Equipment Review September 2008: Know your blade and blade safety

Thousands of carbide blades are used every year by roofers and tear-off contractors commercially to remove roof decks and roofing systems. It's the lowest cost item in the whole process after you consider the cost of labor, power equipment, debris removal, and insurance. However, it can become one of the more expensive tear-off costs if you don't buy quality or use it properly in terms of slower production rates or safety.

Have a debris removal plan.
First, know the make-up of your deck. Find out what is in it and/or under it and how thick it is. Think about how safe it will be after you remove the roof deck. Lay out a traffic pattern to most efficiently get the debris off the roof and onto the ground the fastest and safest way. Be sure you have plenty of safety equipment set up around your trash hoppers and roof edges. Have safety spotters to coordinate cutting around roof deck openings and roof edges for your saw operators.

To get the best performance out of your power saw, be sure it is regularly serviced. Many contractors change the oil and all filters every day to get optimum performance and longevity from their equipment. Have compressed air on deck at all times to blow out the debris that will collect in & around the cooling fins of the engine. It is suggested this be done every 30-60 minutes depending on the type of material you are cutting

Buying the cheapest carbide blade may not be the best bargain for you. Buy a well known manufacturer's blade and also check to see if its USA made. There are several foreign-made blades that are inferior or are made of soft steel or faulty carbides that last only a few hours, or in the worst case scenario a few minutes.

There are some common-sense practices to be aware of when cutting:

 

Know how deep you are cutting.
Cutting deep into concrete decks severely shortens blade life and when you hit rebar, not only do you kill a blade, you can severely damage your power saw. On wood decks you really need to know your depths and what's underneath structurally for safety. Pipelines or electrical conduits that may be directly underneath the deck.

Put the blade in the right way.
This may sound stupid, but inexperienced contractors do it all the time. A good quality blade will have an arrow on the blade showing the proper direction of the rotation of the saw A blade put in backwards will have the blade back doing the primary cutting, not the carbide. This will severely warp the entire blade, usually destroying it and providing very, poor production. Be sure the saw man knows the saw direction rotation.

There are also several blade options available depending on how fast you want to cut. The most common are the 2-carbide 12" blades with either a 3" or 4" carbide. There are also 4-carbide and 6-carbide blades available which make cutting faster, easier and with a lot less vibration than the 2-carbide blades. They are obviously more expensive, but usually last much longer and proportionally cost the same per carbide as the less expensive blades.

This article was submitted by John MacLaughlin, National Marketing Manager with Roofmaster Product Company. Roof Master offer over 8000 roofing tools & equipment and safety products.