Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

Hi willyfernando,
Thanks for the Metabo/Machtools recommendation. I'll probably get that. Price is about the same as the Hitachi 7.25" and 10" PCD blades for fiber cement that I was eyeing (and still intending to get). Only concern though is that the pictures of both the Makita and Metabo look like they are for left hand use, which seems unusual/unexpected.

Good price you got from Rolin's on the router, better than what they gave me last year (P21.5K but only on condition that I get a planer as well).

I could not find authoritative/technical info on asbestos content and material safety info of Flexboard. All I could find was this sales brochure:
http://ibuildph.com/cms/index.php/ibuildph/flexboard-fiber-cement-board/

All it says is 'chrysotile fiber cement'. No mention of asbestos. I understand that chrysotile = white asbestos.

According to this Inquirer article,
http://business.inquirer.net/money/columns/view/20080910-159701/Asbestos
there are two families of asbestos, chrysotile (white) and the 'amphiboles' (I presume green, brown, blue, and who knows what else); and that the latter are more dangerous (as violaine mentioned).

Curious to know where the info (that you mentioned) came from that Flexboard contains green asbestos; and that green is not the dangerous kind.

Also, the sales brochure of Flexboard says 'no refined silica sand'. Is that supposed to be good and a selling point? I have no idea, or whether or why we should care about refined silica sand, as opposed to say asbestos.

Is it true that Hardiflex is completely asbestos-free (no asbestos of any kind/color)? If so, maybe that could be a reason/justification for its slightly higher price, i.e., the alternatives like Flexboard are cheaper because they have asbestos?

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

I don't know if this is the right thread for this post, I just can't find a forum for this concrete working tool and the likes. Anyway I'll just post this here since the thread's conversation or discussions now involves this kind of tool. :p

I have this tile/concrete cutter with a diamond disc cutter of 100mm or 4" in diameter as posted by sir guad in this thread but a different brand. I used this to cut concrete pavers for my driveway, by the way the concrete paver has a thickness of 5.1cm or 2".

My problem with this tile/concrete cutter is its depth cut which is only 3cm maximum living me a 2cm of uncut portion on the concrete paver and so to complete the cut what I do is flip the paver and make a second pass but sometimes if not often would leave an uneven cut on the finished surface. With this kind of result in finish I was contemplating on buying a much larger tile/concrete cutter by Makita that can house a diamond blade with 180mm or 7" with a 60mm cutting depth but the thing is its so expensive and way way beyond my budget. 😮

My questions now are as follows,

Do you know any other brand that sells the larger concrete cutter locally and much cheaper than the Makita?
If none then can I use an ordinary circular saw used for cutting wood and simply replace the existing blade with diamond cutter so to speak to make a clean cut on the concrete paver?
Is it advisable since I've heard from marble and granite slab cutters that this is their cheap alternative way when cutting thick marble slabs? :rolleyes: :confused:

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

@ Moji
You may get your Metabo products directly at MACHTOOLS, INC. in Del Monte Ave. , going towards A. Bonifacio Ave. on your right. Look for the owner Nancy Yu, She knows me and she will entertain all your questions about Metabo. Just tell her i referred you. (Willy Fernando) All products classified as Elektra Beckum products are German made. That was the original Metabo tag. You could easily tell the china made from germany made. Incidentally, they also own the brand Torq. I get my Makita products from Rolin's Mercantile in EDSA Cubao in front of the Baliwag Transit terminal near ELEKTRO WERKZ. They give me good deals for my purchases. For instance the Makita 3612-C Router w/c Timber715 uses, is given to me @ P 21,400 only.

Thanks for the info!

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

[HTML]Green asbestos not the dangerous kind.[/HTML]

the fact that it is asbestos it is certainly dangerous to one's health when inhaled..

