DIY Chip free wet saw

[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.

 

[Old Mod]

Something like the 3c3m from @Pro Tiler Tools
And it will cut 11mm strips used correctly

Sigma 3C3M MAX Professional Tile Cutter 72cm | Buy Sigma Series 3 MAX Tile Cutters Online from Pro Tiler Tools - http://www.*******************/%3Chtml-%3E/35125/sigma-3c3m-max-professional-tile-cutter-72cm

 

[Chris N]

Score the cut line with your dry cutter before wet cutting. Doesn't guarantee chip free cuts but helps massively. Afterwards, give the edges a quick flick with a diamond polishing block.

 

[LM]

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.

So some how you’ve already attempted this to recognise this issue to be a problem? Mmmmmm

 

[TilingPeter]

I got a Rubi blade which cost almost double the other blades I tried. The finish is very similar to what I had with the other blades. It's hard to tell the difference. I've ruled out the blades. An angle grinder will be the next step.

My scribe and snap cutter sometimes causes similar chipping too but it may be partly because it's had a lot of use.

 

[Old Mod]

You may well be pushing too hard on both machines.

 

[TilingPeter]

You may well be pushing too hard on both machines.

I think you're probably right. With the scriber, it doesn't even scratch the tile if I don't push as hard, I do need to push quite firmly.

With the machine I think the friction could be the problem. It needs quite a bit of force to slide along the table. Any ideas how this friction could be reduced? At the moment I spray water over the back of the tile and table, but it doesn't help much. I suspect that oil/grease would soak into the tile and cause problems with adhesive.

 

[Dumbo]

If you are still using the fence that will add to friction.

 

[TilingPeter]

If you are still using the fence that will add to friction.

Just tried without it and still similar. Although the friction isn't ideal it's probably not that that's causing the real problem.

I've attached a picture to give an idea of what it looks like. They aren't as big as I thought but certainly visible in the right light. Most of them are probably no more than 0.5mm, but some are around 1mm.

 

[Old Mod]

They’re your chipped cuts, yes?
They can be rectified very easily with a rubbing block.

 

[TilingPeter]

They’re your chipped cuts, yes?
They can be rectified very easily with a rubbing block.

Yes, is this quite normal for a wet saw? I've seen videos of cutters online and although the video quality is rarely good enough to see chips I do sometimes see similar chips. Is my angle grinder (with a good blade) likely to give a better finish?

I've been really struggling to rectify these with rubbing blocks. I find that the blocks create chips so I end up rubbing it forever.