Recommendations for multi tool blade for brick/plaster

[Gavin John Hyde]

I am looking for recommendations for a decent multi tool blade to cut through plaster and some brick/block. I could use a standard blade but it will kill the blade.
Have a job coming up where it needs some delicate cutting without going too heavy on the wall. normal chasing isnt an option. likewise disc cutters would be too intense and heavy handed.
I used to use decent erbaur ones, but they are no longer available.
What makes/blades are people using ?
I will be making a series of cuts to make a narrow chase and then sink a shallow box in for a switch. the chase will be less than half an inch wide, the customer has agreed to this so that it avoids too much remedial work.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Or one of these and a good vac
Festool 574806 Dsc-ag 125 Fh-plus Gb Diamond Cutting System 240v - https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/festool-574806-dsc-ag-125-fh-plus-gb-diamond-cutting-system-240v-pid46501.html

Far too big for what i need, i have to be delicate and precise.

 

[ruston]

@Gavin John Hyde . Forget what I said about the mark up then

 

[Grant webber]

I had to do the same sort of thing last week. I used a tile blade to make a chase about 2 metres and cut a back box in. It was nice and neat but the blade went in the bin after.

 

[HandySparks]

Carbide End Cut Blade - https://www.saxtonblades.co.uk/fein-multimaster-bosch-makita-compatible-blades/carbide-coated-blades/carbide-end-cut-blade
We use them same to cut most hard material

I've used the tungsten carbide grit blades from Saxton. Definitely worth a try, although they soon wear out cutting anything hard.

 

[elsparko]

for the box use 5.5 masonry bit or something near that size, mark out the line , grab a masonry chisel or a joiners flathead screwdriver and knock out the square, it should come off quite easy once youve drilled all the way round

get it quite often with the diamond corer, if the wall is too deep i have to chisel out the 4inch block to carry on, usually a few good hits with the hammer removes it, but if not, get the chisel in the gap and prize it till the 4inch block snaps off

 

[elsparko]

or, tell your customer to leave the property whilst you are working and get your chase on with an impacter and a chisel bit, make good before the return home

 

[Pete999]

for the box use 5.5 masonry bit or something near that size, mark out the line , grab a masonry chisel or a joiners flathead screwdriver and knock out the square, it should come off quite easy once youve drilled all the way round

get it quite often with the diamond corer, if the wall is too deep i have to chisel out the 4inch block to carry on, usually a few good hits with the hammer removes it, but if not, get the chisel in the gap and prize it till the 4inch block snaps off

Hit a screwdriver with a hammer?? you Philistine, blasphemy. I trust you mean a demolition screwdriver.

 

[elsparko]

Hit a screwdriver with a hammer?? you Philistine, blasphemy. I trust you mean a demolition screwdriver.

yes, a joiners flathead, one that does not belong to you

 

[Pete999]

yes, a joiners flathead, one that does not belong to you

Oh good man bugger someone Else's kit up.

 

[pirate]

Just got a delivery from Saxton, so ready to tackle a job tomorrow. I'm taking down a glass-brick partition wall, and don't just want to hit it with a hammer. I got diamond tiped blades for my multi-tool and hoping it will slice nicely between the bricks. I suppose it all depends on what the grout is...just grout, or cement...
I will report back.

 

[Pete E]

Just got a delivery from Saxton, so ready to tackle a job tomorrow. I'm taking down a glass-brick partition wall, and don't just want to hit it with a hammer. I got diamond tiped blades for my multi-tool and hoping it will slice nicely between the bricks. I suppose it all depends on what the grout is...just grout, or cement...
I will report back.

Just be thankful its not blue engineer brick!

 

[pirate]

My only worry is that the "builder" has incorporated the glass bricks into a supporting wall. My archictect laughed when I asked him..."glass bricks are NEVER structural"...
aye, and you can't run your sockets on bell-wire...
Anyway, job postponed 24 hours, but I'm certain it's a light partition wall only and the glass bricks are only there to allow borrowed light into the kitchen...a common conversion in tenement flats.

 

[pirate]

OK, it went well...sort of!
9am, glass brick wall, and I attacked it with Saxton diamond tipped blade
(sorry, I took pics but for some reason they won't upload...)
Saxton sliced in ok, and I thought, here we go! But, I had not reckoned with the huge nylon spacers which clogged the blade...the blade was very good, but as each brick had a grout line that was nylon spacer for a third its width at each side, well I wasn't going anywhere...
Next up, angle grinder! WoW! cut through no problem, although the nylon spacers did cause a hiccup...but the dust was unbelievable, set the smoke alarms off (all 3 of them, being radio-linked, but thats another thread!) so I stopped after one run along the bottom row. It's now 10am, and I have 1 glass block extracted, the flat is full of dust and it's looking hopeless...
so I got out the club hammer...
10.30, the wall is gone! Put full goggles and mask on, and just hit it...result!
Made a mess, but a cleanable mess, so my view is hammer it!
Finally, those Saxton diamond tipped blades for tile/grout are very good...just not for this job. (But much better than the dewalt blades which, oddly enough, are not available to pick up or for delivery from Screwfix, even though showing online...)
Sorry no pics but my pc won't upload from my phone tonight...

 

[SparkySy]

I use saxtonblades as well and the brick ones are good for soft brick and plaster, I do a few listed buildings and have found that stitch drilling the switch box outline first and then use the multi in the holes to get the last bits out works well then a small scutch chisel if you need to remove any brick for depth as they don't seem to rattle the wall as much as a bolster. Also I use the irwin multiconstruction drills as they will drill with no hammer needed.
Sy

 

[pirate]

Thanks for that Sy, useful info for me. Haven't tried the Irwin multiconstruction but will look for them.
The Saxton blades i used were the DeWalt substitute diamond tipped tile/grout ones (can't actually find any original DeWalt equivalents) and they did a fine job when able to do so, but the massive nylon spacers killed the game.
Love a scutch chisel, btw!
Listed buildings are a bit of an art though, surely? I have been involved in a few over the years, and it is tricky to find a modern solution to some needs...but great fun too.
I helped out on a renovation in Spain recently, and inadvertently got them to use those quinetic switches...totally changed the game-plan, as no need to raggle the walls and mix just the right mortar to fill in.
Some of the guys were a bit miffed cos their mortar skills weren't required, but the project was finished ahead of time, and with no boxing-in with plasterboard.
The marriage of the old with the new...sometimes the result is just perfect!