How to Wall Saw

April 22, 2019

The following is designed to provide some helpful tips and guidelines for safe and effective concrete cutting. It is not a substitute for comprehensive training or following manufacturers’ manuals for equipment operation.

  1. Safety: basic precautions must always be followed to reduce risk of injury or death
    1. Wear proper protective gear
      1. Safety glasses, safety footwear, ear protection, hard-hat and rubber boots if possible danger of electric shock. Also breathing protection or respirator in certain conditions
    2. Avoid openings and drop areas
      1. No matter how thick concrete slab is, the area has to be secure so as not to fall on anybody nearby
    3. Do not operate inside enclosed area that is not fully vented with a gasoline or diesel powered generator
      1. Due to carbon monoxide exposure
    4. Keep electrical connections dry and grounded to avoid electric shock and other injuries
    5. Do not cut into live electric or gas lines or operate in area that contains combustible materials or fumes
    6. Never stand in line with the blade and avoid all moving parts
    7. All operating equipment has to be correctly used
      1. Large cords are necessary to carry maximum current ratio
      2. Blade guard has to be in place
      3. Inspect flush-cut lade mounting screws daily
      4. Use proper lifting techniques because equipment is heavy
      5. Diamond blade should be inspected
        1. Don’t operate if it has core cracks, missing or broken segments, arbor hole damage, loss of blade tension
      6. Tighten blade shaft bolt to correct torque (50ft/lbs of torque for the AK-400M saw)
      7. Properly anchor equipment
      8. Maintain equipment properly
  2. Set Up: basic direction for set up of equipment must be followed, refer to diagram for further explanation
    1. Set the anchors completely and to the proper depth
    2. Mount the boots square to the cut line and proper distance away. Make sure they are tightly secure to the anchors
    3. Lay the track in the boots, and tighten in using the toe clamps. Make sure it’s completely secure
    4. Use the proper amount of boots for the length of track. (2 for 4 ft. track, 2 for 8 ft. track, but 3 for 10,12,20 ft. track). And if you are running a continuous track butt two tracks together in one double boot.
    5. Place the radial arm carriage onto the rack. Use the back roller handles to place in anywhere on track. Use the eccentric roller handles to secure the carriage.
    6. Install the blade and make sure it’s turning the proper direction. Re-installing the two belleville washers with the bolt when securing the blade is critical for safety.
    7. Install the motor with the spline shaft with the locking ears pointing away from motor and the male and female splines lined up. Close the locking ears when motor is secure.
    8. Install blade guard
    9. Plug all the necessary cords and controllers and make sure everything is off and in the correct mode until ready to begin cutting
      1. Male end of yellow cord into inverter
      2. Remote control into inverter
      3. Female end of incoming power cord into inverter
      4. Male end of incoming power cord into power source
      5. Start button on front panel of inverter should be pressed to turn both lights green
      6. Hook up and turn on water connections
  3. Cutting
    1. Always “up-cut” on first pass
    2. Always cut with the “rooster tails” trailing behind diamond blade. This means blade has to be taken off and flipped in reversed in direction
    3. When making a new pass, the blade has to enter gradually
    4. The first pass should not be deeper than 1in and therefore shallow
    5. The bigger the blade the slower it has to turn
    6. When cutting vertically always start at the top
    7. Last cut has to be vertical and secure to wall saw, preferably on the outside of opening, so it doesn’t move
  4. Tips
    1. Weather: cold
      1. Warm-up equipment and generator by starting it and keeping it running
      2. Bring extra water hose in case it freezes, and keep the water running, preferably have it be warm water
      3. Blow air out of all motors and saw to avoid frozen, expanded water ways damage
      4. Use antifreeze for equipment to avoid engine coolant from freezing

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