One of the things @Tim White suggested to me was to focus on making a geopolymer block that could be cut with normal tools to make it easier to work in the field. I wanted to let the geopolymer woodcrete blocks "cure" for a few weeks to ensure full strength before doing any destructive testing on them. Today I tried cutting the block using a carbide wood-cutting blade. I am happy to report that the material cut readily without any sparks or difficulty in doing so. Yes, it was a bit dusty, but so is wood! And because the geopolymer cement itself is made from amorphous silicates, the dangers associated with inhaling the dust are quite a bit lower than with crystalline alumino-silicates - still not great to inhale ANY kind of dust, but it's no where near the danger levels of crystalline silica or silicates like asbestos. By the way, don't fool yourself into thinking wood dust is benign - there is often a lot of silica in wood as well, especially in tropical hardwoods. It's really best to NOT inhale any dust of any kind ;).

I look forward to engaging with you all on topics related to resilient and sustainable building. I've been in the software industry for 25 years and have come to building science as a happy accident. I've always been interested in architecture and engineering, and have recently become obsessed with geopolymers as a low-energy alternative to Portland cement. I hope to discuss what I've learned and find like-minded folks to put it to good use.

My background is extensive in natural building over the last 3 decades. I have been a natural building contractor in Colorado and Texas, In charge of R&D department and setting up Education programs for American Clay Enterprises (before the recession in 08). Have published research papers on how earthen building materials control humidity and Temperature in building envelopes. The past 4 years i have been building with Hemp-Lime (hempcrete), now that we can get the base materials sourced in the USA. This is a resent podcase I was interviewed for and is a good over view of where I started this journey and what we need to do to Build Resilience in Housing, I hope y'all enjoy it. https://alexhippenhammer.substack.com/p/beyond-green-natural-building-with