more tiling help

Hi,

Has anyone ever used or can give advice on the electric tile cutters like the second one down shown in the link below:

formatting link
they any good? Or just cheap and nasty?

I have 1cm thick ceramic tiles I need to cut and these cutters look like they should make the job easier but I just want to find out more about them.

Thanks

Reply to
Thomarse
Loading thread data ...

How many tiles have you got to cut? The tile saw is mighty slow and messy, but invaluable for right angled cuts round sockets etc. Straight cuts are quicker and easier on a snap cutter (items 5-7) but, if you're only getting one tool, go for the saw.

Reply to
stuart noble

I've used similar cheap tile cutters, and find them good. For very hard floor tiles, they are indispensible. Screwfix are doing one for £15 - it is on the website as £19.99, but my local store has it at £14.99:

I bought one as they are so useful to have, though I have done 2 bathroom tilings since buying it, and havent even got it out of the box yet, though if I needed to do some complex cuts around sockets/shelves etc, then I would have used it. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

I wouldn't be without mine. They give a very clean cut and are ideal for removing or creating very thin bits which score and snap simply can't. Those in a rush dislike them, though, as they are much slower than score and snap. But pretty well essential for porcelain or other very hard tiles.

If you have lots of odd angles to cut one where the saw mechanism slides would be a good choice, since anything other than parallel cuts on an ordinary one aren't so easy - especially with large tiles. But for most rooms the standard sort will be fine.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Angle Grinder.......Seriously.

I cut the shape out around the toilet in the just under 1cm thick floor tiles with one that I fitted a diamond blade to. It's totally freehand so straight lines are better cut using a batten clamped over the tile as a guide using the wheel cover as the guiding edge on the wood.

It's good for cutting semi-circles as well.

Reply to
RW

I use a small grinder for the odd cut-out, but I wouldn't fancy going round a toilet bowl. The saw is much more accurate

Reply to
stuart noble

Hell's teeth thats cheap. Think I'll pick one up as a spare. I hate my Plasplugs machine.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Which one, Dave? I've tried three different types, and the basic one is ok for the money, the middle one a bit of a pain and the top of the range again ok. But haven't had much experience of other makes.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Did I miss something here?

How *does* a diamond bladed sawbench manage to cut curves then ?

Reply to
RW

Cuts fingers of a precise length. That's a lot of cuts but AFAIK there isn't another way

Reply to
stuart noble

well you can rough out with st0aright cuts first..but you always end up using the saw as a sort of mill to nibble the edges to size. Anyway, with bogs, lift it, slide new tiles under, and glue back with silicone..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Mine looks a bit like this one

formatting link
problem is the plastic fence which is completely useless, simply wont stay locked in place and the water reservoir is impossible to clean out.

The one in the link seems to be a newer version with a better fence & a drain plug.

Screwfix one seems to have a sensible fence & a reservoir that can be cleaned.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

A few weeks ago I bought a fairly cheap tile saw from B&Q (around 20 quid, ISTR) to cut about a dozen wall tiles, mainly around a couple of socket boxes in the kitchen. The blade size is 180mm and I've never seen replacement blades of that size, so I suppose that if/when the blade wears out the machine will be scrap. However, the fence is metal and is reasonably firm, but a bit fiddly to adjust. The plastic water reservoir simply sits under the blade so it's dead easy to clean out. Anyway, it's done the job (it was perfectly adequate for tiles ca.

10mm thick), so if nothing else the nominal 450W motor will come in handy to play about with as a toy :-)

In fact I recently loaned the chamine to an ex-colleague of mine who used it for a goodly number of floor tiles in his kitchen and it's still going strong. Apparently. He hasn't brought it back yet.

Reply to
Frank Erskine

Yes - that was the middle one I still have. The fence is ok if you keep it clean - dip the ends in a bucket of water every so often during use. The one up from that has a more conventional screw lock at each end of the fence. It's also got a bigger table which is why I bought it.

Never found the reservoir that difficult to clean - unless you let it set solid over time.

No drain plug on yours?

Could be.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I have a special jigsaw blade that does tiles. Works really well on wall tiles - sure it would work OK on floor tiles too but didn't need it in my bathroom. About a fiver from B&Q. Jon.

Reply to
Tournifreak

I reckon it will barf at floor tiles. Decent wall ones too.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

My experience with them on hard floor tiles - waste of money. barely starts a cut before all the abrasive material is gone. Same for tile hacksaw blades, tile files, etc. I tried many different tools whilst laying ceramic floor tiles and decided the only two that work are the score&snap (95% of all cuts) and the rotary tile cutters (for the 5% right-buggers-of-a-cut)

Reply to
Mike Dodd

Needs a lot of care on hard tiles. I took some tiles around to my old man to cut - he's plenty of experience with this type of thing. Out came the angle-grinder and his pride-and-joy diamond blade. 5 seconds into the cut and the blades glowing white-hot and the tile, barely cut, shatters.

Maybe with a cutting oil?, or water cooling, but in my experience, the little £20-£30 rotary tile cutters are worth every penny for those particularly awkward cuts.

Just use outside, and be prepared to have a streak of ceramic dust / water running from head to crotch. In all seriousness, wear eye protection.

Reply to
Mike Dodd

Yup.

I had some success with a tile hacksaw before I bought a wet cutter.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Cant have been much of a blade then. I have a Rolson blade (In a pack of 2 actually) bought from the local boot fair for £4. Works a treat. You just gotta be careful.

I had 1 c*ck-up....caused by mis marking the tile and the edge cracked away. Apart from that it was fine

Reply to
RW

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.