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Tile Saws

dhcomp

dhcomp

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Getting ready to embark on my first tile project.

2 Small bathrooms worth of floor/tub/shower tile, and probably won't be my last.

Want to buy a good used tile saw.

I've never touched a wet saw, or tried to install tile.

What do i buy? Style, brands, what to look for?

Thinking i'll go for a sliding table type, but open to suggestions.

Thanks!
 
Not sure your price range, but any sliding top will make things go smoothly. I've used everything from high end sliding chop saw type wet saws, to sliding tables, to cheap plastic fixed blade/fixed table wet saws.

If you can get a sliding table top with miter slide attachments, get it, it helps with all sorts of funky cuts. Don't forget a good pair of tile chippers too. I'm not brand loyal, so considering this isn't your full time job, any cheaper brand will be just fine. Grab an extra blade, and see if you can find one that when dull, you can reverse the rotation of the blade and keep cutting.

Make sure you lay out your tile dry, use a framing square, 4 foot level, and chalk line. A good solid 4 foot level also helps when laying the tile, to set the tile flush with surrounding tile, and pressing it down evenly if needed.

You'll be fine, it's really not hard at all. Pay attention or ask questions about the thinset you buy, theres thinset for ceramic tile/marble/rapid set. Avoid the rapid set :) And have a couple extra sponges, if you're sloppy with the grout, you'll be wiping forever, and wipe on the diagonal. And a drill paddle is needed to mix the thinset/grout. The dinky paint ones will work... but it's a PITA. Though, if you fear your drill might not like the extra torque load, don't get the bigger mixing paddle. I mean of course you can mix it by hand, but who wants to do that :)
 
Ii do a lot of tile. The harbor freight bridge tile saw works great. I think I paid ariund $200-250 for mine on sale
 
Thanks for the tips. Blade style/brands/size recommendations?

Probably going to pickup a used sliding table saw. Something I can use and resell if needed.

While we are talking tile in general, any good websites with step by step you guys have used? I'm skilled in home repair/woodworking type stuff, just haven't ventured into tile. I understand the basics, but a step by step wouldn't hurt.

Thanks!
 
harborfreight blades are no good, i have had good luck with 7" rigid blades from lowes, tried some from homedepot they were crap.
 
When buying a used saw, check the rollers on the slides for nicks. Make sure it is tight and smooth. A loose table, motor mount or blade arbor makes for misserable cutting issues.
 
ktmoutfront said:
When buying a used saw, check the rollers on the slides for nicks. Make sure it is tight and smooth. A loose table, motor mount or blade arbor makes for misserable cutting issues.
Click to expand...

Great tip. Definitely will check it out closely.

Anything else to check on used saws? Mostly as it involves hte wet aspect?
 
dhcomp said:
Great tip. Definitely will check it out closely.

Anything else to check on used saws? Mostly as it involves hte wet aspect?
Click to expand...

make sure the pump works

I have an MK Diamond, it's a solid saw and I wouldn't hesitate buying a used one. My FIL has used the HF one for years, left it outside and generally doesn't take care of it and it's been fine. The HF blades suck though.
 
skunked said:
make sure the pump works

I have an MK Diamond, it's a solid saw and I wouldn't hesitate buying a used one. My FIL has used the HF one for years, left it outside and generally doesn't take care of it and it's been fine. The HF blades suck though.
Click to expand...

Cool. quite a few of those used, but they are $$$.

Looking to realistically spend around $200. We'll see what i can do.

Good to know i can get by on a HF or home depot one with a good blade though, if it comes to that.
 
Depending on the size of the rooms, you might get by with a basic, fixed one at HD. If you have a lot of straight cuts, a large unit is good. But I found that the smaller, fixed one works decent, especially for the custom type cuts around bathtubs, toilet holes, etc. You can basically nibble away pieces by plunging the tile down onto the blade. Nice if you have a shower valve where you can custom cut around.

It definitely is slower than a larger, upright one....but it can be done.

Definitely get things square and pre-plan everything dry. I also like to cut up the door jams so the tile goes underneath the door and trim. Always bugs me to see grout lines around door jams.
 
That one you posted in the CL link looks like a hell of a deal. I'd snap it up in a second.

But if it's gone when you get there, I have had good luck with this sliding table style Brutis with a 10" blade.
http://www.amazon.com/ss/customer-reviews/B001V5IXIO/ref=?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
I bought it at the tile store when I bought my travertine, I paid a little less than that but I'm sure the tax made it a wash. I'm no pro, but I've done a dozen or so tile jobs, and before this I used a regular score & snap style cutter and a little 4" saw for doing things you can't snap (like base cove tiles). If you're just doing straight cuts on ceramic floor tile a regular cutter and a pair of nippers are all you need, but the saw is nice to have. I was able to do 18"x24" pieces of travertine on the Brutis I posted with no problem. Something I didn't notice right a way, mine had a table extension that slid out on one side to support large pieces. Once I found that, even making little cuts off big pieces was easy.

But like I said, I'm not doing this for a living, so these guys probably have better advice:D

A couple other things to consider. Buy your tile, mortar, grout, etc at a tile store not HD or Lowes. You'll have a much better selection on everything, especially tile, and you can be sure you got the right mortar and grout for what you're doing. Plus, instead of looking for a website for tips, most tile stores offer free classes on tile setting. They can also make sure you've got the right notched trowel for the tile size you are using. Also, when it comes to mixing make sure you have a strong drill, I have had better luck with corded than cordless when mixing full bags.

Something else I like to have on hand when doing big jobs is a small garden shovel like this. It helps with mixing as well as laying out your mortar.
http://t.homedepot.com/p/HDX-10-75-in-D-Handle-Utility-Shovel-2531800/204412417/
You also may want to snap some chalk lines as a guide because you've got to keep things straight. And like someone else mentioned, get a half dozen sponges, but use as little water as possible. That's all I can think of for now.
 
Picked up a little MK Diamond 370 saw used.

Like brand new, original blade still good

$225.

Can always sell it when i'm done with it.
 
nibblers are pretty basic and I don't remember using them much, just around some pipes where trim would cover it up.

I never used a snap cutter because I had a tile saw.
 
skunked said:
nibblers are pretty basic and I don't remember using them much, just around some pipes where trim would cover it up.

I never used a snap cutter because I had a tile saw.
Click to expand...

Sounds like i'll do what i can with the tile saw. Thanks!
 
dhcomp said:
http://www.amazon.com/MK-Diamond-MK-370-2-Horsepower-7-Inch/dp/B000022548

Missing the rip fence. Picked one up for $30 :doah:

But for 2 bathrooms, totally worth it.

What do you guys recommend in nibblers and snap cutters?

Until i go to a tile place, and look at them, I'm not familiar with either.
Click to expand...

Since you have the saw you don't really need them. I'd probably pick up a pair of nippers just because sometimes it's faster to knock off that one little corner when you're going around a pipe than getting up and going back to the saw.

The snap cutter I have is a nice cast aluminum one I bought at a pawn shop about 20 years ago. So I have no advice on which one to get today.

One more thing to consider. If you are going to do glass tiles get a glass tile cutter. I did some small ones with the saw, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you do decided to try wear glasses & gloves.
 
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