How to Cut Flagstone Fast and With No Dust

I’ve installed a large flagstone patio, a flagstone walkway, and multiple paver patios and walkways, which helped me determine which tools are best for cutting flagstone. So, in this article, I will share what I’ve learned.

Flagstone Cutting Method #1 – Angle Grinder

On my first patio, I used a four-inch angle grinder with a diamond blade to cut the flagstone. This got the job done, but I vowed never to install Flagstone again once I was finished.

It was terrible. It kicked up a ton of dust, cuts took forever with such a small blade, the angle grinder overheated, and my hand vibrated like crazy the whole time.

So, in short…don’t use an angle grinder unless you only need to make a few cuts!

Method #2…aka The Best Way To Cut Flagstone – Gas-Powered Concrete Cutoff Saw

These things are a beast. Since the blade has a much larger diameter, it cuts much faster. Cutting speed is a big deal when installing flagstone – which you’ll quickly find out once you start trying to puzzle flagstone together.

Flagstone Cutting Tool – Stihl Concrete Saw

The second reason this type of saw kicks complete and total ass is that it has a water feed system on board. Well, at least the good ones do, and I highly recommend you get one with a water-feed system. This keeps the blade cool, eliminates dust, and further increases the cutting speed.

Where to Get a Flagstone Cutter (Concrete cutoff saw)

You could buy one, and there are some cheap options available. However, unless you do this job professionally, you are wasting money and probably using an inferior model. So, the best option in 95% of situations is to simply rent one.

I recently rented a concrete saw with a diamond blade, which cost me about $135, which included the diamond blade rental. However, that was only a 24-hour rental, so you’ll want to either rent over a weekend or be ready to cut before you go pick up your saw.

Other Flagstone Cutting Methods

There are more ways to cut flagstone. Technically, any saw that has a diamond blade on it will work. You can use a handheld tile saw, a wet table saw, or even a standard circular saw. However, the larger your blade, the faster you can cut, so stay away from anything with a smaller blade.

My second favorite method for cutting flagstone is a wet table saw designed for cutting tile. It cuts slower than the cutoff saw, but it eliminates the dust and is still much faster than an angle grinder. The challenge is that you can’t do curved cuts easily. 

Sometimes, you can use a hammer and a chisel to cut flagstone. However, this only works with certain types of rock. Not all flagstone is formed from the same type of stone.

Flagstone Cutting Tips

One thing that will make your flagstone installation project go much faster is to lay out all of your flagstones before making a single cut. Or, layout as much of it as you can. This will allow you to piece everything together more effectively and faster.

Then, once you’re ready to cut, you can cut multiple flagstones at a time. This one little tip will easily save you hours of labor.