In comparison to other stones, Slate is a fairly soft stone. A masonry blade in a portable circular saw will cut it. Diamond blades are now available for these saws that will cut any stone without needing water to protect the blade from overheating. However, one must make sure that a good-quality dust mask is used, since stone dust is bad for the lungs and dry cutting makes a lot of it.

When cutting stone slabs, it is advisable to use a plywood straight-edge with a guide attached for the saw base to run against. The saw glides on top of the straight-edge, which stops just short of the blade. This prevents the saw base from scratching the stone, as well as guiding the cut. Slate doesn't take a polish well, and is too soft to hold a polish for long but it can be sealed with various proprietary organic sealers.



Precautions
Stone-cutting quickly fills up an indoor space with dust- if its done indoors, in no time. One must isolate the working area with plastic sheeting to minimize clean-up.