[Matt Kulp]

Originally posted by johnkeegan
My guess is too that everyone on the jobsite has to clear out and the customer shut all windows when you're cutting those pavers dry. There must be quite a dust cloud hovering. Have you tried cutting with just a little water coming out of the hose? Enough to wet the paver but not soak much into the bedding sand.
On another note, I would also suspect that cutting dry would shorten the life of the blade because normally the water provides the "lubricant" for the blade as it cuts. I know the blades often say, "made for dry or wet cutting," but it still must effect it.

It does create a cloud, but it settles. I have never had a complaint if you warn the customer first and make sure that there car is not right beside where you are cutting. As far as the blade, you will go through the blade a little faster (not much), but the amount of increased efficiency you get from the cut will make the blade cost seem like peanuts.

[EpicInterlock]

I always use a dust mask very similar to the mask picture that Stonehenge posted, I don't need to have my lungs all clogged up with that concrete dust.

As for warning the customers about dust, most of mine are not even home, so I don't normally worry about it, I just hose everything off, including the grass and shrubs before quitting for the day. If a neighbour's car is covered in dust, I just give them a free pass to the local carwash, and they are usually happy. There's always the exception though.....some neighbours are the ones from hell, lol. In fact, I had one neighbour complain that the dust on his roofing shingles were going to damage his shingles, so I would have to pay for a new roof. Imagine my surprise! I just told him to wait until it rained, and everything would wash away, thank god it rained that day.

Going back to the original post, cutting while the bricks are on the ground creates a perfect edge where all the "cuts" line up and match. It's really ugly when the cuts don't line up and the soldier course ends up being crooked. As a matter of fact, that's my primary indicator of a professional job, as opposed to some fly by night yahoo job.

Also, cutting on the ground speeds up the job dramatically, but I do have to mark and cut just about every job, it's unavoidable, I just try to eliminate it as much as possible.

[skahuna]

I kept track of my saw time while cutting a curved paver walk this week 2' a minute with a ts400 12" with a new blade. Ep henry 2and3/8'' pavers

By the way It'll cut 24' on a tank of gas which works out to 1/42 miles per gallon

[johnkeegan]

...finally got around to cutting a walk with the Stihl. Definately much faster than the old way (with a tub saw). The cuts are more continuous also. The dust is a bitch but my guy used a good mask and said it was fine. And the rest of us worked on the other side of the yard while he cut.
Thanks for giving this old dog a new trick.

[cutntrim]

I don't own a tub saw, never even tried one. I'm one of the slow pokes that picks each brick out and cuts them away from the laying field then walks them back each time. I guess I've always done that because the dust is crazy and I try to keep it to an area away from the laid bricks and the owner's home, car, etc...
Reading about the time saved by doing it on the ground, I think I'll give that a whirl.

Bought a Shindaiwa 14" saw last week that I've only used one day so far. I'm hoping it holds up as well as my other Shindaiwa equipment. I use a dust mask like the one Stonehenge showed except it has paper filters shaped like hockey pucks instead of the ones shown in the pic.

I've always put the edge restraint facing "out". Never contemplated doing it the other way around.

[johnkeegan]

I think you could use the cut off saw with the water turned on lightly to minimize the dust. There will be some "slurry" from the cuts to clean up but that dust is not healthy, I agree. I gave my guy the option. He preferred to cut dry with the mask. If it were me I'd probably dry cutting them "slightly" wet, with the mask.

[cutntrim]

My saw came with a water kit installed which I haven't tried yet. Next time I'll probably try it out. Dust isn't good for the saws either. I wonder if the life of a saw might be prolonged by minimizing the amount of dust getting sucked into the filter each cut by using water.