The Testing Thread - Testing Tiling Tools and Procedures

[Protilers]

Ello' all......

me and a few pals have decided that we are going to use and abuse several products that tilers will use everyday!!.....the first one was tile adhesives....and if you have not seen it then check out:

http://www.tilersforums.com/tile-adhesive-grout-substrate-preparation/60617-little-vid.html

but the next in the series is INEXPENSIVE DRILL BITS.......

the stuff I use a around £100 a bit in most instances......and so is the stuff Ray and Gary uses......so we all wondered......are we getting our money's worth?.....they may drill 100's and 100's of holes....but there is an investment involved!

so as of today, I have managed to convince Vitrex, Plasplugs and Forte to supply us 32mm (or there nearest equvilent) drillbits for us to test out!!!!!! yippeee......are there any more contenders to be added to the list?

I will have all the bits by the end of the week........VIDEO INCOMING!!!!!!!!!!

hehehhehehehehhheehe

best wishes

Lee

 

[Protilers]

Richard declined to participate Dan .

thats true Sir ramic.....but we purchased one for the benifit of the test.......it fell short of our ideal 30+ holes.......from memory it did 13.......and was laid to rest in the bin!

best wishes

Lee

 

[Dan]

Richard declined to participate Dan .

Oh okay. Fair enough.

What's the price of one bit though? Just to put it in perspective, as all the others were bought as one drill apart from that one.

 

[Protilers]

we all valued it at a fiver......so bottom of the range really.........but it did not come last by 8 holes!!!! and for the diy market with one bathroom to do....its going to do the job for £40.....not bad really!!!

best wishes

Lee

 

[Protilers]

Here is our next test!!!!!

[video=youtube;nGDp8LOL__g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGDp8LOL__g&feature=plcp[/video]

 

[DHTiling]

Many thanks Lads.. really enjoyed that... give me the ebay hole cutter any day... superb amount of holes from the 3 top ones... again thanks for taking time and beer to do this video ..

 

[Gazzer]

32mm core £43.19 for pack of 2 with a guide plate.

 

[Protilers]

For me it turns out that heavy investment in tile drilling is worth it.....mainly to save time shopping and traveling......but at £5.....for 30 plus holes....
if I just started out tiling......this is a dream.......well done ATS

 

[Peter]

Will watch the video soon with interest. Need a few more drills, but after reading the previous comments I have just bought a good handful of 7-8 ATS sizes for about £36 or so. Looking forward to seeing how they perform. My current Tile Rite cutters have lasted long beyond my expectations and still have a bit left in them.

Keep testing lads, it's really interesting to see how things perform in real life rather than what it says on a packet. The trowel/glass test will be one to watch, to see if a true "solid bed" can ever be completely achieved.

 

[Bubblecraft]

Great video guys. Nice to see how they all compare. I've the full Virtex kit from Topps. Had them about 2 years now & still going strong.

 

[Perry]

very good entertainment yes i came to the same result about the drills a while back been buying them on ebay for a while didn't want to post it because of sponsors lol

 

[Spud]

It was great fun doing the drill bit test big thanks to Ray for supplying the beer and the test lab and a big thanks to Lee who spent his time editing the video and contacting all the drill bit suppliers,Just want to add that if anyone on here wants to come and join us doing any of the tests they are more than welcome all the best Gary

 

[Protilers]

Gary.........Ray......and the rest of you.........

what do you think of this for a Logo? at the start of each video?

 

[peteablard]

Were you practising your best hand writing all weekend to write tht Lee:lol:

 

[Dan]

What's next then?

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

Were you practising your best hand writing all weekend to write tht Lee:lol:

if you had been drilling for three and a half hours you would probaly end up writing like that:8:

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

been away for a few days heres a pic of the out come

 

[jwatson]

thanks for the video. It must have been painfully boring and repetitive cutting all them holes. applaud the effort to make it entertaining along with informative, it will without doubt save a lot of people money and time selecting the right budget cutter. cheers again

Evening all....well after getting a little tipsy.......and then hitting the computer hard I have managed to get our video together.......

AND HERE IT IS:

The Drill Bit Test

best wishes

Lee

 

[Protilers]

Just finishing off an addittion to the drill bit test for Lee @ tile town.........
but, I have learned 2 lessons today......
1.Never extend a test.......it costs me money......
2. never listen to Ricky......he adjusted the camera half way through filming.........and LOSSED MY HEAD for the rest of the video!!!!!!!!
give me a while and I will upload it!!!!!

best wishes

Lee

 

[Spud]

Okay I have been organising a wet saw test ,as there was some talk about the Vitrex Brutus wet saw and the Dewalt D2400,I have contacted Sigma uk who will be bringing their Sigma 9m1 on the day of the test and i think we will need a Rubi saw in the 400-800 pound price bracket probably going to go with the Rubi Dw250 diamante unless anyone else has any other suggestions,Vitrex have confirmed they will provide their Brutus saw ,i will use my own Dewalt , Sigma will bring their Machine ,I just need to source the Rubi saw

 

[Sigma UK]

Come on Gary at Rubi. I know you got one in that posh new van your driving around.

 

[Tony73]

great news . what cuts are you going to test? mitre, socket cut outs , or just different material tiles? (pocelain, marble etc)

 

[DHTiling]

Come on Gary at Rubi. I know you got one in that posh new van your driving around.

LOL . noticed the new Rubi crew vans :lol:

 

[Spud]

I was thinking, build quality, ease of set up, weight, accuracy of straight cuts ,accuracy and quality of mitres ,ease of changing a blade,speed at cutting through several different materials but I am open to suggestions to be honest

 

[Dan]

I've sticky'd the thread.

 

[Tony73]

yeh sounds great. Maby amount of water on the floor? deffo socket cut out, and mitre cuts?

 

[Andy Allen]

why not ask rubi to loan a nd200 or nd300, would be nice to see how a bench saw measures up to a bridge saw, and what advantages or disadvantages there are between the two...

 

[Peter]

Sigma will be a few hundred watts less than the others so something else to take into consideration.

 

[Protilers]

Sigma will be a few hundred watts less than the others so something else to take into consideration.

What is the retail price of the Sigma? Wingn...

 

[Dan]

This thread would get a lot more traffic to it if the tests were in threads of their own, and perhaps places in the reviews forum for tiling tools maybe?

Would that be more suitable for you?

 

[Spud]

go for it Dan, can we keep this thread for suggestions on the up coming tests and put the results in their own threads that would work well