Cutting In Lathe And Plaster

sckeeth

What are some of the ways you use to cut lathe and plaster, for bathroom fans, receptacles, etc....

I have a job coming up that has this and was wondering the best way to do this. Any input would be appreciated.

neolitic

A cheap dry diamond blade in an angle grinder,
or an expensive dry diamond blade in a roto-zip.
No vibration so it reduces the chance of breaking
the plaster keys.

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Jim M

Carbide tile bits in a Rotozip, then switch to a regular bit if the lath is wood.

mdshunk

Long, straight cuts, I use a diamond wheel in an angle grinder.

Short straight cuts, I use a tile bit in a RotoZip.

Regular box sized holes, like 3-3/8, 3-5/8, 4-1/8, 4-3/8, and 6-7/8, I use a Remgrit hole saw.

Other miscellaneous cuts, I use the RotoZip again, with the tile bit.

The Milwaukee sawzall blades made specially for plaster work half-decent in a hand saw if you're careful.

Celtic

Here's my set-up...use it for many different applictions:

Rotozip (I recommend a CORDED model...I've burnt out too many cordless models)


Circle Cutter ~ Rotozip #CRCT1


Vacuum attachment ~ Roto-zip #RZVAC1


Vacuum ~ Dewalt DC-500 Corded/cordless



Just select the right bit - or combination of bits and off you go
Carbide bit, then a wood bit for this lathe job.

SWEET

No mess...no clean-up...done

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neolitic

AAAAlright!
That's it!
You've been spending way too much time with Putty!

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JohnJ0906

The 1st thing I thought of when I saw this thread....

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All replies based on the 2008 NEC

mdshunk

The OP should be advised also that there are darned few bath fans that can be installed completely from below without having to hack bits and pieces off the outside of the housing. Hopefully, he has access from above also.

goose134

God, I remember cutting this hole for a 1900 box and I was careful as a thief. I had one little piece of lathe sticking out and must have gotten impatient with it and pulled a little bit. Swear to God a three foot chunk of plaster came crashing down. The rest of the fishing went easy as pie. As a matter of fact the job was for a woman who is now my wife. How's that for lemonade?

mdshunk

Some of that old plaster was very poorly done, and you end up with that sometimes. It's more like sand, held together with moisture from the air. I'm working in a house at the moment that has plaster that is 1-1/2" thick in total, and you can't break out even a little piece, even if you try hard. That stuff must have a lot of Portland mixed in it. Not so much fun. I have noticed that homes that went without central heating during some point in history tend to have plaster that is more likely to fall out in chunks like that.

neolitic

AAAAAh, the romance!
It must have been your stripper,
couldn't have been the dikes!

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Bubbles

An old screw driver, hammer, and tin snips works good as well. Don't forget to tape the line you score with razor knife, sometimes it keeps the plaster from splitting back on you and sometimes it doesn't either.

goose134

Maybe she's always had a thing for the Duane Schneider type of guy. Of course I did show up in only a tool belt.

Jason Whipple

Two words:

Hardie Blade

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