July 23, 2004 11:50 AM CDT

CSDA Introduces Blade Code for Diamond Saws

By Masonry

The Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (CSDA) has introduced standard CSDA-BC-107 Blade Application Code for Diamond Saw Blades. This standard establishes an application code for diamond saw blades to help end-users identify the intended use of the saw blade. The new standard is recognized and endorsed by the Masonry and Concrete Saw Manufacturers Institute (SMI), a product-specific group of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

The new standard covers diamond saw blades that are 12 inches in diameter or larger. The markings will be permanently imprinted on the blades with a stamp, laser or similar process. The code format consists of letters placed in three positions and spaced by dashes (X-X-X). The first position will have either a "W" or a "D." The "W" implies that the blade is designed for wet use only, while the "D" indicates that the blade can be used in dry or wet applications.

The second position specifies the media type according to the following applications:

C ? Cured Concrete
G ? Green Concrete
A ? Asphalt
O ? Asphalt over Concrete
B ? Brick, Block, Masonries, Refractories
T ? Tile, Ceramic, Stone

The third and final position specifies the saw type according to the following legend:

F ? Flat Saw
W ? Wall Saw
H ? Hand-held Saw
S ? Stationary Saw
M ? Masonry or Tile Saw

If a blade has multiple applications, it is acceptable to use several categories. For example, a blade with a code W-GAB-F is a wet blade that can cut green concrete, asphalt, brick, block, masonries and refractories and is intended for use on a flat saw.

The Blade Application Code for Diamond Saw Blades was developed by the CSDA Standard & Specifications committee and is available on CSDA's web site at www.csda.org under the "Standards & Specs" section.

---

About the Author

Masonry, the official publication of the Mason Contractors Association of America, covers every aspect of the mason contractor profession - equipment and techniques, building codes and standards, business planning, promoting your business, legal issues and more. Read or subscribe to Masonry magazine at www.masonrymagazine.com.