How to cut concrete pavers with a grinder

This video shows me going through the process of using paper form to measure and transfer the cut to the concrete paver. Then execute the cut using a 4.5 inch grinder with masonry cut off blade, and a chisel.
Worth noting that the smaller the radius of the cut required the smaller the grinder blade radius. Ideally the radius of the blade should be smaller than that of the cut.
When making the cut, the grinder should be angled into the brick so that the front finish looks nice and flush and clean.
Always wear eye protection, there are no second chances. I would also recommend wearing suede gloves, and at all times keep concious of where your fingers / limbs, keep them behind the direction of the cut !! Also a good idea to have someone with you whilst you cut, so that they can warn you if you have your hands in the wrong place. Its easy to get complacent doing this stuff, without really being aware of the consequences.

[@magnus49]

WARNING: This is super dangerous! He should have used a diamond cutting disc specifically made for cutting stone and cutting in straigt lines. Also, wearing gloves (and other protection) is a good idea! A relative of mine had a angle grinder disc explode when cutting a steel pipe and wearing shorts... he had to spend months in and out of the hospital to get the fragments out and the wound treated = not worth it! Always use proper protection and the proper tools in a safe manner. This video should be relabeled "How NOT to cut concrete pavers with a grinder".

[@saidouldkaddour170]

Fully agree with you

[@Striider2]

'Just wanted to say "thanks" for taking the time to make this video. I'm about to undertake a project that's going to require cutting a lot of pavers, and I had thought I'd just use a hammer and chisel. Now I know for sure I'm going to go purchase a grinder. It's going to make the cuts so much cleaner than anything I'd ever accomplish scoring and whacking those pavers with a hammer/chisel. Again, many thanks....

[@marthalutz8]

Thanks for taking the time to post this video. It was helpful and you did a nice job. Why should anybody care how long it took you. It's your time not theirs. People who rush to get the job done generally do a poor job!

[@15chad15]

It would of been nice to see you put the paver into place to see after all that work it fit.

[@VinnyK84]

what's there to be embarrassed about? this takes experience and gain more as you did it! I'm waiting of my patio stones to come in and i've never cut anything before but I'm going to try out the concrete cut-off saw...got some tips from the contractor who did my driveway interlock...doesn't sound very hard but i'm sure it's going to take me forever

[@truthbetold8663]

15 minutes to cut 1 paver?...any better ideas?

[@mrharlemike28]

🤣 You were so over it on that last go round cut with the grinder! "Whats wrong with this brick?!!" 😂😂😂 NICE WORK!

[@carlfxy]

Sorry for not replying before this, but I really appreciate the constructive comment. Keep it up. Will try it.

[@danielroger813]

no point rushing with your job don't worry about idiots on this site commenting negatively good work mate. Safety Slow and Steady follow the SSS rule only fools work for other people anyway. Self Employment even you incorporate yourself is the only way to go!! Keep uploading.

[@dolsen1975]

good job...I use my angle grinder with a diamond blade all the time to cut pavers...don't know why you did all the scribbeling instead of just drawing a ling and then cutting on it but I build patios for a living and this saves me a bunch of time and money and it comes out looking like money! I have that same brick cut in about 2 minutes rather than 15...but I like it!

[@highhopes3121]

making use of what you have in cost effective way. my concern is with how long this took but if you're just doing a one-off project, no big deal. i might give it a try with a diamond blade on my angle grinder :)

[@Landotter1]

Roger-that, Roger... I just can't remmber where I saw that, but I remember that it worked real slick! Glad to help! :-D

[@spennington86]

This is cost efficient, c'mon for a 15 dollar grinder at harbor freight, you cant beat it, especially the end result, it looks good, props to the guy for making the best with what he had. The rest of you guys can pay 100+ bucks for a 4 hour rental on a concrete saw, ill leave my cash in my pocket, get real.

[@UpcomingJedi]

That 15 minutes that the wife can enjoy without the kids.

[@carlfxy]

Yes, I'm sure that would work also. Thanks again !

[@bryvander10]

You could also save time by resting the paver on top of the round concrete and eyeing into positions below. Then tracing along the arch on the underside of the paver. Then just cut the arch a little large.

[@carlfxy]

Yes, of course, that would work way better than the chisel as the force would be spread along the cut. Thanks for the suggestion, I will keep it in my mind for next time.

[@strongrockpaversutah]

Good! Job was done with the available tool.

