How to Cut Fiberglass Fittings

One of the advantages of using fiberglass reinforcement is the ability to cut the workpiece to the desired size, which makes production virtually waste-free. But here a logical question arises. how to cut fiberglass reinforcement and what safety rules should be followed at the time of cutting.

The following options are available for cutting fiberglass reinforcement:

sawing with a metal saw;

cutting by an angle grinder, otherwise an angle grinder.

angle grinder and hacksaw

The most effective, practical and accurate way to cut fiberglass reinforcement is cutting an angle grinder equipped with a standard diamond or abrasive disc. The use of a hacksaw for metal in such types of work is justified only in the case when a small amount of work is planned. Otherwise, if it is necessary to carry out a large number of cuts, the hand of the master gets tired, and productivity and quality of work are reduced.

Bolt cutter and ax

As for chopping fiberglass reinforcement with an ax and biting it with a bolt cutter, these two methods have significant disadvantages. Their main disadvantage is the negative impact on the reinforcing bar in the place of the cut. As a result, deformation, splitting and crumbling of the material can be observed. Thus, the ends of the workpiece have a split view. Longitudinal cracking of the product, in turn, complicates its further use and reduces the service life of the reinforcing structure.

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Imperceptible to the naked eye defects that are longitudinal in nature cracking, penetrate into the depth of the rod. Such cracks will subsequently become a place of accumulation of alkali, water, cement, dirt, when reinforcing concrete is poured. They also act as capillary channels for the penetration of these deposits into the core.

The main danger of such defects at the ends of the reinforcing billet is the subsequent, more profuse and deeper cracking of the product under severe temperature differences, at the stage of its freezing and thawing. When concrete mortar gets into cracks, the destructive negative effect of the alkaline component of concrete on the fiberglass core increases. The consequences of this effect manifest themselves from within the reinforcing bar.

Precautions during the cutting (division) of fiberglass reinforcement

At the stage of processing fiberglass products, it is important to take care of precautions, including protecting the respiratory tract, eyes and hands from splinters and dust. A special protective mask, dressed at the stage of cutting reinforcement, will protect the light craftsmen from basalt and glass fibers from dust, which will negatively affect the state of the respiratory tract. An alternative to a mask can be a respirator, which must be firmly fixed on the face. It is important to ensure that dust particles do not enter the respiratory tract bypassing the air filtering element.

You can protect your eyes with special glasses. Hands must be protected by gloves. It is worth noting that the thickness of basalt-glass in thickness resembles a human hair. In order to protect the skin of the hands from such particles, standard fabric gloves are not suitable. In cutting operations of reinforcement, cotton gloves with a latex layer should be used, and even better, silicone gloves. Convenience of cutting also differs with different diameters of fiberglass reinforcement.