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Just wanted to let those interested know how the project finished out. I ended up renting the brick saw – a big wet saw specifically made for cutting brick. Unfortunately it was in bad shape and was hard to use because of the abuse it had recieved. I did get all the bricks cut however. As a complete novice it took me about 5 hours to cut (and lay) just under 100 bricks. The 30 that had to be cut in half were a piece of cake. The bricks that abutt the curved driveway were a pain. The project is now finished and I have learned that cutting bricks is something I don’t enjoy doing. I’m going back to tile and wood!!
Thanks to all who gave me great advice.
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Lisa, I'm glad you got through it! What was wrong w/ the saw? Blade wobble? Tray didn't slide easily? Those are some of the things I've seen with older big wet saws. That and the pain of set-up, cleanup, etc. led me to the use of the hand-held Stihl saws I mentioned before. But I still think you did the right thing. Trying to score and then break the pavers leads to way more frustration and poorer results!
Although cutting isn't my favorite part of the job, either, I do get a lot of satisfaction from doing it because everything comes together then, and it starts to look finished.
As for cutting along the curve, learning to mark the pavers accurately is the key. I hold the piece to be cut over the hole and sight straight down on it and mark each end with a soapstone. Then I connect my marks. After marking several, I'll go cut them. I usually will take only two at a time to the saw, though, so I'll remember where the pieces go! You can even cut each piece on a curve with practice, with an outside curve being much easier, of course. The inside curve requires using the running blade as a grindstone with the paver hand-held. Not for the timid!
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Well, for radius cuts, you could use relief cuts like they taught you in jr. high shop. For remembering which cut goes where you could mark the bottoms.
Not fun? What's not to like about brick dust on everything? Helpful hint: next time, stand closer to the water tub, this way you get wet brick dust on you.
*Congrats! Pictures?
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The saw I rented had seen much better days. The pump would only operate if you put it in one spot in the water. I swear if I moved it at all it stopped running. The plug for the water tray was missing. The plug on the motor for the pump to plug into didn't work at all. I had the saw plugged into a 30 amp circuit with nothing else running on it and it flipped the breaker about every 6th cut. So I had to run an extension cord from another circuit to the pump. The blade wobbled all over, the tray was all cut up from other people not setting it right and it was very hard to move, and the blade was dull. At least I didn't have to worry about wrecking the saw! In the rental yard's defense, they did send out a mechanic to help me get it running, only charged me $15 for a 24 hour rental, and took it out of service when I returned it.
The hardest thing about cutting the pavers that went up against the driveway was that the concrete form apparently wasn't at 90 degrees when they poured - it leaned in. So if I cut to match the top edge the paver wouldn't go all the way in. If I cut to the bottom edge there was a big gap when the paver was in place. I eventually figured out how to tip the paver when I was cutting it so I could get a corresponding slant and then to remove a couple of pavers so I could get it into place. (I did know how to cut the inside and outside curves from tiling - although this saw was much bigger and more intimidating.) It took hours, though.
Pictures - on the way, soon as I clean up the area and plant a few posies. :-)
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Just wanted to let those interested know how the project finished out. I ended up renting the brick saw - a big wet saw specifically made for cutting brick. Unfortunately it was in bad shape and was hard to use because of the abuse it had recieved. I did get all the bricks cut however. As a complete novice it took me about 5 hours to cut (and lay) just under 100 bricks. The 30 that had to be cut in half were a piece of cake. The bricks that abutt the curved driveway were a pain. The project is now finished and I have learned that cutting bricks is something I don't enjoy doing. I'm going back to tile and wood!!
Thanks to all who gave me great advice.
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I was happy with a dry saw and chisel -- quick and easy. For curves & odd spaces, i put in some coarse gravel. For the harder cuts, I paid the masonry yard 50¢ a cut for them to do it on their VERY NICE wet saw -- the big diamond blade sailed through the paver. Just a hack I guess. :)