Tile cutter review has now been split into Tile cutter and a separate review page for the various models.
more feedback welcome... and maybe someone know something about recirculating vs non recirculating water cutters?
NT
There are several options for cutting tiles.
=3D=3D=3DScore & Snap Machines=3D=3D=3D
- Faster than diamond blade saws
- Significant waste due to tile breakage, though the better oones do much better
- The cut edge of the tile is sharp, a stroke or 2 with a carborundum stone makes it safe.
- Machines that need the tile repositioned between score and snap operations are hard to line up correctly, resulting in even more breakage & waste
- can't cut narrow strips, minimum size is anywhere from 0.5" - 2" to avoid breakage.
- The size of the machine limits the size of tile that can be worked on, especially with diagonal cuts.
- Won't cut some types of tile, eg friable tiles like travertine marble, or heavy textured tiles.
- Quality and longevity of machines varies. One contributor recommends Montolit.
=3D=3D=3DHand held scorers=3D=3D=3D These are just a handle with a piece of sharp Tungsten Carbide (TC) or a steel wheel.
- Lowest cost tile cutter
- not recommended on uk.d-i-y
- Snapping pressure tends not to follow the score accurately, causing more breakage loss than with the score and snap machines.
- steel cutting wheels are replaceable, TC bits are regrindable with care and a diamond disc
Cutting: # Pencil the cut line # place a straight edge on the tile # Score # Put the scored line sitting on matchsticks # snap tile. Pressing right over the score line causes less breakage
=3D=3D=3DDiamond table saws=3D=3D=3D
- These cut tiles quite quickly, but never as fast as score & snap.
- There is close to zero wastage due to breaking
- Thin tile strips can be cut no problem
- All wet diamond tile saws are very noisy when cutting a tile, use ear protection
- The cut edge is safe rather than sharp
- The typical =A330-50 cost soon pays for itself in tile savings
- Usually the table tilts to enable angled cuts
- When close to the end of the cut, to avoid a snapped corner its necessary to reduce tile speed greatly and apply even force very gently to both sides of the tile. This should yield a perfect cut
- Cuts at an angle can be done by just following a pencil line by eye
- A pencil line may be washed off during cutting, a chinagraph pencil or waterproof marker solves this.
- For straight cuts, the fence is used
- For repeated precision angled cuts, make a tile holder using a thin piece of board and either a few [[screws]] to put the tile against, or a strip of wood as a stop.
- Blade cutting rather than score & snap is a necessity for marble
- recomended for porcelain
- These saws produce water spray, especially as the blade spins down, making a minor mess.
- There are water recirculating designs and non recirculating designs, hopefully someone will explain the difference
- These readily produce relatively complex shaped cuts, including notches, L shape cuts, curves etc.
- Some recommend using the machine on a dust sheet to prevent dirty water staining floor coverings.
- Keep a cloth nearby to wipe ceramic and water slurry off the cut tile.
- Eye protection is recommended, but often ignored
These saws can generally also be used to cut
- concrete slabs
- stone slabs
- marble
- roof tiles
- fossils
- lumps of quartz for decoration
- flints for decorative walling, etc
- All metals
- sharpening & grinding tiny items only
- attempts at cutting used glass just about worked, but badly
=3D=3D=3DLarger Diamond blade saws=3D=3D=3D
- A sliding cutting head makes angled cuts easier
- Sliding table saws work well too.
=3D=3D=3DManual saws=3D=3D=3D Abrasive grit hand [[saw]]s can cut just about any shape, so are used for the most difficult cuts. Not many tiling jobs need this though.
=3D=3D=3DHammer=3D=3D=3D A hammer has one tile cutting application, and that's to produce mosaic tiles. Place whole or part tiles upside down, cover with a cloth, and bash with a hammer. The mix of resulting shapes is well suited to artistic work. Very sharp edges sometimes occur, don't handle carelessly.
If what you want is a square matrix of mosaic tiles, buying them ready stuck to string backing is a lot quicker to work with.
=3D=3D=3DOthers=3D=3D=3D [[Angle grinder]]s in a stand are sometimes used to cut tiles. These setups are far from ideal, and the blade can easily overheat, causing blade buckling & tile breakage. There is also no way to easily slide the tile, no guarding, no alignment scales etc. Not really recommended.
Free hand grinders have also been used, sometimes with a good result. These have similar downsides.
[[Die grinder]]s are also used to cut tiles, within limits. Progress is very slow, and doing lots of tiles this way isn't practical. Used in combination with a score and snap machine for making L shaped cuts. Use the grinder for the shorter cut, then score and snap the long cut. The tool pieces to use are diamond cutting disc and abrasive stone.=3D=3DSee Also=3D=3D
- [[Drill bit|Drilling tiles]]
- [[Tile cutter review]]
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- [[Special:Categories|Wiki Subject Categories]]
[[Category:Tiling]] [[Category:Tools]]