hi there.
i was wondering if i should get normal nippers or the parrot type of nippers. i see myself(going by what iv done lately ) using them in a tighter curve or hole where the normal ones wouldnt fit.

am i wrong to think that the parrot does everythinh the normal ones do but better in tighter areas. or amy i missing something that the normal ones are better at

thanks alan

You are correct with what you have said. I have a pair of each (Rubi ones of course )

not far off there alan. bought some parrot beak n to be honest very rarely use them.Youre better off with some heavier duty ones.

Parrot and standard nippers both rubi

Different tools for different situations

Just as a matter of interest, are they of much use? I've never used them, I use an old pair of pliers.

Heavy dudy Rubi ones the last 5yrs, no break in the carbide yet, have the Rubi parrot ones used them once!

Mate likes his standard virtex ones, smaller than the Rubi ones.

To be honest Alan snips are used less these days, mostly grinder and core bits now.

i was planing on getting that compas scoring cutter and using a dia disk to relief cut it then snap off the bits , or cut them out. i cant afford a set of thos corebits. there 50-80 quid each. let allone what a 5 ich one would cost.

i used one of those handheld snaper tools with the wheel on the back the other day. it worked ok.

you dont think the parrot ones are strong enough for the job.
will the normal ones reach into a 4 inch hole without tearing the hands off me

Would have a £50 set of core bits from porsadrill tbh mate works out about a quid a hole, versus the time snipping slabs of porcelain for it to shatter right at the end

Dont rate the parrot ones mainly because i never really used them, put the dosh towards core bits and grinder blades.

i was thinking of them for around pipes etc.
there not much good on a big hole thow.
how many holes are you saying that each drill would drill

About 10 for porcelain a lot more on ceramics, full set for the £50 mark, you get a forum discount too.

I use How to drill holes in hard tiles with diamond core holesaw drilling bits and they work a treat for me..

Just as a spoiler, I've been testing the new 365 drill- 6mm. 23 holes so far in travertine and no sign of wear.

Will be giving my sample a shot this week....

very rarely use parrot nippers , but you never know when u might need them , get some keep in ya tool box

For the holes use the grinder and a taping hammer

i got a pair of normal ones.
i tryed them on the side of a ceramic tile in the shed. it broke a bit lump out . i couldnt see it working for doing a cut out free hand. you would have to scribe a mark for it to work to.
i cut a hole out of the same tile with the shaw circle cutter. the nippers broke it out perfect when i caught the bits with it and snaped it off. it was a bit tight on the 4 inch ish hole but it worked great. it was great to nibble away the little bits that were left .

i still think that i will end up with the parrot ones for smaller holes etc

i only use mine to break a slither off a tile, if its too small to break on the manual cutter. i scribe it on the manual cutter first though

I've only ever had normal nippers, If you were removing a lot of material, I feel the parrot ones would be much slower.

Steer clear of rubi nips, mine lasted a day

what nips u got then tommy??

Originally Posted by tommyzooom

I've only ever had normal nippers, If you were removing a lot of material, I feel the parrot ones would be much slower.

Steer clear of rubi nips, mine lasted a day

TBH, Im not sure, I've had them ages, IIRC i got them from a BAL rep

Originally Posted by Alan M

i got a pair of normal ones.
i tryed them on the side of a ceramic tile in the shed. it broke a bit lump out . i couldnt see it working for doing a cut out free hand. you would have to scribe a mark for it to work to.
i cut a hole out of the same tile with the shaw circle cutter. the nippers broke it out perfect when i caught the bits with it and snaped it off. it was a bit tight on the 4 inch ish hole but it worked great. it was great to nibble away the little bits that were left .

i still think that i will end up with the parrot ones for smaller holes etc

Its practice mate, but where ever possible I score a line to nip to first.

I have a set of both, use the normal ones for 99% of what I do, and I only break out the parrot nips for those times where room is limited.

what do you use to scribe . iv seen on one of the tile tool sites. a scriber that looks like a pen. i saw a video on you tube i think where they ued one of the rubi wheels on the bar with a small wheel to score the tile.

i have both and use for diff situations,rubi ones and are fine

I went through a phase a couple of months ago where I did everything using only hand tools. With anything experience counts. I can free hand cut a curve or more or less anything I want using just a pair of regular nips. Scribing obviously makes it easier but I dont always do it. Still go in somedays and think right! Old school today! Just to keep my hand in really and well mainly just cos I can! Only ever do it on daywork though!!

I've got both and use them when the situation calls for it, horses for courses imo.

Originally Posted by Alan M

what do you use to scribe . iv seen on one of the tile tool sites. a scriber that looks like a pen. i saw a video on you tube i think where they ued one of the rubi wheels on the bar with a small wheel to score the tile.

my ts 60.

do you use the cutter freehand to scribe the cut outs etc

I havent used parrot nippers for years, reason being i only really found them useful for opening up holes once i had used the hole boy to make the pipe holes on ceramic tiles ,once the hole was big enough I would get a standard pair of nippers in to finish off shaping the cut ,standard nippers really are the most useful as they easily cut L shaped cuts and are good for trimming on standard ceramic tiles
Alan you seem to be on a tool buying mission at the moment be careful what you buy as you dont need as much equipment as you think when starting out and you should pick up bits as you go along in my opinion and then you will build a kit of tools that you will use regularly rather than just buying everything and not using half of it ,hope this helps Gary

Originally Posted by Alan M

do you use the cutter freehand to scribe the cut outs etc

I just score the shape using the ts 60 as normal, except I dont use the breaking arm. Just keep turning the tile score a little, turn it, score a little.