Sinking Back boxes into walls. Thoughts on sds box cutters

[jampot1979]

Hi,

I have been having real trouble chiseling through the brick to fit back boxes. I have about 10 more double backs and 7 single backs to sink into the walls.

It took me about 2 hours to sink two double boxes today. I didnt find it easy.

I have seen on ebay :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Masonry-Back-...yZ121872QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....ssPageName=MERC_VI_RUPX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT

Do the above actually work? Can i use this single box cutter to cut a double if i use it side-by-side?

please help

 

[davy_owen_88]

Yes they do work, it takes quite a while though to get through brick as they are more suited to breeze block walls. Oh and the actual square box sinker part doesn't work in bricks too well, it's better to use a chisel once you have removed the majority with the circular cutter.

If you make a little template then you can sink a double box.

Davy

 

[jampot1979]

Its mainly brick that i have to cut through.

So do you reckon that the above tools wouldnt be much use for brick?

Is there anything out there which would cut through brick?

thanks

 

[CookyMan9999]

In my experience i do not think the box cutters work very well, for the time they take to make any sort of impression (even on breeze block) you may aswell use hammer and bolster. I would suggest practice and you will get faster

 

[Tim 77]

I always find a good apprentice does the job, the pilot bit on the box cutters tends to snap.

 

[RF Lighting]

The only thing I can recommend is an SDS chisel bit.


In my experience the box cutters are 'neither use nor ornament'


http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=37058&ts=15215

Are you over 18?

18 for a chisel bit?

 

[Tim 77]

Are you over 18?

18 for a chisel bit?

We have gangs of feral youths running wild in Nottingham all armed with SDS chisel bits y'know

 

[ColJack]

I have one, and though it does tend to go a bit wild if you hit a mortar line with the pilot, they are great tools... you'll do those holes in about an hour with one..

you may need to rock the square chisel back and forth while cutting to free it and help it along..

think of it like a hand saw, cutting on the corners not the flats is faster.. same thing with the square bit.. one side in, then the other, then the raised bit left between them and repeat..

i must point out though that if it's engineering block ( usually blue / black in colour) then you best option is a grinder witha diamond blade and plenty of water..

make lots of parallel cuts about 5 mm apart and then top and bottom of the hole then use a bolster to snap out the bits in between adn to flatten the bottom of the hole..

 

[dingbat]

Brick?

Brittle or soft, there is no power tool that gives you all the options for aggression, subtlety and precision that you get with a scutch chisel and lump hammer.

It all comes down to technique and developing a few callouses. Hard brick - 10-15 minutes per box, soft brick five minutes, tops.

 

[DESL]

Set drill on depth setting and blast away around edges then SDS chisel out rest.

I think box sinkers are OK on celcon but then a stanley knife will cut celcon!!

 

[dw3101]

Im with dingbat..

Hard Brick? uninhabited house? - angle grinder

Best solution, a plasterer who is dotting the walls.. go back to bare brick and surface mount.. Job done

 

[ipjodan]

make lots of parallel cuts about 5 mm apart and then top and bottom of the hole then use a bolster to snap out the bits in between adn to flatten the bottom of the hole..

Thats the method i use, think its about the best, bit messy though.

 

[Dazz0i]

scutch chisel for SDS?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

What's needed is a tiny chain-saw type of tool, which you use vertically (i.e. the tip goes into the wall and does the cutting), which uses water pumped into the cut and sucked out, to keep the cutters cool and to get rid of dust.

Unlike dust, which fills the room and spreads through the house, any slurry which escapes being sucked up would just run down the wall, and could be dealt with by a wodge of cloths. With prior taping of a sheet of plastic to the base of the wall you could even use it in a room with carpets.

 

[RF Lighting]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/apply/