in other renovation-related tasks later.
>>2881079hot saw
>>2881079dynamite
>>2881080by the proper way I mean a DIY proper, an industrial proper, that involves buying a saw for almost 2 grands. I'm willing to spend maybe 200$, 300$ if it's some versatile tool I could use for many other things
>>2881079it's over
>>2881085*I mean a DIY proper, not an industrial proper
>>2881087for brick wall or concrete block: score with grinder and break with sledge on the cut linefor cement board or plaster: gotta use the grinderget an extension cord that can fit under (or over) one corner of the door. put a long tool on your shop-vac and run that close to the cutbut the most commonly used solution is to sledge the wall out roughly and/or drywall over it. not mess around cutting and throwing up so much dust
>>2881098michaelangelo did fine with less than picel
>>2881100he used huge blocks of virgin marble, whereas your cement board is cheaper and more hazardous than building out of human shit. You own nothing and michelangelo wouldn't let you touch his dropcloth.
>>2881079You can stick a diamond concrete blade in a circular saw and it'll work for a couple cuts.
>>2881079>because it was corded, I couldn't close the doorinstall an outlet then?
>>2881120I own things and I fondled Michaelangelo's ballsack
>>2881079What's "proper" depends entirely on the job/location and need for accuracy and cleanliness.A basic circular saw with a diamond blade and a water source to cool/lube the cut (plugged into a GFCI power source) is extremely versatile for materials, but doesn't fit in many places and is more unsuitable the more finished the space is.Cement board can be scored and snapped when it's not installed, afterwards its hard to get clean cuts but it's usually not a high tolerance affair and it gets covered so dealing with protrusions and the like might just involve smashing that spot and brushing the debris out.If you had to pick one and only one tool to handle a wide range of tssks on those matetials, angle grinder and diamond blade is the one; if it's too dusty get someone to hold a shop vac in the dust stream.For big jobs like cutting slabs or a patio door sized hole in a block wall, just hiring they guy with the saw that costs as much as a car is often the only really sensible option unless you are a glutton for punishment and/or have endless time to fuck around.
>>2881246>If you had to pick one and only one tool to handle a wide range of tssks on those matetials, angle grinder and diamond blade is the one; if it's too dusty get someone to hold a shop vac in the dust stream.yeah, I've had the best luck with a grinder so far. I've been thinking about getting a 9'' one, because the only issue I've had with a grinder is the small size, but I've never held anything bigger than 5'' and I'm not sure how practical they are. does the disc get in the way a lot at this size, making it usueless for anything other than huge cuts? the disc selection seems pretty good at least and it seems like it's the next most popualr size after 4-5'', at least in Europe
>>2881080>hot saw>>2881085>by the proper way I mean a DIY proper, an industrial proper, that involves buying a saw for almost 2 grands. I'm willing to spend maybe 200$, 300$ if it's some versatile tool I could use for many other thingsEveryone worth a damn should have a concrete saw on hand.
>>2881257DIYer who doesn't want to use a vacuum or install an outlet in his bathroom meets 9" angle grinder.. I got severely wounded just thinking about it
>>2881257The general rule with any circular saw operation (which is what you are doing when you use any angle grinder to cut) is that you keep the blade depth/engagement with the work as minimal as is practical because more blade area inside the material = more risk of hangup and kickbacks.The 4" ones work OK because they can't really engage much blade area and they're small enough to hold onto for control and if they do get crossways...but they are still risky for max depth cuts.A larger one for that same operation is not advisable because they are heavier and harder to grasp/control in that orientation, have way more torque to get loose and jump at you, and a larger disc has more area to reach out and touch you or get wrapped up in your clothing, hair, etc.When that happens, a small grinder will usually tangle up and stop fairly quickly, a big one has lots of residual RPMs and weight behind it to do more damage before it stops.Look at how the secondary (non trigger) handle is oriented on them...they're made to work mostly flat on a surface, not penetrate it and cut a kerf.
>>2881276>A larger one for that same operation is not advisable because they are heavier and harder to grasp/control in that orientation, have way more torque to get loose and jump at you, and a larger disc has more area to reach out and touch you or get wrapped up in your clothing, hair, etc.>When that happens, a small grinder will usually tangle up and stop fairly quickly, a big one has lots of residual RPMs and weight behind it to do more damage before it stops.modern grinders have safety features that considerably mitigate this, like brakes, anti kickback, etc., at least most of the more powerful cordless ones. when you suddenly jab something hard with such grinder, it just stops
>>2881284And yet they still come with warnings like these from a Bosch 9" grinder manual->Additional safety warnings specific for cutting-off operations:>Do not "jam" the cut-off wheel or apply excessive pressure. Do not attempt to make an excessive depth of cut. >Overstressing the wheel increases the loading and susceptibility to twisting or binding of the wheel in the cut and the possibility of kickback or wheel breakage.>Do not position your body in line with and behind the rotating wheel. When the wheel, at the point of operation, is moving away from your body, the possible kick-back may propel the spinning wheel and the power tool directly at you.>Do not attach a saw chain woodcarving blade, segmented diamond wheel with a peripheral gap greater than 10 mm or toothed saw blade. Such blades create frequent kickback and loss of control.And those are all related to cut-off work, not plowing a full thickness kerf through solid masonry.
>>2881079Anglegrinder that can take a 230mm diamond disc
ended up buying the 36V 9'' Makita. it's a beast, weights like 20 pounds with the guard and batteries, but due to its shape and weight distribution, it's quite easily to cut with one hand. absolutely no janking, kicking etc. it's starts smoother than a 7500RPM 4.5'' Ryobi. the battery life is not great by any means, but it's much higher than I thought would be, based on what i read online, I can easily finish some major cutting with 2-3 bars left.
>>2881534*it's quite easy
>>2881448I wouldn't try that with any grinder that isn't actually 230mm. disks that large need torque, not RPMs and there basically aren't any disks rated higher than 80m/s, i.e. around 6800RPMs at 230mm, which is basically half as fast as most of 115-125mm grinders can spin
>>2881079many different wayswhen i was a mason we basically used skilsaws with a diamond blade on them, they are indestructible and will cut through anythingnowadays im a carpenter and i use a 6" diamond blade on a 4 half" cordless angle grinder if i need to cut a little bit of concrete or masonry.
