cutting slate

["Irwin Stone" <irwinstone@zzzzzzzzz>]

  A couple thoughts from a guy who cuts a lot of slate, but never carves.

A recipricating saw (Sawzall) with a very fine tooth blade will cut black
slate, though very slowly with substantial chipping.  John's suggestion of
the fiber blades is a good econonical solution, though you will be eating a
lot of very nasty dust.

Nothing you can do yourself will come close to the cut quality you would get
if you found a local stone fab shop with a decent wet table saw.  We do
small cutting jobs for people all the time.  Minimum labor charges for one
or two cuts is $10.00, or we charge around $2.00 per lineal foot.

If you are set on doing the project completely by your self, you might want
to invest in an Alpha Tools brand "Libero" dry cutting blade.  These are
electroplated diamond blades, with slots for cooling, that will yield an
incredibly smooth cut in most soft stones when cutting dry.  If you rig up a
simple water feed for a circular saw, almost any decent brand "Turbo" style
diamond blade will give OK results, as long as you keep the stone cool with
a small flow of water directed right on the leading edge of the cut.  If the
slate gets hot, expect lots of large splits/chips.

David