[@carlfxy]

Thanks for the comment ! Thinking about it I should have used card / cardboard for the form, I'll do that next time. I like what you did with the Stihl on your channel. Totally want one of those to take down my Direct TV Dish :)

[@bryvander10]

I am sure you have good intentions by showing this video. But people watching this please just use a diamond blade. I purchased one for tiling my 2 bathrooms. When finished I didn't see any further use for it so I used it to cut everything (including metal). After a year of use I decided to put in a patio and used the old blade to cut many 2.3 inch pavers. Cut as deep as you can on each side then knock it on something hard none were broken. 3 mins tops. 13 mins each?

[@henrymorfa8585]

15:07 MINUTES TO MAKE ONLY 1 CUT ..IMAGING 200 CUTS ..THIS GUY WILL TAKE A MONTH IN A JOB

[@amigito13]

So glad I found this. Thanks for the instructions. This works very well.

[@realterm123]

Thanks for sharing. I am looking for a way to cut paving stones without spending too much money.

[@Zgriffinable]

Helpful, thanks for sharing.

[@dmzsniper]

For a second there I thought he was going to cut on the glass table lol.

[@carlfxy]

Wish I had, then I could have gotten a nice patio table. This monstrosity is still going strong. Hey thanks for the comment, and have a great weekend !

[@PaulSteMarie]

Scary: 1) Fingers in path of wheel 2) Wearing sandals 3) Little kid running nearby 4) Cutting unclamped work 5) Grinding with the side of a cutoff wheel 6) Not using the side handle.

[@chuckkarish1932]

So much cluelessness. The wedge doesn't add any control. It doesn't do anything that couldn't be done more easily by hitting the side of the waste with a hammer. I'd have done this job with a chop saw, first cutting a chord to take away most of the waste and then making a lot of vertical cuts as with a dado blade. Clean up any unevenness with a cold chisel.

[@patrickbritt3998]

Nicely done.

[@carlfxy]

How did you get on ? Also thanks the the advice, its just being lazy, and its times like these that you do have accident's. Point taken. Thanks for the comment.

[@newbie0156]

Thank you for the video, on another subject --- How did you finish off your post, I have the same situation with the piller being so large and my 6 x 6 post for the upper deck, I am looking for ideas to finish it off to look nice, Thanks,

[@stevenb8628]

After 15 min of watching him cut and fight that stone it ended up being too big.. oops should have measured twice I guess. Kids let that be a lesson to you. Part 2- he spent another 30 mins grinding it after.

[@adamspelman7324]

A proper paver would just quickly overlap the block and mark it.. and cut it.. most pavers would just use a block cutter and turn the blocks header wise.. though this way gives off a nicer cut.

[@wingn2a]

Hey, I appreciate the video, and I am sure there are others that do also.... don't let the neg's get to you.... The video is very instructional.

[@MEGAONE302]

I just read the water puts drag on the blade, dry cutting is faster but, you have more dust.

[@edward88yahoo]

Why couldn't you fill it in with colored cement and create the brick?

[@carlfxy]

Gday m8, I was actually using a masonry cut off wheel, buck a piece as opposed to 20 for a diamond turbo blade, and they still get the job done !! Also found they wear down nicely to a smaller radius, which makes it easier to get small curved cuts in brick. Still, probably better to pay the 20 for the turbo blade as I only get one good cut out of each of these blades through, so thanks for watching and the comment.

[@FodayTuray]

its good,simple methods.

[@mjvor]

Interesting to me as I've not used an angle grinder before. I was a bit bothered at the safety aspect, cutting into the block with your hand holding it down. If the blade slipped off you'd have your hand off.

[@martinytube]

But he has got a lot of patience. I can imagine that if Carl was doing a job it would be done RIGHT, even if it took a while to do. I`d rather have a job done slow but right than fast and wrong.

[@terrywaters274]

OK for straight lines; dangerous for curves if blade breaks; as they can do!

[@Landotter1]

Thanks for the reply. But wouldn't the two sticks under the two halves work also? I mean, no chisel, just tap the scribed point with a mallet. I hope you understand what I mean. I'm a bad communicator sometimes. :-)

[@carlfxy]

Yes, you're right with water you don't see the sparks and you get less wear on your masonry blade. But, as you can see its not that bad doing it without water. Thanks for the comment.

[@leechris74]

This is not a commercial job presumably as it took an inordinate amount of time to achieve this cut. If it was he would be using a contour gauge to achieve the profile and a stone/masonry cutter blade in the grinder, Instead of messing around with a cumbersome G-clamp why not just use your foot to steady the block when cutting it?

[@Landotter1]

Why didn't you put a square wood stock under each part and then hit the score mark? probably split easier and cleaner. not sure. Just asking...

