FOR THE 2009 SEASON we have acquired a new tool that bestows a number of ecological benefits: a manual paving block cutter. Up until now we have been using a grinding machine with rotating diamond blades to accomplish the same functions, when we need blocks of small, oddly-shaped sizes. And although the new ‘guillotine’ has a couple of distinct disadvantages — it’s very heavy, it cannot cut blocks in curved lines, and it cannot cut only partway across a block to create a V-cut — it outperforms the competition in every other way. So we continue to use the concrete saw for certain specific assignments, and the guillotine has taken over nearly all other cutting tasks.
Manual Paving Block Cutter
THE MANUAL MACHINE has many advantages over the motorized model: it doesn’t use gas power, so we’re not consuming fossil fuels or causing pollution; it doesn’t produce dust, keeping the site clean; it’s doesn’t make any noise, a great relief to our work crews (and the neighbours); it’s easy to control, so there’s no danger of bodily harm or property damage; it has fewer moving parts, so it lasts longer and is less expensive per piece; it doesn’t increase demand for diamond mining, which is one of the most inhospitable and exploitative industries in the world; and most of all, it makes the cut quickly, increasing efficiency by between 300-400% for that task.
Grinding Machine with Rotating Diamond Blades
Paving Block Cutter VS. Diamond Blade
Tags: tools
