Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
![](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/app/uploads/2025/01/01232967-functional-floating-home-feature-1-thumb-16x9.jpg)
This floating home maximizes its waterfront location with seamless indoor-outdoor living, a unique two-story layout, and a design that prioritizes light and views.
Featured Video
Video: Build a Fireplace, Brick by BrickHighlights
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
- Home Group
- Antique Trader
- Arts & Crafts Homes
- Bank Note Reporter
- Cabin Life
- Cuisine at Home
- Fine Gardening
- Fine Woodworking
- Green Building Advisor
- Garden Gate
- Horticulture
- Keep Craft Alive
- Log Home Living
- Military Trader/Vehicles
- Numismatic News
- Numismaster
- Old Cars Weekly
- Old House Journal
- Period Homes
- Popular Woodworking
- Script
- ShopNotes
- Sports Collectors Digest
- Threads
- Timber Home Living
- Traditional Building
- Woodsmith
- World Coin News
- Writer's Digest
- Marine Group
- Angler's Journal
- PassageMaker
- Power & Motoryacht
- SAIL
- Soundings
- Soundings Trade Only
- Woodshop News
- Yachts International
Replies
DLB, I replace my diamond blades when:
I have worn away all the diamonds and there is nothing but bare steel left to try and cut the tile
When the blade has worn excessively on one side and as a consequence won't cut straight anymore.
I hear people complain that they had to buy three diamond blades to finish a small tile job like a kitchen. What they don't realize is that their blade isn't worn out it is just dull. The last one I talked to was using porcelain tile (very hard, not very abrasive) and was buying whatever tile blade their hand happened to land on. They were using a tile blade designed for soft, abrasive materials and the porcelain was dulling the exposed diamonds but not abrasive enough to wear away the diamond matrix exposing new "sharp" diamonds.
If your blade performance goes down, take a concrete paver and make a series of cuts in it to wear down the diamond matrix and expose new diamonds. I have been told turning the blade around (reversing rotation) will "sharpen" the blade but it seems like too big a production compared to dressing the blade with an abrasive medium like concrete.
Dress it frequently when cutting hard materials as it seems less effective if you wait too long and you may end up with a blade that tries to cut more on one side than another. Once the blade starts cutting lopsided it is usually best just to replace it.
The most important thing to remember is to match the blade to the material. Have a blade for hard materials such as porcelain and granite (soft diamond matrix), another blade for concrete and soft tile (Hard diamond matrix), and maybe an electroplated blade for cutting limestone or marble.
Karl
Thanks for the great response, Karl.