How to cut Brick for your RMH

Hi all
I am preparing to move my new Shorty Core indoors later this summer.
I had a pile of 40 or so clay bricks with an angle cut on each end that I wanted to square up to use while constructing the bell.
After building with bricks, I have developed a good way to cut them as easily as possible.
I thought I would share it with all of you aspiring RMH builders.

In retrospect,  I should have gone to H.F. and bought a much cheaper (throwaway) sliding compound saw many years ago.
However, my Makita is on its 6th major build plus my outdoor kitchen build.
I use a diamond masonry blade, it also is on its 6th build so it is a good investment.
With a sliding chop saw you can make accurate and repeatable cuts safely and quickly.
A non-sliding chop saw can be used but may not have the ability to make longer cuts.
A hand-held grinder with a traditional masonry blade is a useful tool for quickly modifying your brick but is not recommended for repeated use.
A large tub of water is used to soak your brick and a 5-gallon pail of water is used after cutting to remove all loose material.
Soaking your bricks until they stop bubbling before cutting is important for several reasons.
Cutting bricks dry will wear out the diamond blade.
Cutting dry creates a veritable cloud of hazardous clay particles that can clog up your saw and also clog up your lungs...
You will create a mess wherever you choose to set up your saw.
Cutting wet bricks will consolidate the mess into a smaller area
If needed, set up barricades to protect anything you do not want covered by the red dust.

Cutting your bricks is always a chore but having the right tools for the job makes it much easier.

Great tutorial, Thomas!

Sooo... I was given some bricks out of an old fireplace. If I had to guess, they are concrete of some sort rather than true firebricks like are inside our wood stove. They have bits of mortar on them, likely involving cement. I was wondering if your technique might be an easy way to get the mortar off them cleanly? I mean so there's a clean edge that's decently flat and smooth - I suspect whatever technique I use to get the mortar off is likely to make a huge mess!

I think I understand, that these sort of bricks can't handle the heat of a rocket stove, however, my trial build will likely be outdoors somewhere, and I was thinking that these bricks on top of a bit of sand on top of soil could be the base. Then I would either build with firebricks on top of these bricks, or if that's still too hot for them, put something like glass bottles in sand as a spacer, which I've seen pictures of for things like cob stoves, but I'm less sure if that techniques is used for Rockets.

Hi Jay;
Believe it or not.
The best tool to clean up cement mortar from bricks is by using a side grinder with a masonry blade.
It's a nasty dangerous job.  
Hand-holding the brick is the common way to accomplish this task.
It is very dusty and soaking in water will not do much for you.
Wear a dust mask, please.
Having a hammer to lightly smack the mortar can sometimes cause it to pop off...
Unfortunately, that light smack can sometimes break the entire brick in half...

If this was an older fireplace chances are good that those are clay bricks.
True old clay brick will write like chalk on concrete.
Old clay bricks can be used in a J-Tube, they just will not last like a firebrick will.

You can even use a cement brick if you are just playing around to learn about RMHs

thomas rubino wrote:
It is very dusty and soaking in water will not do much for you.
Wear a dust mask, please.

Good advice.

To expand on the safety aspect ... please wear a P100 respirator, or at least a very well fitting N95 mask for small jobs. Once silica dust gets deep into your lungs, it stays there for the rest of your life.

thomas rubino wrote: The best tool to clean up cement mortar from bricks is by using a side grinder with a masonry blade.
It's a nasty dangerous job.  

Yes, this is why I was hoping to find a less nasty and dangerous way to deal with it. The only side grinders we have (and hubby has a collection of at least 3) are physically too large for my small hands to hold safely. I was reading the description for the BB about making a round wood mallet and how if the handle was the correct size, the thumb and finger tips should overlap a little. Similar is true of many other tools, and probably 80% of typical "built for guys" tools leave me short by an inch or sometimes more. I have a great appreciation for my fingers, eyes, lungs and other miscellaneous body parts - no taking dangerous chances for me!

I will try the "tapping" method and accept if some break or some aren't perfect. They were free, so they don't owe me anything!

Thomas, those Makita saws are very good quality machines, I dont think they have made that model for about 25 years or more and the new versions are nowhere  near as good!
To buy the same quality new version will cost you $ 750 or more, although a second hand one will be much less.
I have the same one myself that has been in use for 30 years (cutting wood) and is still going strong, I have bought 3-4 new models in that same period and they have all broken!
If you are going to buy a saw to cut bricks though, then why not buy  a wet cutter for the same sort of cost?

Cleaning mortar from clay bricks can be achieved in a few ways, a real masons cleaning chisel with a sharp square edge is the best hand tool, no dust but wear eye protection.
A hand grinding stone designed for the job will work on lime or clay cement.
Or for fast removal and to clean up of flat surface, a 4” cup grinder disc, you need a wet grinder or good mask for that tool but they work very well….

Thank you Thomas, I am thinking about what saw setup to use for my future builds so this is very valuable information.
Any thoughts on the wet saw that fox brought up?
Aren’t they probably much more expensive and also much bulkier, Fox?
Also with the sliding chop saw I could cut a brick only half way it’s depth to take a corner out, right? To make all the bricks of the riser hold together better for example.

Hi Fox;
Yes, that Makita saw has been a wonderful investment, I have had it for about 30 years, and like the energizer bunny, it keeps going and going!
I  use it to cut wood more than I do bricks, so I have not felt the need to buy a wet saw.

That sharp mason chisel looks like just the tool for Jay to use on her bricks, I have not seen one before.