Quartzite is one of the hardest materials out there, so can often lead to problems when cutting. In this article, we’ve put together a best practice guide on how to cut quartzite, along with our blade recommendations for the job!
Quartzite, although hard, can be extremely fragile. This is mainly due to the usually very pronounced veining – which is what gives quartzite its unique appearance, and therefore makes it so popular! Consequently, it’s important to take extra precautions when cutting, handling and installing.
Most quartzite slabs arrive from manufacturers with a protective mesh for strength, however if the slab you’re intending to cut doesn’t have this, it is highly advisable to apply it. You can find this mesh here, and our Glaciex or Resiliex adhesives work well in this application. You’ll also want to ensure that the saw bed is perfectly flat (you could try our Black Nest Rubber Matting before cutting.
For bridge saw cutting, we’ve had great customer feedback on the Fury blade. It’s specially developed for cutting natural quartzite, due to its specific bonded blade. For smaller cuts, we recommend the Fury Terminator Blade. Suitable for wet and dry use, this turbo blade has been specially formulated for quartzite and has an RPM of 11000.
When cutting quartzite, we always advise to avoid plunge cutting due to the possibility of chipping, and if you can, it’s best to go into the stone, cut about halfway, then enter the stone from the other side for the cuts to meet in the middle. Mitring can be extremely difficult, so we recommend slowing the feed rate down to 350mm/min and applying extra water if possible.
After cutting, try our blue sharpening block to keep the blade at optimal sharpness.
For CNC work, our Fury Core Drill is designed with a soft bond, which is perfect for drilling natural quartzite. We’d recommend trying the Natural Quartzite Status Router which is engineered with arrayed diamond technology to give optimum cutting power, and a hard bond to ensure a longevity. It also comes with an end segment for rebating! When edge profiling, if you have large amounts of excess stock to remove, we’d suggest using a breaker tool first to save wearing down position tools due to how hard quartzite is.
It’s worth noting that quartzite is often sold as ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ quartzite. Quartzite is only ‘hard’, so if you’re looking at a ‘soft’ quartzite, the chances are that you’re looking at a marble as opposed to a quartzite. This is much softer and will require a different cutting process to ‘hard’ quartzites, such as Taj Mahal and Macaubus.