I have never tried to sharpen an arbortech blade, I own 4 saws.....they are not worth the money in my opinion, they do not work well on mortar containing cement, and the double blades are to wide for most sand/lime joints...save your money

 

You definitely have to have a lot of brick demo, tuck pointing and toothing -in work to make the cost of those saws worth it. I have no idea about sharpening them, but the last job I was on that that saw was used, it saved us a lot of time. It does great work and clean. Double withe walls are a perfect environment for the saw when your'e just replacing the weathered face brick. Cuts right to the inside course. Then, a few vertical cuts every 4-5 feet, and you can take those sections down in basically no time at all using a bar. Most of the time was saved toothing-in the corners.

 

I do like the saw but I ran thru a lot of blades ang there a lot for amount of wear . Just maybe save it for intricate work. Ty

 

Its depends on the model. The crazy ones (read: good ones) are about 4k with blades and dust remover etc etc etc...

If you do a lot of brickwork its worth it.

For me it would likely be expensive toy to pull out once a year.

Blades around here are pretty problematic. They usually dont stock em, they are about 80 after tax and last about 6 jobs. If you are lucky.

 

I have four AS 170 s am happy i have them. Save a bunch of time on restoration work. They are pricey,but so is the cost of labor.

 

The 170's have more balls to address the lack of power complaint. Pricing is even coming down a bit so it's less painful on the pocket.

It's really a battle of labor costs in the end and how much your gonna need it. Some guys find it priceless for what they do.

 

Yeah they've come down a lot. When I first saw them they were $1500, now their down to a little under $1k.

Mooman, what I use for double wythe walls is a sawzall (lime mortar only) I buy a cheap almost one for $35 on sale and get a couple aggressive 4" blades. Goes through the first course super easy and allows for toothing as well. The first time I tried it was just to fool around with a carpenter on the job when i asked to borrow his saw. When I saw how well it worked I was hooked.

 

Mooman, what I use for double wythe walls is a sawzall (lime mortar only) I buy a cheap almost one for $35 on sale and get a couple aggressive 4" blades. Goes through the first course super easy and allows for toothing as well.

I hadn't thought of trying a sawzall before. Of course I don't do a lot of brick work, so I don't spend much time around it. Makes sense though.

 

I hadn't thought of trying a sawzall before. Of course I don't do a lot of brick work, so I don't spend much time around it. Makes sense though.

No neither do I, but when i do it's often restoration, multi-wythe walls that are built from lime. When I saw how well it worked I was super stoked

 

I love this site. I'm a little late to the wall but I've been around the work all my life. (Dad uncle brickies) I served 4 year apprentiship at 33 as bricklayer., but I've missed a lot of little tricks that I'd never think of that save time n money. I worry that what I know I keep close to my chest cuz it keeps me above grade n keeps carpenters from knowing how to mix n do my Job n phase me out. Don't u guys worry guys or homeowners could read the quotes n do the work on there own. Figuring a lot of this info has been kinda kept in the mason circle. Very few masons advertise there mixes let alone moves to do work to non masons ??? Roll eyes haha I was taught to keep it for myself?? Btw I wasn't aloud to touch a trowel till I mastered being a tender not a laborer

 

Chilton makes books on how to fix cars yet there are many mechanics working full time.
Im not worried that a homeowner who works in AC and heated offices, chats with attractive looking co wokers, drive an Audi or BMW, has no sand in their driod phone case, doesnt have to look in the truck mirror to pull rock chips out of his eye, will want to take over my job.

 

I agree. But it also belittles our trade to think that by reading on the internet or watching someone work for a couple hrs that you could know what you're doing. Let them try, we'll charge double to fix their mistakes

 

I'm intrigued to say the least just a little paranoid I guess. A job in my area was being done at a high school for catholic archdiocese. Huge All brick school and prevailing wage. The church took the bricklayers union to court saying that masonry wasn't a skilled trade n that anyone can lay brick yada yada stone stucco or that there was no difference between mason n tender just two different jobs being performed to produce a end product. The church almost won the case which would have reduced union bricklayers wage in area down twenty bucks hour. ( in the package). The court ruled that the only thing that makes it skilled trade is the saw man. It would have been catastrophic to bricklayers nationwide. Bobbles

 

The court should have asked the priest to lay 600 bricks in an 8 hour day and see what it looks like.

The same can be said for any trade. Carpentry's easy you just bang nails into wood...plumbing's easy, water drains down....roofing's easy shingles overlap each other. You can watch a show a pro doing it at your house, or watch a show on TV or a 15 minute clip on youtube but it doesn't mean that you will be doing the same quality of work that a pro does. Yup anyone can do it, they just need to learn how. It only takes 5 or 6 years

 

I could be a judge quicker then a judge could be a mason., so whos job isnt a skill?

 

Yeah, about that.......I have yet to find someone I hire - capable of performing even what I consider easy-and they're getting paid! Even things that seem easy to experienced masons, and possibly look easy to the untrained eye, end up baffling people who attempt to "save themselves a buck".

Example: Stucco-looks easy enough! Slap some mud on a wall and smooth, right? Then they play with it. Smooth some more and add a little more and so on, then before you know it.....its all laying on the ground! What the hell? Why won't the stupid stuff stay on the wall? The guy I watched made it look easy! LOL

These guys are right. Its a hell of a lot harder than it looks. Not to mention how it tears up your body. Someone who isn't used to the work, will find themselves incapable of moving the next day because they unknowingly used muscle groups they don't normally stress.

 

I m just frustrated I worked for a friend carpenter who bought a brownstone for 220000. Asked me. To help with lentils ,repair old brick revealed after all plaster was removed. Stucco inside walls yada yada. He asked a lot of questions and watched me at all turns. He wasn't paying me my day rate but I arraigned working around my schedule when I was free. Need less to say it was time to buy new blades for all my saws i realized I was out 300 bucks. So I told him I needed more money. He said he was cash poor it was all he could afford. I told I'd finish the job honering my. Price?? Well I went back, then another booked job came up n I had to leave. I came back to check ,he did all the work himself. Pointed layed brick butter brick at that. Said he needed to get it done. So I'm done showing. The property is now worth 500000 plus n he's buying another one. Well maybe the dust will catch up to him. He learned a lot for free. Suggestions??

 

You want a suggestion, I will give you two.

1. Pick better friends.

2. Hit enter once in a while so your posts are easier to read.

It is hard to hide your methods, but if you worked for peanuts, that is your fault. You should have charged double, cause you did the work and you trained the guy as well. Never mind supply the tools and burn up blades.

Don't worry too much about keeping all the secrets, way more lazy people out there then ones that want to be a mason. Just don't work for free, unless it is your grandma.:thumbsup:

 

Do you want to sell one of your Arbortech AS 170's?