@ Doc V
Very true V. However among the companies locally manufacturing FICEM we are left w/ only a chosen few. As far as I know FLEXBOARD is the more reliable industry choice. Hardiflex, I think, is owned by Jardine Davis but from experience and type of usage standard it has failed as per our test requirements. What we did was we inquired from medical practitioners where and who handled the medical cases of ETERTON, also known as CLINTON COMMERCIAL, the manufacturer of Flexboard, What gave me more confidence to use it was that the Physician tasked to check company personnel's annual check up as well as regular cases happened to be a good friend of mine by the name of DR. ALFRED LO, a former Hospital Director of the Mandaluyong Medical Center, where these workers are checked. I wish there was a better choice but between the imported cemboards from China, Malaysia and Thailand I guess we are better off w/ a local company. We do exercise strict controls in terms of production to preserve the workers health. After 15yrs of usage i guess my workers can attest to the fact that we are using the right brand so far. No cases of Asthma or Lung ailments yet.:p

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

[QUOTE=guad; Only concern though is that the pictures of both the Makita and Metabo look like they are for left hand use, which seems unusual/unexpected.

Good price you got from Rolin's on the router, better than what they gave me last year (P21.5K but only on condition that I get a planer as well).

All it says is 'chrysotile fiber cement'. No mention of asbestos. I understand that chrysotile = white asbestos.

Is it true that Hardiflex is completely asbestos-free (no asbestos of any kind/color)? If so, maybe that could be a reason/justification for its slightly higher price, i.e., the alternatives like Flexboard are cheaper because they have asbestos?

Most CS and tile cutters if u notice are right handed. Only a handful of tool makers/manufacturers tailor their products for both orientations. I've been buying from Rolin's since 1994 that's why i get good discounts. Green, I think is a term used by the manufacturer for components that may be used both for making their product as well as the by product of using these boards by end users. Imagine what
those boards from China, Thailand and or Malaysia could have in them....:eek:

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

@ Rosy
Discs are designed to handle from 30-40% of their size due to their mounting arbor design. Most companies try to keep a small flange or arbor size but the blade usually deflects or wanes. Your best bet would be those special cutters that HILTI has. It's the HILTI DCH 300/230 Electric Diamond Cutters. These cutters have a disc size of 305 and 230mm and cut a depth of about 120mm for the 300 model and 85mm for the 230 model. They might have a good tool lease program so it doesn't have to hurt your budget. We have a PHM member from Hilti, maybe he can give a special lease programs for members like us. What do you think guys,? About time, right?

http://www.hilti.com.ph/holph/page/module/home/browse_main.jsf?lang=en&nodeId=-299188

http://www.hilti.com.ph/fstore/holph/LinkFiles/DCH_300.pdf

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

Thanks for the info!

Anytime Moji. Hope that helps your future tool sourcing.:p

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

[HTML]We do exercise strict controls in terms of production to preserve the workers health[/HTML]

that is good to know..but ask any pathologist here and abroad and anywhere else and one thing will come up when dealing with asbestos particles no matter what type it is...mesothelioma.

like i said...when these particles are lodged in the lungs, there is no way you can remove it there...unless you remove the lungs 😮

15 years may not be good enough...after 15 years, the more that they should have a regular annual check up...and by this time, other ailments of aging usually sets in.

hence, a cheap but dedicated mask is a requirement when dealing with these materials..

and silica is not a lesser evil.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

and btw..asthma is a heritable disease and can be triggered by pollutants etc etc. and not in any way due to asbestos.

so when interviewing would be workers for these kind of job, this disease should be first on the list when screening them.

naku OT na.hehe

well i just want my colleagues here at phm that there is a material safety data sheet for every material/chemical that they use..just google them.

😉

and for the benefit of some...pathology is the foundation of medicine long before the other specialities...always at the forefront of medicine..here we study disease, how it came about, how to suffer from it and how your body will try to overcome it or succumb to it, on a microscopic level...

we can say whether a lump removed from you is cancerous or not with great certainty and that is the reason why we are the doctor's doctor..we rarely see patients..we often see doctors consulting us for our opinions...and if ever, most of our patients cannot speak coz they are dead whom we autopsied...yes we know everything but its too late! haha

but i do not claim to know everything.

if you have a doctor who tells you he/she knows everything in medicine..better brace yourself:eek:

fyi, Mayon is selling a circular saw with dust hood dedicated for cutting fiber cement boards..it can be fitted with a tct for either wood or for fibercement boards (?)...id like to have one of these to get rid of dust by simply hooking it up to a vacuum cleaner.

http://www.tools-plus.com/makita-5057kb.html

i also hope bosch philippines can stock up on jigsaw blades with carbide edge for cutting these fibercement boards (calling mr golden!)

