Diamond Blade Tips
-
Open up the diamonds on a new blade with shallow cuts in soft, abrasive material (eg. limestone). This will stop the blade chattering or skipping on the first job.
- For normal cutting, multiple shallow cuts (step cuts) are better than one single deep cuts.
- Do not force the blade. Forcing or twisting the blade can cause bluntness, excessive wear, overheating, distortion and segment damage.
- Do not side grind.
- If your slurry colour changes to brown or red, you are most probably cutting the dirt or sub base. This will wear your diamond blade quicker, so raise your blade.
- If you're going to change directions on a floor saw, make sure your machine is off and the blade is up out of the cut before changing direction.
- If your blade does not have a direction indication on it, you should be able to see a "comet tail" behind exposed diamonds if the blade was "broken in" at the factory. This indicated the direction - the tail should be behind the comet. If you put a blade on in the direction opposite to the directional arrow you may experience a little slower cutting or a little vibration at first until the diamond is exposed on the opposite side. This should not harm the blade as long as you maintain the same direction but may reduce the life fractionally if it is continually reversed.
- A smaller blade on your machine will decrease the cutting depth, but increase the power and speed of cutting. For example, many customers use 12"/300mm blades on a cut off saw that could use a 14"/350mm blade.
- If you are using the blade dry (not recommended due to dust and safety issues), be aware that it will shorten the blade's life, and you will need to air cool the blade regularly - take the blade out of the cut to allow the air to prevent the blade from overheating.
Diamond Blade Troubleshooting
Glazing - As a diamond blade is used, the bond wears, exposing more diamond that continue cutting. If the bond does not wear back, then eventually there is no diamond exposed, and so the blade will slow down and stop cutting. The cutting edge of the blade will feel smooth. This is known as glazing or polishing
Possible causes are:
- The bond is too hard for the material it is cutting - select the correct blade.
- The machine is not powerful enough for the specification (usually experienced more with professional blades and saws)
-
The blade has been mounted with the rotation arrow the wrong way.
Rectify by re dressing the blade by cutting an abrasive material like limestone to remove some bond and expose diamonds so cutting can continue.

Short Blade Life - Generally caused by using a bond which is too soft for the material being cut. Select the correct blade for the application.
It usually occurs when cutting more abrasive materials such as asphalt, green concrete or sandstone (which requires a UDT black blade). Wet cutting will also extend the life of a blade compared to dry cutting.
Problem
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Probable Causes
|
Solutions
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Blade cuts slowly | Too much coolant |
Reduce coolant |
Bond too hard for material |
Use a softer bond blade |
|
Blade has glazed up |
Dress with abrasive material until diamond becomes exposed again |
|
Machine under powered
|
Upgrade machine or cut shallow step cuts | |
Blade Discolouration/ Burning
|
Insufficient coolant
|
Check sufficient coolant reaching cutting zone.
|
Diamond Blade Will Not Cut
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Diamond blade bond is too hard for material being cut | Select proper specification for material being cut |
Failure to break in new blade on specific material being cut | Allow blade to open up on the material to be cut when first placing it on the saw. | |
Insufficient power | Check and tighten belts and make sure adequate horsepower is available | |
Diamond blade had become glazed as a result of being used on hard material | Dress with abrasive material until diamond becomes exposed again | |
Blade glazed from too much coolant | De glaze blade and reduce coolant | |
Diamond Blade Worn Out of Round
|
Shaft Bearings are worn | Replace bearings as required |
Engine is not properly tuned on concrete saws, causing surges in blade rotation | Tune engine according to manufacturers manual | |
Blade mounting arbor (hole) is worn or is the wrong size | Replace the worn arbor bushing (or blade if no bush) or arbor shaft. | |
Bond is too hard for material, casing pounding | Use proper diamond blade specification | |
Uneven Segment Wear
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Insufficient water in wet cutting | Ensure water distribution to both sides of diamond blade |
Saw is misaligned | Check saw head alignment and shaft alignment | |
Diamond Blade Arbor Hole Out of Round
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Blade flange is not properly tightened | Make certain that the blade is adequately secured |
Blade flange is worn or dirty, not allowing proper blade clamping | Clean blade flanges, making sure they are not worn | |
Diamond blade is not properly mounted | Make certain the blade is mounted on the correct shaft diameter before tightening shaft nut. | |
Ensure the pin bole slides over the drive pin | ||
Undercutting the Steel Core
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Caused by abrasive debris in the cut wearing away steel core. Will eventually cause segment loss. | Use a blade with proper undercut protection |
Provide adequate water to the steel core, especially for deep cuts | ||
