I'm shopping for a decent tile saw, for my DIY projects. Tile isn't something I do everyday for a living, but I hate buying junk that only last a couple of years or less, but of course I don't want to pay an arm and a leg, so I'm also would consider a good used one. Any good recommendations? Is Felker a good brand? I've always like my Dewalt tools, but their tile saws are around $1000, a little too much.
I bought one on sale from Home Depot for around $80. It isn't a professional tool but it has been able to do everything I have needed with the tiling I have done. It's small enough to thrown in the shed when I am done. Unless you do a lot of projects I would recommend one of these.
smith snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:
Target's a good name.
Might try pawn shops and misc. for sale columns for a decent used one.
Good wet saws here run around five hundred dollars new.
Ken
I don't know what you budget is. I bought ( about 6 Months ago) an MK 770 EXP from tool crib for $500 and that included a stand. The EXP will do 20" tiles. I would not consider it a professional saw but top of the line home owner.The only thing I can say I whish I bought it ten years. I have always used a snap cutter and 4" grinder with a diamond blade. I only do tile once in awhile, but I just did 800sq ft of 18". The saw is worth every Penney. The only way to go night and day. MK is one of the top tile tool Co. so check them out.
Just curious... do you use a saw for every cut or just the corner cuts? I find it faster to user one of those scribe cutters for most straight cuts and they do a good job. I rarely used my tile saw.
I used it for all the cuts my snap cutter would not cut 18" I did have to use the peanut grinder and nippers on parts of some cuts. (Going around door casing) If I was using smaller tile I would of used the snap cutter it is faster and allot quieter.
Cool! I'm surprised this 7" saw could do 20" cuts. How do you like the sliding table, is it smooth?
MK is excellent but with the price to match. For the OP Home Depot has a 10" saw for $500 and it goes on sales for $400 and comes complete with 10" diamond blade and stand maybe cheaper now. I bought mine a year ago and its been excellent except for the sliding table which doesn't slide smoothly but cuts are good with marble, granite and even with 3" thick bricks . Quality is not the same class as MK but it works for me. He should also look at the one from Harbor Freight that goes for $200 on sale - blade and stand extra. Someone said its the same one, to be verify, for $500 at Home Depot which I'm happy with. If he is concern with quality and doesn't need deep cuts your MK 700 EXP looks like an excellent choice.
i have the harbor freight one. it's not the same as the home depot one, and isn't up to the quality of an mk, but i've used it for thousands of feet of tile, and currently use it to cut glass and granite up to 2" thick without any problems. the blade it comes with is pretty much junk; you'll wind up replacing it with a better one (you can get mk blades at home depot) pretty soon.
regards, charlie
HD is really pushing the rental business. The equipment is in good shape. What I have done in the past is lay the floor out first, mark all the tiles and cut them before you even mix the cement. Even if you have to rent the saw for an extra day, it was about $60 for the day (if I remember correctly).
If the tile is going anywhere where the cut edge is visiable, stay away from the $80 table-saw-style wetsaws. The sliding tray makes sure the cuts are smooth and even. I had a cheap $80 wetsaw and it was fine for straight cuts where the cut edge was hidden by baseboard.
kubie
If you are taking about just straight cuts on floor tiles then all you need is a glass cutter. Running pliers are helpful but not absolutely necessary unless you are trying to trim off 1 inch or less.
I used one glass cutter to do a large kitchen, a bathroom, and an entry. The cutter cost around $2 or $3. You just score and snap or use running pliers at the end of the score and squeeze.
For inside corner cuts I used a round carbide hack saw blade that cost about $6.
When I was done people wanted me to redo their tile floors because it looked so much better than the "professional" job they paid for.
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