Angle Grinders

[Deleted member 1779]

As I've mentioned in other angle griner posts:

1) They kick like mules so be very careful when starting off.
2) A wetsaw gives you back both hands to hold the tile. Angle grinders take up a hand !
3) Always wear goggles (not glasses) because they spit fire, dust, sparks and tile.
4) They cant really be used wet so can cause a lot of dust. Use outside if poss

But they do have a use and I use them on my shop displays when carving out tiles.

Go for a small grinder (110mm) not a big paving slab cutter (230mm) and try and put in a quality diamond blade. Then sit back, hang on for the ride - and watch out for your vitals !

Above is my little grinder

Always wear goggles. Your eyes are important!

 

[rob]

Yep I agree about the dust, that is one problem with them. Also, buy a small one so that it is easy to opertae with the one hand.

Try This Method: If you want to cut a straight line perfectly, rule your line first and then put some masking tape along the line. This gives you a straight line to follow (dust wont keep covering up your pen line) and it will also stop the edge from chipping.

Works perfect for me, and great when you only need to take a couple of mm's off.

Try it out

 

[frogeye]

I found the best way for me to maintain a straight line (realised I needed a sure fire method after the first attempt) was to use a piece of lath along the line. Tried one with it clamped to the slate and all the others using my foot on one end of the lath and the clamp on the other end working off a piece of plywood - don't worry I was miles away from slicing my toes off. It worked a treat - the pressure from the lath kept the tile rock solid while I ran the cutter down the side. Once a few stokes had been done the cutter was easy to control in the channel cut in the tile.

Worked for me but each to their own - still dusty though

frogeye

 

[graybags]

I agree that a mini grinder does the trick nicely, I was not relishing the thought of all those nasty cuts in porcelain tiles, but the grinder (with a diamond blade) did the trick easily. Also worked well for some longer cuts using a block of wood as a straight edge.

 

[atec]

totally agree a grinder has its place, got one last week used it to score tiled walls before tiling on tile,

 

[doug boardley]

totally agree a grinder has its place, got one last week used it to score tiled walls before tiling on tile,

now you couldn't do that with a dw200lps:lol:

 

[frogeye]

totally agree a grinder has its place, got one last week used it to score tiled walls before tiling on tile,

I don't want to teach grannies to suck eggs but watch out when using them to score walls - I had a blade explode on me - used the way I bet we all have - 45 degree dabbing the wall to score it prior to plastering as it happens, I must have put a tad too much sideways pressure on it and bang, I stood there watching it wrap its power cord around itself until it stopped. Nightmare. Another close shave

frogeye now a respecter of tools

 

[doug boardley]

mmm not the type of close shave you want in a bathroom:joker:

 

[frogeye]

I was in the kitchen of my first house. Luckily it was completely empty. I escaped without a scratch. Not so lucky a few weeks later when a pair of old step ladders broke as I was stripping paint from the bay window. Fell straight through the glass. Thabk god my wife was there - I managed to slice through the side of my neck and nick my jugular - blood pumping all over the place

frogeye nearly and ex frog on so many occasions

 

[Grace'sDad]

I got a likkle Bosch (green DIY 'un) from B&Q for £25.
Bought a diamond blade for it and I have to say it's one of the best little grinders I've ever used. Feels as good to use as a Makita - really!