I have to price a job that involves cutting 500' of 2" thick asphalt. I have done asphalt cutting in the past but only smaller cuts. Any idea about how long it would take to cut 500'? I have a stihl TH400 mounted on a cart with diamond blade. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I think I'd make some phone calls to inquire about contracting that portion out, that should give you the value of the job. You can decide from that point whether it's worth your effort with your Stihl, my initial thought is that machine is too small for a job that size. I have a Partner saw of a similar size that I made cuts for my work with, I wouldn't want to be on the end of that for that length of time. I think the longest cut I made was about 30' and that was a job in itself.
We have done cuts that long without a cart. It sucks but if you have three guys trading places you could probably do the hole thing in less then five hours
I don't think it's hard work with a cart. It will just get boring very fast. What about blade wear? How long should one last? I know quality probably has a lot to do with that.
What do you think about renting a walk behind? That way the person cutting does not have to worry as much about keeping the saw straight and the cut will be straighter. Can you hook up a water hose and make the blade last longer? I would bill for the rental of the walkbehind, pickup and delivery of the walkbehind, 1 good blade (225), 2 gallons of gas, and 6 man hours for the cutting. Any way to make sure it is just 2 inches of asphalt and not 2 on top of 1 or 2? That will increase the time to cut.
Yes there is water available on site. There is only 2" of asphalt its an outdoor rink not a road.
Water helps lubricate and cool the blade also helps the fines wash out of the cut making the blade last. I have the 16" stihl on a cart and do a 2" cut in one pass. Might take four tanks of gas but ***. Better than waiting for a sub to waste your day when you could have it done setup and all in a couple hours. Or a coulter wheel on a big hoe or loader is the cheapest but not the best cut always.
we use these all the time , far better than the saw and cart thing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLIPPER-C...OAD-SAW-CONCRETE-CUTTER-ROADSAW-/221251594012 water a must along with a proper mask ,silica dust is a killer
I use a 2x4 for a straight edge when running a hand held saw. From my limited experience, blade life sucks. For that much cutting, figure out what blade is spot on for that particular asphalt. Using Dewalt general purpose blades, I would expect to go through 4-5 blades. Surely there are better options.
Have you Thought about something like this if you have a skid steer or backhoe I've used one when I have to go across a street. I've never done 500' of asphalt but it beats using the saw any day
I have an MK push saw about the same size as that one. It'd make short work of a 500' cut in one pass. I would call around and check prices, but rental would be cheaper. Make sure you use an asphalt blade since the bonding properties are different than a concrete blade. Asphalt will sharpen and expose diamonds on a dull concrete blade in a few feet, but turn the blade to junk if you try to make too long of a cut.
I have cut quite a bit with a asphalt cutting wheel on my backhoe. Goes pretty fast especially on a warm day, no mess either.
Dirty4fun that what I like about it clean and pretty quick
I did a 450' cut with a ts420, no cart, i didn't own anything else but I got it done