I bought my own Guillotine and still have all my fingers!

This morning I tried out my new cool tool...
A brick guillotine!  Who knew such a tool was out there?  (Thousands of bricklayers are all saying I do)
Well, this Montana hillbilly had never heard of them before last week.
Liz came across a reference to one with no real info, and mentioned that I needed one...
Of course, I searched online and found them right away.
From simple guides that held a chisel and were struck with a hammer, to hydraulic-operated presses that cost several thousand dollars.
I chose one made in America, a heavy-duty lever-action model that works outstandingly.
A Kraft Tool BC582 mini brick splitter is $638 from Amazon. It's not cheap, but it's within reason if you're cutting a lot of brick.
Behind the Dragon tech shop, everything is tinted brick red. Over the last ten years, I have shoveled up bucketfuls of clay dust from my chop saw, cutting thousands of bricks.
Not anymore!  This cuts regular clay brick and some firebrick.  The instructions warned that it was not intended to cut hard firebrick (Super-Duty Firebricks)
The cutting blades are replaceable if I damage one.
My chop saw and diamond blade will still be used for custom cuts that require precision, or the occasional super-duty brick I need to cut.
Most cuts split a full brick into a half brick for bell construction.
The built-in measure makes it easy to create any size piece needed.
Some cuts might require a touch-up with a masonry blade on a grinder, but most will not.
This is silent, fast, easy, and dust-free!










 

Back in the 60s my brother-in-law was a brick layer. He made his own brick cutter. It was a pretty simple design that functioned by being struck with a heavy hammer.  He tried a car jack, but decided in favor of the speed of a hammer.

When my son was nine years old, I had a visit from the education inspectors to check that he was receiving an adequate home education.

The next day my husband was doing some building work and asked him to go cut a brick in half for him. My son eagerly grabbed a hammer and brick chisel and ran off with them and a brick. Two deft swipes later he comes back beaming with the brick cut neatly in half.

I was mortified and gave them both strict instructions to never, ever do that if the inspectors come around again as it suggested that he spent far too much time on the farm and not enough in the school-room. I was secretly rather proud of him though...

I guess I assumed you used a tile cutting wet saw.

I use a diamond blade to cut soaked bricks on my sliding compound saw.
I still will if I need precision cuts.
This is fast, easy, and creates no dust.
The hammer and chisel method works; professional brick layers use their trowel.
This is foolproof, fast, and...  I have a confession...

My Name is Tom
I am a Tool Whore...

Any Questions?

Reminds me of a gruesome-looking fiber tool, the Picker. I know someone who has one, but I’ve never used it.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=fiber+picker&t=ffip&iar=images

Tom, that really brought back memories, as I used a much wider one but same principal years ago,  ( use a diamond wet saw for most everything now, because of the granite work)

Anyway a short head banging story- I bent down to adjust the brick just slightly, and just reached up to pull down the handle - brick popped as it should, but being I was below the handle, instead of above, well lets say I remember where the handle went.

cheers

We are five days into my Studio Dragon build.
This is a double-skinned bell that will utilize over 900 clay bricks and several hundred firebricks.
A considerable number of bricks of less than full length are required.
My Kraft Guillotine is invaluable for making super-fast, accurate breaks with no dust.
The chop saw with a diamond blade is also great for making fast cuts, but you must wear a mask while doing so.
Thirty seconds is all it takes for Gerry to hand me a brick with a chalk mark, for me to return with a perfect brick.
I have a pile of cut-offs around the chopper; often, the piece that Gerry needs is already cut and lying on the ground.

If you are planning a big build and have the finances to afford a Guillotine of your own, it will be money well spent!
I have no intention of selling my Kraft chopper, but I'm sure it is sellable after you are finished.

I built a brick cutter similar to the original one after using bolsters for a long time.
The advantage is simply time saving.