Cutting Asphault

I have seen asphalt cut very easily and successfully using a water cooled diamond blade circular saw.

Diamond blade with cooling water. At work, one of the other departments have been working with some new diamond blades that do not require any cooling. I have seen them used to cut thick sections of ferrous and non-ferrous metals (100mm thick) and immediately after the cut, you can lay your hand on the blade and it is cool.

But.... asphalt paving stones? I would think that the edges are going to deteriorate quite rapidly.

I would lay them out and then seal coat the entire floor.

another problem, ashphalt is not a uniform material in thickness. It will need to be selected for thickness and then trimmed in thickness if possible, or bedded in sand or?

Usually they recycle this by adding it to new production is some amount that melts it and makse new asphalt. Asphalt never goes stale. With the correct amount of fresh asphalt you can use up lots of old asphalt.

Use water.

Have you considered water jet technology. It is possible to cut material, even steel, with high pressure water.

I love water jet cutting, only one problem - expense! If you have a local engineering firm who'has one, good luck!

You can rent a diamond cutting saw and blade from a construction rental outfit it is designed to cut through city streets which are commonly composed of asphalt over concrete znd I have seen bricks and streetcar tracks cut through also. If you were to buy your own beware each diamond blade for a saw like that costs between $1200 - $2500. Even as a rental I don't think it would be very cost effective to cut small (less than 2' x 2') chunks of asphault for use as pavers when concrete pavers are so cheap. Then there is the inevitable maintenance of renewing the topping with sealer every year or two. If you live in an area where temperatures drop below freezing for extended periods you would need at leasta one foot bed of stone below each section as freeze thaw is very unkind to asphalt. My advice is file this one under it was a nice idea but.......

For test purposes, you could cut the asphalt with a composite circular saw blade designed for masonry. They are cheap and readily available, but wear out fast. Also you would have to make shallow cuts, gradually increasing the depth until you have cut through. To cut up some asphalt to test your idea, it would be an inexpensive option. If it proves out, then get the diamond blades and appropriate saw. My experience has been that the composite saw blade does not melt the asphalt -- it makes a lot of dust though.

I agree with the rest, rent a concrete pavement cutting machine with a diamond tip wheel cutter w/ cooling water, and its done. We are using that method here in our locality, if ever we have a road restoration project. our roads here are asphalt overlayed.

There are cutting wheels, similar to a pizza cutter, only much heavier. They are used with the bucket on an excavator, or on a grader. The weight of the machine in necessary to push down on the asphalt while the machine drives forward or extends the bucket, etc. This is fast, and much cheaper than diamond saw cutting!

If you use a saw, try using a wet cut saw. This will eliminate heat build up, thus preventing the bituminous materials from melting and getting sticky

give me a call and I can supply you with the best diamond blades in the country at the best prices.

Richie

561-574-2878