How to cut slate without a grinder smoothly and quickly (the old-fashioned way without dust)

When building or repairing a roof, you cannot do without trimming the material. Slate is often used for the roof. This material is affordable and has good performance characteristics. The downside is that slate is relatively fragile. May break if hit hard. Moreover, it is heavy (leaf weight is about 20 kg.).

Despite all the disadvantages, slate has not stopped using. On the contrary, it is gaining momentum in sales. The incomes of the population are not growing, and slate is the most affordable roofing material.

But still, some have abandoned it for reasons of non-environmental friendliness. Slate is considered a hazardous roofing material. In its composition, asbestos is a harmful mineral.

Here you need to understand that the slate that lies on the roof is harmless. For those who are afraid, they can paint it. The roof slate is dust-free. Dust is generated when cutting, grinding, and removing slate.

The main thing is to ensure safety when cutting and other works with slate. Keep dust out of your lungs, wear a respirator and goggles. To reduce damage to the slate when cutting, wet the slate. There will be less dust. For several hours the old masters put wet rags on the place where it was necessary to cut off.

Never throw slate onto the road to cover holes. The machines will crush pieces of slate and the air will be filled with harmful dust.

How to cut slate without dust?

1. Usually slate is cut with a grinder, jigsaw, drill. With the help of a drill, through holes are made along the line. Then a block is placed and, when pressed, the slate breaks along the line. Minuses: the cut is uneven and harmful dust.

2. There is an old method with a hammer and a nail. There were times when there were no suitable instruments. Therefore, they used a nail. They made through holes for them, as with a drill, and then broke the slate along the line in the same way.

4. There is a more convenient, old-fashioned way. We take a piece of a hacksaw or an old blade from a frame sawmill. The tool must be made with a blunt end and the handle must be attached for convenience. Draw a cutting line on the slate and apply a cutter.

It is necessary to start exactly from the center of the slate. Attach the cutter and hit it with a hammer to push the blade into the sheet. Each wave is cut from the middle of the slate in one direction, then in the other direction. As a result, the cut is very even, and there is no dust.