@willie,
i bought a 10K philips juicer and now there is never a day i sleep without a glass of fresh extracts...i still need to read the entire manuscript though to justify giving it away for me.hehe

thanks much and God bless! hope to find time to visit your shop for the veneers...sana me field trip ang phm to your shop soon!

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

@ Doc V
Tnx for your medical advice. glad you tried juicing. I will PM you, if you like, a stem tech program i am using now for my health rehab . As i have told you my SGPT and my SGOT are stable now since i started that program. 2 weeks lang lahat ng tests ko PASADO. para kong nakakuha ng kodigo. he-he-he-! Btw, my bp stats and blood sugar also became remarkably stable..

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

Doc V and Willy,

The medical info you've shared so far are too important to be mixed on this thread and be missed by future-benefiting members/lurkers.

I highly recommend that you guys create a thread (I leave it to you since I don't know how I would title it) that would contain relevant health topics that would be benefiting for DIY persons and some cheat sheet regimens like Willy does.

You may start the thread and I would be glad to help move related posts as necessary.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

Hi Jarod,

How are you? Sorry nahalo sa thread na ito ung med info. I would be glad to share with everyone the info on another thread in the future as you have mentioned. After the final program stats have been given I will be doing so para mas may basis ang info. More power to you my friend and hope you guys can visit me at my shop in next planned eb.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

I'm doing good Willy, thanks for asking. We'll look forward into seeing your shop in the future.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

@ Rosy
Discs are designed to handle from 30-40% of their size due to their mounting arbor design. Most companies try to keep a small flange or arbor size but the blade usually deflects or wanes. Your best bet would be those special cutters that HILTI has. It's the HILTI DCH 300/230 Electric Diamond Cutters. These cutters have a disc size of 305 and 230mm and cut a depth of about 120mm for the 300 model and 85mm for the 230 model. They might have a good tool lease program so it doesn't have to hurt your budget. We have a PHM member from Hilti, maybe he can give a special lease programs for members like us. What do you think guys,? About time, right?

http://www.hilti.com.ph/holph/page/module/home/browse_main.jsf?lang=en&nodeId=-299188

http://www.hilti.com.ph/fstore/holph/LinkFiles/DCH_300.pdf

@ willyfernando

This is great sir willy and thanks for the info, actually in my mind I was really expecting an info or a reply from you when I was typing these questions since from the previous discussions you mentioned that you are a contractor by profession so I thought you are the person most credible to answer my inquiry. 😎

Thanks for reminding me about Hilti, I'll check their site for more information about this tool.
Really it never crossed my mind about our PHM member working for Hilti. :p

Anyway thanks again for your reply.

Re: Using TCT saw blade on fiber cement

@ To the admin and sir jarod,

Sir may I suggest that you create a new forum let say something like HEALTH and MEDICAL informations.

You are right there when doc v and sir willy were already discussing about medical infos on this thread which is already out of this thread and yet these medical informations are so valuable to all of us DIYers to just pass up.

You suggested that they open a new thread on this topic but it got me thinking, how can they open a new thread when there is no mother or main forum for it. Will the thread be under woodworking or metalworking, or maybe car painting section or garden section. I hope you see what I mean, diba parang malayo sa mga existing forums. I firmly believe that it should have its own forum since we have a DOC V aboard this ship, I think doc v will be very happy with this and I'm sure he will be the pioneering contributor on this forum.

On another hand may I also request that you consider opening a forum about concrete working since there are lots of DIYers that are involve in concrete constructions, concrete tools, technical infos on building and constructing houses and fences etc. I think this way we can attract new members like engineers, contractors, architects and probably designers wherein they can contribute their knowledge on these fields not just always on woodworking or welding or metalworking.

I personally think DIYing is so wide that it has to expand here at PHM. These are just my honest personal views as a form of contribution for the betterment of this DIY community.

Hope you could give it some thought and consideration. Thank you.