Product category:
Materials processing and testing
News Release from: Marcrist International | Subject: Diamond saw blades
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 January 2001
Diamond saw blades prove to be value for
money
Jonathan Mather was asked to try Marcrist diamond blades by Phil Osborne, area manager for Hire Centres, Manchester, he found the prices to be about a third of what they were.
Since setting up J Mather Construction some 20 years ago, Jonathan Mather now concentrates on the refurbishment, conversion and extension of existing premises As his work includes working on listed buildings, sympathetic modernisation is a key to winning new business, with his teams' traditional building skills remaining in strong demand
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 7 Sep 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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Operating in South Manchester and Cheshire, J Mather Construction currently employs up to 12 people and has a diverse client base that includes local authorities and large corporations as well as small businesses and private customers.
Established among local architects as a company used to working on older properties, Jonathan Mather is involved in projects as diverse as small cottages and barn conversions through to warehouse and city centre shop developments.
"Working on established buildings, and bringing them back to life, is a key part of our business", he says.
"We rely on traditional building skills, but that is not to say we turn our back on new ideas if these are appropriate.
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Advances In diamond blades benefit barn conversion
refurbishment specialist J Mather Construction is now a convert to Marcrist blades, which are long lasting, fast, produce a clean cut, and maintain their diameter for a consistent working depth
Every business has to look to containing costs and we are no different." An area where a compromise cannot be considered, however, is quality of work.
This means some new ideas have to wait and prove themselves before Jonathan will embrace them.
Others have been put on the back burner because of perceived costs, a good example being diamond blades.
"I looked at using diamond blades when they were first introduced several years ago.
But a large 300mm blade for my petrol saw was prohibitively expensive at £145 plus, and even a small 125mm angle grinder blade was far too costly for me to consider." A further shortcoming was the gradual availability of lower priced, but inferior quality diamond blades.
They may have been cheaper, but they were not always up to the job.
Some designs could actually fail in service, with others warping in use.
The problem remained that quality blades retained a premium price.
Times have moved on, with leading diamond tool manufacturer Marcrist having reduced blade prices to the point where they are now about a third of what they were.
So when Jonathan was asked to try Marcrist diamond blades by Phil Osborne, area manager for Hire Centres, Manchester, he agreed.
"Phil suggested I try the Marcrist diamond blades in my small electric angle grinders and large cutting disc.
We buy a lot of carbide discs through Phil, so he knew that we would quickly see if the diamond blades were of use to us.
Cost wise, I was pleasantly surprised because the discs really are much less expensive than they used to be".
Moving forward some six months, Jonathan Mather is now a convert to Marcrist blades.
Not only are they long lasting, they are fast, produce a clean cut, they maintain their diameter for a consistent working depth and they are also versatile enough to cut a range of materials.
"We are just starting work on a brick built barn constructed in 1660.
It is a substantial building, measuring 30 by 10m with some 400m2 of brick needing re-pointing.
The uneven gaps between courses rule out using a router to remove the old mortar, so we will have to rake out the existing medium to hard lime mix with a small angle grinder." Based on his experience of pointing such a large area, Jonathan reckons this particular job would easily consume 50 to 60 conventional carbide discs.
In contrast, he would be surprised if he used more than a couple of Marcrist diamond blades on the same job.
They really are that hard wearing.
"A point that is often overlooked is the time it takes to fit a fresh angle grinder blade.
Doing the job occasionally is no real problem, but swapping to a new blade every few minutes on a big job like this soon adds up.
These diamond blades mean we can just keep going and they are worth it for the time saved alone." Jonathan is also keen to point out other advantages of using a blade that keeps its edge, including quality of work.
With a conventional carbide disc, the diameter of the blade obviously reduces as the carbide wears away.
This means having to run back along a line to ensure all the mortar has been removed to the same depth.
"When raking out mortar, it is important to remove the same amount between the brick courses.
Re-pointing old brickwork improves its structural strength, but if the pointing is not consistent it can alter how stress passes through the wall.
In some cases, poor re-pointing can lead to stress passing through to weaker parts of the wall and cracks forming over time.
A diamond blade enables us to work more easily to a fixed depth." Pointing close spaced brick also calls for accuracy.
This is particularly the case with old, and sometimes irreplaceable bricks, where appearance of the finished wall is of prime importance.
So grinding out the old mortar is a job that calls for a steady hand and a blade that stays 'sharp' and does not flutter and wobble in use.
"We use these diamond blades for a lot more than pointing, and cut hard plastics, mortar, stone, concrete and brick with them.
In fact we use them on everything except steel and we have been impressed by their performance and longevity.
"Frankly, I think it is foolish not to use a diamond blade.
Marcrist blades last well, cut cleanly and do not break.
I cannot fault them, and will not go back to carbide discs.".
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