Cutting ceramic tiles the hard way

[Cursitor Doom]

Hi all,

For many years, my preferred method for cutting tiles has been to use a

4" angle grinder with a stone-cutting blade and scoring a groove along the back of each tile which goes almost all the way through to the glazed side and then clamping the tile along the scored edge and breaking it off by tapping with a mallet. But I can't help thinking there must be an easier way. This does generate a vast amount of dust and noise. Is it really necessary to grind almost all the way through, or is there a more civilised way that will enable me to live in peace with SWMBO and the neighbours?

cheers, cd.

[charles]

Cut throught the glazed surface with a tile cutter, either a hand one or a machine and the snap the tile over a matchstick under the cut. Virtually no dust.

[newshound]

Agreed, dead easy for thin cheap basic wall tiles. Impossible for quarry tiles. It all depends on what you are cutting, also whether you need to make "cut-outs". Water cooled diamond disk machines are not expensive and will cope with most things. Generally a diamond disk is better than traditional abrasive with an angle grinder, except for some "shaping".

[Scott M]

I can understand if you were doing marble or something exotic, but boggo ceramic tiles? Get thee to B&Q and buy a PlasPlugs tile cutter and say

10 Hail Marys that you asked here before wasting any more of your life.

I bought one for about £25 (some years ago), did three tiles with it and felt it had earned its keep[1]. Blindingly useful piece of kit and I suspect still on the first blade even though I've lent it out far too many times. They have water trays which stop any dust (though they do tend to spray an embarassing line up ones trousers when full.)

(Actually, before going to B&Q, check SF or TS - the boggo models of tile cutters just do cuts parallel to an edge, the posher ones have mounts to cut at 45deg.)

[1] I had to remove about 3mm from the edge of three tiles; no way to do it by hand.

[Cursitor Doom]

Sorry, I should have said. These will be 10mm thick ceramic floor tiles.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A wet electric tile cutter. Not as fast as score and snap - but as fast as using an angle grinder and much better - it gives a near perfect edge. Nothing like as noisy either. Upmarket units have an induction motor. Once you've used one, you'll wonder how you ever managed before.

[alan]

Quarry tiles are easy Score the glazed side with a glass cutter. It's the same as cutting glass - one firm unbroken score line works best. Hold the tile in your hand and on the side opposite the scored side hit it with a hammer.

The hammer has to be very light weight (toffee hammer or 4 oz pin hammer) Repeatedly and rhythmically strike the tile with light blows using the sharp side of the hammer head. Aim approximately for the score line on the other side. The tile will start 'ringing' and just before it snaps along the score line the noise will change. You are not using brute force to snap the quarry tile!

The whole operation will take around 10 seconds.

[John Rumm]

For most tiles, a decent score and snap machine[1] will make a very quick and mess free job of straight cuts. For more complex cuts a recirculating water cooled tile cutter is the thing.

For very awkward tiles like travatine marble, you need a water disc cutter for all cuts.

[1] e.g.

[John Rumm]

I find even these are not difficult with the proper score and snap machines (i.e. the ones with the long angle to both apply lots of pressure to the cutting wheel - giving a good even score, and then also to apply the "bending" force require to snap them.

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 02 December 2013 17:01 Cursitor Doom wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I have one of these:

It's *very* reliable and very repeatable.

[newshound]

Never knew that. I've done glass that way by scoring then applying a little bit of heat to initiate a through-thickness crack.

I have a hall to tidy up in the spring, I will give it a go. Don't suppose it is as easy to take out a "quarter" as it is with a disk though!