Masonry saw for wood cutting ?

[Nick Prov]

I am absolutely new to these tools. I wonder if you can help me?

We recently bought a house, and now have discovered a few places that could use some mods. So, I am looking a saw ... a good saw.

The one that caught my eye is DeWalt 4" masonry saw. It is small and light; it can cut marble/metal/tile/concrete. This looks like an ideal saw to have around the house. But can it cut wood? I cannot find any information on this? I wonder if anybody has tried?

It has a speed of 11000 RPM. That's far faster than any wood saw. I would assume that given this speed, it would produce far cleaner cuts than anything else out there. And it is the "clean cuts" that I am after.

I recently discovered that all my kitchen cabinetry is made of plywood. And while cutting metal and stone is nice, it is this cabinetry that I am most concerned with right now.

So my question is: will a masonry saw be able to cut plywood cleanly? Or is there another saw better suited for that purpose?

Thank you,
-- Nick

[Loren Hedahl]

Of course, with a blade for cutting wood, a masonry saw would cut wood, and maybe even cut wood (or wear it away) with a masonry blade on it.

I would be concerned about saw RPM. However a masonry saw's speed could easily be tamed with a "router speed controller", which can be purchased for 20 - 30 bucks.

If you can find a wood type blade that fits properly it might make a dandy plywood cutting saw.

Then when you get ahead financially so you can afford the best, get a Festool TS55 or TS75, a set of guide rails of various lengths and a vacuum for dust control.

But you can do high quality work with much less.

[Johnny Fischer]

Certain tools are for certain procedures. Masonry saw for masonry and wood saws for carpentry. DONT BE FOOLISH and try to use a tool or piece of machinery for anything other than it was intented for . This is VERY dangerous when somebody violates this practice and the end result is usually personal injury to yourself and possiblly others near you.
SAFETY COMES FIRST!!!!

[Nick Prov]

Yes, Makita makes a plywood saw that fits. At 11000 RPM, it will probably be the fastest plywood saw on the market. I am a little concerned about operating it at this speed. Has anybody experienced or heard of any stories of saw's breaking?

[Bob C Thomas]

Saw teeth can break off at high speed.
There are recorded instances of death caused by flying cutter teeth

[Tom Walz]

Please don’t do that. Saw blades are designed for specific uses. The tile saw is designed to abrade its way through. A saw blade is really “Chisels on a Wheel” as in the book title. With the abrasive wheel you are always in the cut. With a wood blade the teeth are constantly entering and leaving. I believe that you would have major problems fixturing wood and severely increase your chances of kick back or a thrown piece.

Carbide is generally measured in terms of transverse rupture strength, how much force it takes to break it. A 10” blade at 11,000 rpm generates a lot more force than at 8,000 rpm. Even if the teeth don’t come off you seriously increase the chances of shattering them.

Saw blades grow more on the outside than the inside as they come up to speed which is why they have expansion slots. Again the effect will be a lot more pronounced at 11,000 than 8,000 rpm. Most 10” blades are way overbuilt but there are still limits.

I keep coming back to the idea of using bicycle wheels on a motorcycle.

[Tom Henderson2]

Yes, Makita makes a plywood saw that fits. At 11000 RPM, it will probably be the fastest plywood saw on the market. I am a little concerned about operating it at this speed. Has anybody experienced or heard of any stories of saw's breaking?

The shaft speed is higher, but the blade diameter is smaller. So the difference isn't as much as you might think.

The tip speed of a 4" blade at 11,000 RPM is only about 28% faster than a typical 10" table saw running at 3450 RPM. Ditto when comparing to a 7.25" Skil saw turning 4400 RPM.

As long as the blade being used is rated for the speeds involved, you should be safe.

-Tom H.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It has a speed of 11000 RPM. That's far faster than any wood saw. I would assume that given this speed, it would produce far cleaner cuts than anything else out there. And it is the "clean cuts" that I am after.


It's not considered wise to run a blade faster than it's rated RPM. Most wood blades don't want to go faster than 5000 RPM. Flinging carbide inserts off a blade from excess centripetal force can be real eye popper.