DIY DIY Chip free wet saw - Tile Advice

[TilingPeter]

I got a cheap wet saw after reading good reviews and the results are disappointing. It's a 750W Erbauer one and it leaves a lot of chipping.

One of the biggest issues I have is with breaking the corners of my tiles. They are 300x600 and there's a lot of friction between them and the table. I notice that the tile does come away from the fence slightly at times which can't be good. One of the biggest issues is the last bit breaking. I'm guessing that the different sides of the tile are trying to move at different speeds and breaking the last bit. Is a rail saw likely to solve this problem as there will be no friction?

I tried a new blade but the chipping is very similar. However, I could only find cheap ones stocked locally. What would be best? Should I get a rail cutter with a good blade? Would a Rubi DU-200L-BL give a good finish? I don't need many features, jut a clean accurate cut. I don't mind paying a bit extra for a good cut but I don't want to pay loads of money for the same as I'm getting now. I do need to do a number of 'L' shapes, so a straight cutter won't be enough.

Would a good blade eg. Rubi fix the chipping? Most of the chipping is less than 1mm, but a few bits are 1-2mm.

 

[Andy Allen]

Get yourself a grinder with a decent blade....... Much better option..

 

[Wolfie9878]

Get a better blade and turn the cut - get just over half way through the tile and pull it back and start from the other side, that should minimise the travel your experiencing.

Or get a grinder with a decent blade.

 

[TilingPeter]

Get a better blade and turn the cut - get just over half way through the tile and pull it back and start from the other side, that should minimise the travel your experiencing.

Or get a grinder with a decent blade.

Turning it over may work but then I risk scratching the underside.

Do you mean drawing a line and cutting it freehand? Or just grinding the rough edge with a grinder? What sort of grinder, just any angle grinder?

 

[Wolfie9878]

Yeah I meant free hand.

When I first started I tiled 1000,s metres with a cheap tabletop saw - like everything you learn how to get the best of whatever tools you have.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I used a wet cutter though??

If it’s just for the one job I would persevere with what you have but if you plan to do more - a cheap 4” grinder with a decent blade would be a very worthy investment.

 

[Perry]

Are they porcelain?

 

[TilingPeter]

Are they porcelain?

No, ceramic, 10mm thick.

 

[Flintstone]

What do you mean by scratching the under side?
Is this a one off diy job?

 

[TilingPeter]

What do you mean by scratching the under side?
Is this a one off diy job?

I was thinking of flipping the tile and meeting half way with the cuts. If I put the good side down then I'll be sliding it across tiny pieces of tile which could scratch.

Not quite a one off job. I will have a kitchen, utility room and toilet to do later. The other rooms will probably have smaller and thinner tiles so they may not be so bad, but it would be nice to have good tools for those jobs.

I'm planning to get an angle grinder blade and then see how that goes. I have some old tiles that I can use to practice with.

 

[WetSaw]

You turn the tile 180° not flip it over.

 

[TilingPeter]

You turn the tile 180° not flip it over.

I need to adjust the fence to do that and I'm worried that it'll be out and there may eve be a small step in the middle where the two meet. The cutter is mostly accurate, usually within 1mm, but there have been occasions where it wasn't so good.

 

[Andy Allen]

Do you have a dry cutter for the straight cuts or are you cutting everything with the wet cutter....?

 

[Dumbo]

Get rid of the fence . Get a score and snap cutter . Scribe tile first . Then cut waste side of scribe . As above cut tile to start then turn180 degrees to finish . Scrubbing first should keep chipping to minimum

 

[TilingPeter]

Do you have a dry cutter for the straight cuts or are you cutting everything with the wet cutter....?

My straight one is too small. I think my tiles are quite hard too. It scribes my old tiles reasonably well but the tiles I'm using need a lot of pressure to even scratch them. Some of the practice cuts I did had chips, although after another practice (on a 1" wide piece of tile) it has come out okay. Do large, high quality cutters have better scribing wheels?

Would a good quality scribe an snap cutting produce a good finish? Would they be able to make small cuts too eg. cutting 11mm?

 

[Old Mod]

If you want to go down the slide cutter route, which would be a better idea than using a wet saw, buy a Sigma 700mm cutter, then when you’ve finished, if you keep it in tip top condition you will easily recover 2/3 rd’s of your money upon resale.