Choosing The Right Diamond Blade: Wet, Dry, Hard Or Soft?
When deciding on the type of diamond blade you need, it all comes down to what sort of work you're doing. Will you be applying water to the blade as you cut? Are you mostly cutting through softer or harder materials? Answering these questions will lead you to the right type of blade for your tasks.
Wet Blades Versus Dry Blades
Diamond blades are often described as cutting through material, but in fact, what they actually do is grind through it. This grinding has two major effects in addition to "cutting" through the material: it produces a lot of dust, and the friction produces a lot of heat.
Wet cutting is used to mitigate both of these problems. When water is applied to the blade while it cuts, it keeps the blade from overheating and prevents dust from getting into the air. Wet cutting is generally preferable unless there is a specific reason – such as a work area that needs to be kept dry – that water can't be used.
If you think that you'll need to use your diamond blade for dry cutting, be sure to look for a wet/dry diamond blade so that you can use your blade in either situation. Some blades, such as continuous rim diamond blades, are only designed for wet use, and these will be damaged if you try to use them for dry cutting. Instead, you should look for segmented blades that allow for airflow when used for dry cutting.
On the other hand, if you're only doing wet cutting, a continuous rim blade will give you a smooth cut and help to avoid chipping.
Bond Material And Wear Speed
Diamond blades are made with a steel core that has diamond crystals bonded to its edge. Different blades will have different bonding materials, which causes the blade to wear down at different speeds. It might seem like a slower wear speed is always preferable, but this is not the case; in fact, it depends on the hardness of the materials you're cutting.
As a diamond blade grinds through material, the diamonds on the blade will gradually dull. And as a diamond blade's edges and bond wear down, fresh diamonds are exposed on the edge of the blade, keeping it sharp. If a blade doesn't wear down fast enough, it will end up with a dull edge; if it wears down too fast, you're wasting blade material – the key is to balance the wear on the diamonds and the bond.
This means that you want a softer bond when cutting hard materials like steel and a harder bond when cutting softer materials like asphalt. For more information, contact Web Granite Supplies or a similar company.
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