CUTTING TILES
Safety tip :- Wear safety goggles and gloves when cutting tiles to avoid any injury from sharp fragments that may become airborne, or sharp edges from cut tiles.
To cut tiles you have a wide choice of tools available, you can use a scribe, which has a diamond or carbide tip to mark a cut line on a tile. There are manual tile cutters, powered tile cutters and various tile saws, hole cutters and drill bits.
To use a scribe to make a cut in a tile, mark the cut line with the scribe, do this several times making sure you have scribed right to the edge of the tile. Rest the tile on a flat sturdy surface and place a thin piece of metal or wood beneath the tile in line with the cut mark (something like a knitting needle will do), apply pressure to both sections of tile on each side of the cut line and the tile should break cleanly along your cut mark. If there are any rough edges along the tile ‘cut’, smooth these down using a tile file.
Manual tile cutters (see video below) are easy to use, simply mark the cut line on the tile with a pencil or marker pen, place the tile on the bed of the tile cutter, then run the scribing tip (usually a small wheel attached to the tile cutters handle) over the cut line several times. Set the handle over the tile and press down on it firmly, there is a specially shaped piece of metal or pad attached to the base of the handle that applies pressure to both sides of the tile along the cut line.
Powered tile cutters are an excellent, although more expensive tool to use, you can expect to pay around £50 to £60 for a good one (not too expensive if bought between different family households etc), they use a diamond or carbide tipped high speed disc, the disc protrudes through a small flat bed where the tile is placed for cutting. Most of the power tile cutters have a reservoir of water to keep the disc cooler, extending its working life and also to cut down on how much dust is produced. Replacement discs can cost up to £20 each, although I am sure cheaper ones could be sourced via the Internet online stores etc. Read the manufacturers instructions for safe use of the tile cutter, wearing safety goggles and gloves etc.
Tile saws (see below), hole cutters and drill bits specifically designed to cut through tiles, are handy to have for any awkward cuts that a manual or power tile cutter cannot do. The saw blade, hole cutter toothed edge and drill bit tip are usually carbide or diamond tipped.
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June 8th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
It is incredible what you can achieve with a good tile saw. This has been helpful but I will keep looking to be able to compare the available machines. Thank you for posting this.