Cutting Bricks

Some bricks just wont cut.

Some bricks just wont cut with a hammer and bolster no matter how hard you try, they just shatter into pieces.
Its usually wire cut bricks that do this, no all do it, just some brands and types.
Some bricks are very hard to cut with a hammer and bolster due to their density, i.e dry pressed solids.

Measuring and Marking.

Measure the gap where the cut is to go, minus 20mm for two 10mm perpends at each end.
This will be your cut size, in this case it will be a 145mm cut.



Mark the bricks (this is a different cut and not a 145mm as show in the pic above.)



Cut with a hammer and bolster.



Keep all your cuts square otherwise the will really stand out when laid.

If using a bolster to cut the brick and the cut is "near" a hole in the brick, angle the bolster towards the hole, the brick will cut much better.

Brick Splitter.

When doing repetitive cuts a brick splitter is the way to go, once set up it will cut the same sized bricks all day.

Brick Saw.

Diamond blades glaze up when cutting hard vitrified bricks, you will see this as blobs of molten brick being shot out of the cut.
You can revive the blade by running it through some waste concrete or mortar for a few seconds, this will de-glaze the blade.