[@vinceamato1201]

Hey Carl - score it, make some relief cuts in the waste and knock out the little pieces. BTW, Harbor Freight would be proud of you. Have you tried their diamond blade instead of abrasive?

[@pogobull]

cool vid ,,cheers mate

[@stereopolice]

Made a career out of it; but looks nice.

[@lazerdude3004]

all that work and dust and noise and bruises and three replacement blades. wow.I hope that was the only paver you had to cut?

[@lazerdude3004]

i think ill pave

[@junkerjunk]

Video needs to be edited down, to about 3 minutes, way too much time spent on almost nothing in many places.

[@carlfxy]

Thanks for taking the time to view my video and make a comment, but 1 day is nothing compared to the amount of time i spent trying to do this wrong (with a chisel) and researching how you could do it. Didn't find anything hence why I did the video, and uploaded it.

[@carlfxy]

Nice comment agreed ! Thanks for taking time to watch and comment on my video.

[@carlfxy]

I'd bet a dollar or two you couldn't. 3mins = rubbish cut. Also, the grinder does have a tendency to walk the cut and if you're not careful, you will end up cutting into your hand or worse still losing a finger. You don't want to rush these things.

[@oceanadventures1]

Good video! I agree this is too long you could pf popped it with a hammer after the first 2 minutes and it would of broke. next time you should make a video sticking your hand in a meat grinder, your hands look messed up! you should wear gloves.

[@Spaethon]

Why not just rent the right tool from Home Depot? Seems to me like it would produce much better results

[@carlfxy]

I hear you ! The Jesus boots, not only look bad, they are unprofessional. I will endevor never to wear them in any future video which involve my use of power tools. Thanks for the comment !!

[@carlfxy]

I'm getting so embarressed with all these negative comments on the time it took me, that I'm going to go out there and try and do it properly and see how long it takes. In anycase, thanks for watching, and taking the time to comment !!

[@res1492]

will this work with a black crayola

[@SuperBagHanger]

How high should my pavers be in relation to the ground?

[@manuelcastillo1789]

To your house pad, top of the footer.

[@ODonnelllawns]

Next time first remove the meat of your cut with a demo saw or table saw, then go in with a 4 1/4" diamond blade ($20 at harbor freight) and remove the little that's left. A cut like that wouldn't take longer than 10 minutes.

[@matdubyaa]

Nice marker

[@RobertNZ]

Thanks for posting the video carlfxy! (Oh yeah, ignore the nay-sayers dude, they're everywhere ;) )

[@ODonnelllawns]

I'm talking 10 minutes from measuring to placing the paver, your beating that brick up be careful to not mark and chip up your brick.

[@gabeflowers4474]

❤

[@benjaminmassie2978]

tapp then end of the brick

[@cbanks5455]

To time consuming - has to be a faster way

[@sonunospajuos]

So..... 15 minutes to cut one brick and you need 4 cuts per column If you have 8 columns it will take a whole day to do? Laaaaaaame!!!!!

[@joegi6431]

STOP WTF Very bloody dangerous cutting around corners like that, if the blade breaks as they can do you will end up with a huge gash in your head, THINK SAEFTY FIRST, I can't believe people actually thought this was good

[@sixstrangtommy]

lol...WHAT"S WRONG WITH THIS BRICK????

[@alfredohincapie6487]

I could have cut that paver faster and better with my nail clipper

[@johnmcvideo]

You should also wear some steel toecaps!!

[@shaymoose17]

I could've cut about 5 pavers in this time. Wrong tool for the job man.

[@shaymoose17]

+simhopp a diamond blade that's meant for cutting pavers. cuts smoother and safer and is only 15 bucks

[@shaymoose17]

+simhopp he should have made relief cuts on an inside curve. Why post this on KZbin when he clearly didnt know what he was doing

[@vsosipo]

what a waste of time. I am not skilled for this , but could have it done in 5 times less time

[@stupac10]

This is not how you should do it sorry

[@SuperJosab]

I lost two fingers while using a masonry saw because I was falling asleep while using the saw. Have severe sleep apnea.

[@carlfxy]

I really really hate using the chisel, most of the time I could just use the anglegrinder. The problem here was the blade had worn away and I think it was my last. Using Chisels, I generally found that I would waste the brick I was working on 70% of the time, and the cuts weren't as good. I'll upload another video as this is a really bad example, just wanted to get it out there, so others could see you could just use an angle grinder. Thanks for the comment.

[@reinacabrera5175]

Tanto para ni mierda😮