The Best Diamond Blades for Masonry Work

Masonry diamond blades are extremely important and fundamental tools for those who need to cut granite, concrete, marble, porcelain, and other types of hard materials used in the construction industry and or renovation of homes.

Your masonry saw is only as good as the diamond blade you put on it when it comes to cutting tough materials like concrete, brick, granite, porcelain, marble, and other similar things. Knowing more about the manufacturing process of a diamond blade will help you better understand how your diamond blade functions when cutting through tough or abrasive materials.

Since not all diamond blades are created equal, this piece will go through the two primary components of diamond blades and the most typical methods for creating them. Picking the correct masonry diamond saw blade is the first major step in going in the right direction for your project.

At BladesDirect, we have extensive experience in the industry helping thousands of professionals in their craft of masonry and overall in the construction industry. 

Masonry Diamond Saw Blade & The Core 

The core consists of a flat metal disc that is mounted on the arbor of the masonry saw and spins to grind diamond segments through the material being cut. This part of the diamond saw is the foundation and helps hold the rigidity of the saw blade when going through tough materials. Depending on the method of attachment, the steel core may undergo a number of heat treatments throughout production to achieve the desired changes in physical qualities.

The steel core is commonly treated concurrently with the diamond segments for low horsepower masonry saws in relatively soft materials. This is efficient in terms of production time, but the core is much weaker as a result.

Blades with greater cutting efficiency typically contain a core that is treated separately to increase its strength, with the diamond segments joined to it subsequently.

The Process of Creating a Diamond Blade 

The cutting edge is the section of the blade that really does the cutting (or grinding action). Occasionally it is a continuous band all the way around the core, but more typically it is broken up into rectangular parts called "teeth," with openings between them to facilitate cooling.

For grinding through tough materials like concrete, synthetic diamond particles are used because their size, shape, and sharpness can be precisely controlled. There are a number of techniques to secure the diamonds to the center, but the bond is the most common. The bond enables the diamond blades to connect to the steel core enabling the diamond blade to go through rigorous abuse and use. 

As was previously indicated, the diamond segments are occasionally subjected to the same treatment as the core; this is accomplished by a process known as sintering, in which the core, bond, and diamonds are subjected to the same conditions in a sintering furnace. The bond metals are heated until they melt into the diamond's core and crystal structure, but not above their melting point.

Silver brazing and laser welding are alternate choices, but they require two distinct processes to handle the core and the diamond segments. While the core strength can be increased through silver brazing, the solder used to link the diamond segments (and bond) to the core is not robust enough to support dry cutting with these blades.