Feedback welcome...
=3D=3DScore & snap Machines=3D=3D
- Faster than diamond blade saws
- Significant waste due to tile breakage
- 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.
=3D=3DHand held scorers=3D=3D These are just a handle with a piece of sharp Tungsten Carbide (TC) or a steel wheel.
- Lowest cost tile cutter
- 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 straight edge on tile # Score # ? tap to propagate crack? # snap tile. Pressing right over the score line causes less breakage
=3D=3DDiamond table saws=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 for external corners, avoiding obstacles, and compound mitre 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
- 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.
- recomended for porcelain or marble
- 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? ? glass cutting?
=3D=3D=3DErbauer=3D=3D=3D
- Does the job no problem
- Minimal [[water]] spray, even with the guard up
- Comes with a 45 degree cutting tile holder
- On off switch is a bit fiddly
- Comes with an [[RCD]] plug
- Fence has to be adjusted and [[clamp]]ed at both ends separately
- Fence can be adjusted to a different setting each end for out of true cuts
- The ruler strips that help you line the [[fence]] up aren't accurately positioned
- The ruler strips quickly peel off, this is really not helpful.
- more than powerful enough
=3D=3D=3DPlasplugs=3D=3D=3D =3D=3D=3DTopps=3D=3D=3D
=3D=3DLarger Diamond blade saws=3D=3D
- Sliding cutting head blade makes angled cuts easier
=3D=3DManual saws=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=3DOthers=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.
Its even possible to cut a tile with a [[die grinder]], but not very practical. Progress is very slow, and its only useful if you already have a die grinder but no better tool, and just have one tile to cut, eg for a repair. The tool pieces to use are diamond cutting disc and abrasive stone.
NT