rock hard porcelain

[andy-p]

Starting a bathroom on monday, tiles are 500x300x11 porcelain from fired earth, got a hold of a sample and the bugger simply wont cut on a dry cutter, tried my trusted sigma ,no chance!! then tried scoring with the rubi and tapping on the handle, broke everywhere bar the scored line, so it looks like doing all the cuts with a wet cutter, unless anyones got a better idea ??

[MrSpoon]

what size wheel are you using? is it breaking along the score line then veering off towards the end? try lifting the breaker to the tile then give it a good hard tug, or a sharp whack depending on how yours works

[andy-p]

no matter how you score the tile when i try to snap it, it wont budge it even with all my weight on the breaker, its absolutely rock believe me!! im gonna give fired earth a ring and see what they say ,long shot i know..

[MrSpoon]

hmm worth a shot, might have to be a wet job tho

only score once !! with a new 18mm wheel (rubi gold )
then lightly tap the back of the tile along the line with a pin hammer
lightly !!!!!!!
see if that dose the trick

[TilingLogistics]

If you have to end up wet cutting I would still score it. It will help with chipping in most cases

Kev

[andy-p]

just off the phone to fired earth and have been advised the tiles have to be cut with an electric cutter with a quality blade, holes to drilled with armeg.. looks like its gonna be a bitch of a job, ah well think ill sink a few beers tonight, cheers !!!!!

[Highlander]

Would wet cut but as for any holes use 365 drills they will go through them no probs. I have both armeg and 365 and now use 365 all the time. One thing I bought from Topps was their hole saw guide it works treat with the 365 drills and lasts longer than the 365 guide.

Highlander

[muffinman]

18 mill rubi gold wheel will eat em

[andy-p]

Originally Posted by muffinman

18 mill rubi gold wheel will eat em

no chance mate trust me!!

[sWe]

When cutting ultra hard porcelain, it is extremely important to score only once, and it has to be smooth and of even depth, otherwise the tile is going to shatter when you try break it. If you score more than once, the scoring line will become uneven, and that will result in a shattered tile most of the time.

Oiling the guide rail/rods and using a fresh scoring wheel helps alot.

When you break the tile, it is paramount to concentrate the breaking force in one short, swift movement, and the movement range of the breaker must be short.
This is why I prefer manually adjustable breaking systems to auto adjusting ones.

[Dave]

There is a new range of porcelain bodied tiles out that have a thick 1.5mm glaze on them and makes them virtually impossible to break on a dry cutter....sometimes scoring the back and the face of the tile helps...but is difficult to obtain a clean cut.....wet cutter with a continous porcelain rim blade for best results......