What is a masonry saw?

29th February 2020


	What is a masonry saw?


	Shop for Masonry Saws


			A masonry saw looks very similar to a standard hand saw, but it has a longer blade and larger teeth.

			Material and Application
			The most common application in which you would use a masonry saw is for cutting lightweight cellular concrete blocks to size.

			There may be models available which can also cut through brick, stone and concrete, but the most commonly-available ones are designed to cut through cellular concrete blocks only.

			Characteristics
			Blade A masonry saw has a very large, long blade which cannot usually be removed from the handle. Blades are available in a variety of lengths, ranging from 625 – 700mm (24.6-27.5″ approx.)

			Teeth Per Inch (TPI) Masonry saws usually have between 1 and 3 teeth per inch. A hand saw for masonry will usually have large teeth and deep gullets to carry dust and waste material out of the cut preventing it from becoming blocked.

			Cutting stroke Most masonry saws are designed to cut on the push stroke. For more information, see our section: Push stroke saws vs. pull stroke saws.

			Tungsten teeth The teeth are usually made from or coated with tungsten carbide, which is a metal twice as hard as steel and more resistant to heat damage. Tungsten carbide is used on other cutting tools designed for use in masonry, such as drill bits.

			Rounded teeth Unlike most other saws which have pointed teeth designed to slice through the fibres of material, some masonry saw blades have teeth with rounded tips. This is for two reasons:

			1. Pointed teeth would become rounded in masonry very quickly. 2. When cutting, the round teeth chip away at the material rather than slicing through it.

			Handle Masonry saws have what’s known as a closed pistol grip handle. This type of handle isusually found on saws with larger or longer blades. The handle supports the blade and makes it easier for the user to apply force to the saw when cutting through tough materials.