Best Practices for Making Relief Cuts in Concrete
Have confidence in your next early-entry concrete cuts by following our best practices.
Published on
March 12, 2024 at 10:05:18 AM PDT March 12, 2024 at 10:05:18 AM PDTth, March 12, 2024 at 10:05:18 AM PDT
Making relief cuts in concrete is an overlooked technique that extends the life of concrete by controlling random cracking. Making these relief cuts is done using an early-entry blade and soff-cut saw during the concrete's finishing process called the "green zone". Adhere to the following list of best practices will ensure your relief cuts are made confidently!
Best Practices for Quality Soff-Cut® Joints
1) Timing of cut! Make sure you cut in the Green Zone. (1 to 2 hours after finishing and before the final set. Use hand, foot & roll test.)
2) Make sure the blade break-in time is honored. Operate the soff-cut saw at half of the normal forward speed for approx. 100 lineal feet to allow the blade to open up, remain cool, cut faster, and promote full blade life.
3) Make sure the blade is aligned in the skid slot and not cutting into the skid causing damage!
4) Find the optimum forward travel speed. (Pulling left, too slow. Pulling right, too fast.) The blade must cut as freely as possible, not putting too much pressure on either side of the joint.
5) Don’t walk on saw joints while cutting!
6) Transport and store saw without blade but always with a skid plate attached!
7) Change the skid plate with every new blade! (If starting out the day with a used blade and skid, inspect the bottom surface of the skid to make sure there is no damage.)
8) Inspect the used blade to make sure none of the diamond segments are overheated and glazing over!
9) Check blade block plungers making sure they are moving up and down freely allowing proper pressure of skid on the concrete surface! (Clean blade block daily.)
10) Use joint protectors at saw joint intersections and at saw drive wheel locations!
11) Don’t sweep across the soff-cut joints only in the same direction as the joints!
12) Watch our short video explaining how to select your Soff-Cut blade.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SOFF-CUT EARLY-ENTRY CUTTING
Best Practices for Making Relief Cuts in Concrete
Making relief cuts in concrete is an overlooked technique that extends the life of concrete by controlling random cracking. Adhere to the following list of best practices will ensure your relief cuts are made confidently!
About Soff-Cut® Early-Entry Blades
Explore Soff-Cut early-entry concrete blades, a revolutionary technology in concrete cutting. Minimize random cracking in concrete thanks to this new concrete cutting technique.
About Soff-Cut® Saws
Husqvarna’s Soff-Cut® saws are a unique patent that is designed for Ultra Early Entry™ concrete sawing. This system enables concrete to be cut within one to two hours before the final set.
Concrete Cutting Tips: Concrete Joint Protectors
Joint protectors are essential when cutting concrete to prevent cracks and damage in the surrounding structures. Green concrete is a rigid material that tends to crack when subjected to stress.
How the Esch ProCut Purple Blade Accelerates Early-Entry Cutting
Recently, Superior Masonry Builders completed a large flatwork project and saw great success using a Soff-Cut® Saw and Early-Entry Concrete Blades. They achieved cleaner cuts, decreased the number of blades they used, and maintained maximum equipment efficiency throughout the job.