Diamond Blades in the Construction Industry

Perhaps you may have already heard already that synthetic, or man made diamonds are now being produced and you may have wondered what they are being used for. Maybe jewelry? The simple answer to that question, is “not at all”. Rather, they are now being used to manufacture diamond blades in the construction industry.So then what actually is a diamond blade, and how does it cut? For instance, it’s pretty much common knowledge that they can cut stone and cement, but what else can they cut? Perhaps metal? The fact is that these types of specialty cutting tools can cut pretty much any type of stone, or concrete but they can’t cut metal.It’s not that the diamonds themselves aren’t hard enough to cut metal, it’s just that that the actual metal binding agent that holds them to the blade will be quickly degraded by trying to cut metal. In fact the biggest enemy of diamond blades in the construction industry is heat, and this is why most diamond cutting tools use water to cool them as they cut.These cutting tools come in several grades, and in a wide range of prices as well, so you can find larger blades for commercial jobs that carry price tags of $300 and up. Yet at the same time if you check the tool isle down at your local hardware store, chances are that they’re carrying smaller personal sized blades for $30 that fit on a circular saw just like a standard saw blade.These smaller blades are the perfect choice for cutting things like roof tiles, or nipping off a small flaw in a concrete job that didn’t get noticed until after the cement cured. Also don’t forget to pick up a nice set of safety goggles, and heavy duty dust mask because these cutting implements do throw off a good deal of dust.Polished stone and granite counter tops have become the #1 choice for homes and businesses today, yet have you ever stopped to wonder how the massive slices of stone are cut away from a giant block? You guessed it. They use a special type of diamond cutting tool that you would really have to see in operation to be fully appreciated.It’s long, thin, hardened steel cable that’s embedded with commercial grade diamonds that’s used, and it’s often as long as ¼ mile or more. Typically it’s strung on wheels overhead at a quarry and powered by a small motor and this cable is simply set on top of a marble, or granite block, and gradually works its way through while it’s continually cooled with water.Then perhaps at some point you may have seen workers cutting a thin trench in a street or sidewalk to install a cable, or some other type of utility. Once again it was diamond blades in the construction industry performing a necessary task, only this time it was attached to a petrol powered machine on wheels that’s pushed along as the cutting progresses.