tile saws

[EricU]

Try cutting in from the end about 1/4" -1/2" the cut from the other end and the small split will occur on the straight section which can be cleaned up with blade.   Roly

This is what I do. Pre-cut the end of the cut then flip it around and do the full cut. Never had any chipping. I have the Ryobi saw, $110 from HD.  Might get another blade before the next tile job.

[Cooler]

I originally planned on using real marble for the floor so I bought the saw.  But marble chipped even worse.  So I went with porcelain tiiles.  

My earlier experience with a (cheap) score and snap cutter was filled with problems.  

I just ordered an ISHII cutter.  I will give a review once it arrives.   It promises to do a much better job than the cheapo model.

It will handle 24" cuts.

https://www.tiletools.com/product/ishii-...4-clinker/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIUAcXwwxzc

[crokett™]

I'm not having chip-out.  I am seeing the left and right hand portions of the tiles break apart just before the cut is complete.  So the very corners have a bit of extra on one side of the  blade and a chip taking out of the other side.  The two halves will piece together perfectly.

I call that chipout.     you have a dull blade or feed rate is too fast.  Another thing to try is either stop before the end of the cut, flip it and finish the cut or cut one side 1/4" to 1/2" in, then flip it and cut the rest of the way.  

A snap cutter is ok.  its much harder to use for small pieces and you can't do cut outs for electrical boxes, etc

[Cooler]

I call that chipout.     you have a dull blade or feed rate is too fast.  Another thing to try is either stop before the end of the cut, flip it and finish the cut or cut one side 1/4" to 1/2" in, then flip it and cut the rest of the way.  

A snap cutter is ok.  its much harder to use for small pieces and you can't do cut outs for electrical boxes, etc

I have a right angle grinder for those actions.  I hope it works as well as it shows on the video.

[Cooler]

Well, the ISHII manual tile cutter arrived and here is my review:



Out of the box the tile cutter looks terrific.  It has a really nice painted finish and the castings are clean and the unpainted parts look to be annodized.  It has both metric and imperial ruler scales.  The push scorer rides on two linear bearings and is very smooth and glides easily.

No assembly required.  Just setup and use.  But you would think that some rudimentary instructions would be included--not a scrap of paper was.

Almost no learning curve.  My first cut was beautiful. On the second one I failed to score at the very beginning of the cut.  After that I was careful to make sure I scored the entire length.  The breaker pressure bar is automatic and snaps the pieces clean.  

They claim a 1" minimum cut.  However anything under 1¼" wide saw a slight (about 1/16") out of parallel on the cut. It might be that I was not holding the work piece still.  

There is an anti-slip rubber coating on the base that seems to hold the tile in place while cutting.  As mentioned it works great over 1¼" wide.  There are two pull out stablizer arms to support very wide tiles.  There is a velcro strap that holds all together for one hand carry of the unit (holding onto the handle).

Much faster and drier than using the wet saw and no chip out.  I deemed the cuts clean enough to be used on visible grout lines.   

My previous experience using a cheap tile score/snap unit was very unsatisfactory.  The ISHII unit I got is a mid level professional/high grade homeowner model.  There are better (and more expensive units) out there.

I think this one would be a good choice if you have a few small rooms to do.   The powder room that I just tiled (I have not put down the grout yet) was about 50% trimmed tiles and 50% whole.  

I did make one experiment with the tile saw.  I cut the strip to 2-1/16" wide using the snap cutter and then trimmed to 2" wide on the saw.  No chip out and a clean cut.  

This ISHI model is highly recommended.

I purchased the ISHI manual tile cutter (28") from Tiletools.com.  I also purchased the Montolit side nippers from them.  The side nippers worked great also (but expensive).  Delivery was about 1 week in both cases.  Amazon carries both items but charges NY State sales tax.  So it is cheaper to buy from another source that forgets about the sales tax.:

 https://www.tiletools.com/product-catego...e-cutters/