Diamond Segment cracks or breaks off
|
Diamond blade is too hard for material being cut | Replace diamond blade with softer bond |
Excessive cutting pressure, or twisting /jamming of the blade. | Use a steady, even pressure without twisting the blade in the cut. | |
Overheating | Ensure adequate water supply on both sides of blade | |
Blade "chatters" in cut as a result of loss of blank tension | See Loss of Tension section. | |
Excessive force to start sawing | Replace blade and use saw without any strong force - allow the machine to do the work. | |
Diamond Blade Wobbles
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Diamond blade runs at improper speed | Check engine/motor speed |
Diamond blade arbor hole size does not match shaft size | Check diamond blade arbor hole to make sure they are clean, flat and or correct diameter | |
Diamond blade is bent as a result of dropping or twisting | Change to new diamond blade | |
Diamond Segment Loss
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Overheating due to lack of water or continuous dry cutting | Ensure adequate water on both sides of blade. |
For dry cutting, allow the blade to run freely every few minutes | ||
Steel core is worn from undercutting | Replace blade and use sufficient water to flush out the cut | |
Diamond blade is cutting out of round, causing a pounding motion | Replace blade and worn bearing, realign blade shaft or replace worn blade mounting arbor | |
Twisting of blade while in the cut | Replace blade and securely hold saw, or ensure job is held firmly | |
Cracks in Steel Core
|
Diamond blade flutters in cut as a result of blade losing tension | Replace blade and tighten the blade shaft nut |
Replace blade and ensure it is running at correct speed and that drive pin is functioning properly | ||
Diamond blade specification is too hard for material being cut | Replace with correct diamond blade with softer bond to eliminate stresses | |
Forcing or twisting the diamond blade in the cut | Replace blade and allow diamond blade to cut freely without force, keeping blade straight | |
Loss of Tension
|
Steel core had been overheating as a result of diamond blade spinning on arbor | Tighten the blade shaft nut. |
Make certain the drive pin is functioning (on concrete saws) | ||
Diamond blade being used at incorrect RPM | Make certain blade shaft is running at the proper RPM | |
Material being cuts moves, twisting blade in cut | Secure material being cut | |
Blade flanges too small, allowing blade to flex | Use correct flanges of equal size | |
Incorrect mounting on shaft means flanges bend blade when tightened | Make sure blade is securely on arbor shoulder until outside flange and nut are firmly tightened | |
Blade overheated | Ensure adequate water | |
If overheating caused by blade spinning, ensure blade tightening nut is tight | ||
Diamond blade is excessively hard for the material being cut | Use softer bonded diamond blade to reduce operating stress | |
Short blade life
|
Blade bond is too soft for material being cut | Replace diamond blade with blade with harder bond |
Inadequate water supply | Ensure sufficient water to both sides of blade |
Factors Effecting Diamond Blade Performance
Factors
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Variance
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Cutting Speed
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Life of Blade
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Material Hardness
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Harder
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Slower
|
Longer
|
Softer
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
|
Abrasiveness
|
More
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Less
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
|
Aggregate Size
|
Larger
|
Slower
|
Shorter
|
Smaller
|
Faster
|
Longer
|
|
Steel Reinforcement
|
Less
|
Faster
|
Longer
|
More
|
Slower
|
Shorter
|
|
Horsepower
|
Lower
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
Higher
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
|
Blade RPM
|
Lower
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Higher
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
|
Water Flow
|
Lower
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Higher
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
|
Cutting Depth
|
Shallow
|
Faster
|
Longer
|
Deep
|
Slower
|
Shorter
|
|
Diamond Quality
|
Lower
|
Slower
|
Shorter
|
Higher
|
Faster
|
Longer
|
|
Diamond Grit Size
|
Coarser
|
Faster
|
Longer
|
Finer
|
Slower
|
Shorter
|
|
Diamond Concentration
|
Lower
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Higher
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
|
Segment Height
|
Thinner
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Thicker
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
|
Bond Hardness
|
Harder
|
Slower
|
Longer
|
Softer
|
Faster
|
Shorter
|
Disclaimer: the information on this website is provided in good faith and believed to be reliable and accurate at this time. However, the information is provided on the basis that the reader will be solely responsible for assessing the information and its veracity and usefulness. UDT shall in no way be liable, in negligence or howsoever, for any loss sustained or incurred by anyone relying on the information, even if such information is or turns out to be wrong, incomplete, out-of-date or misleading.
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