Just tooling up to tile the new kitchen and, well, I have instantly screwed up. Decided to get into the power tool age, got Screwfix's Titan TTB903TCH wet cutter, the second cheapest one. And it gives an edge like something's chewed the tile. Everyone recommended "get a better blade" and "tape the edge" so I did and now it's merely very bad. Reviews are very good, all pretty frustrating, I was really hoping this'd help me speed through the job.
So... Bog standard ceramic flat metro tiles, 200x100, nothing too demanding I think. I had a scorer/breaker type but it was very cheap and a bit rubbish. I've given up on online reviews, I think too many people are just happy to get a straight line and aren't too worried about actual finish? I mean I know there'll be a little chipping and flaking but I got better results 20 years ago with crap tools from B&Q
I'm doing the full room so lots of corners etc but mostly simple shapes. Basically I don't know what I can expect from various levels of tools and I already got it wrong once
(pic for attention, this is what comes out of the powered cutter)
I used my angle grinder (Makita mains one if that makes any difference, 115mm discs) and a thin stone cutting disc. As long as you have a way of keeping the tile still it's very good, can do all sorts of fancy corners and things, like round the cooker hood for instance. Really good finish, very few cock yos but you do need a steady hand
We bought some wall tiles that flaked on every cut with a tile saw. Changed the tiling pattern to eliminate cuts and gave the excess tiles to my MiL for her new kitchen.
I was heartened to see that her professional tiler had also managed to flake every cut. Try different tiles.
I did wonder if it was the tile but I had some spares from a previous job and it's the exact same.
As a professional tiler, for small metros I use my Rubi 400, small breakers and a Bricolina wet saw. For tricky cuts (sockets etc) score the tile to the shape and wet cut just inside the score lines, no chipping that way. Use a Rubi diamond sponge to polish any edges that need it.
Wouldn’t have grinder out for any ceramic tile.
Hah I googled that and the first hit was a cnc glass cutter, I though "mm thanks but that's not the most helpful answer ever" 🙂
I get the feeling the Rubi 400 is discontinued? Can only fine used ones for sale. But if it's good, that might not be a bad idea, looks like resale after the job will be easy... Or might try another model
When you sat score to shape and then wet cut, do you mean score with the cutter or do you use a hand score type thing?
I was going to ask for advice on sponges next so you beat me to it!
Thanks very much! Oh can I ask a specific question, since you mentioned the wet saw- obviously I know nowt but I can't really see other than accuracy/easy of setup what's different from one saw to another in terms of cut quality, I'd have assume that's entierly blade specific? Or am I wrong there?
The Rubi cutters are good and accurate and I think all the small ones have the same scoring wheel, so should work about the same. Personally I’d pick up a used TR40 or similar and resell when done.
score the outline with a cutter and then wet cut to the inside edge, this usually minimises chipping. You shouldn’t need to do this to every cut though, just sockets/L-shapes etc. the Rubi will do straight cuts with ease and leave a good edge on most tile.
Sponges - use a tilers sponge, not generic car wash type sponge. I don’t like too big and prefer these https://www.tradetiler.com/super-hydro-tilers-sponge.html
wet cutters tbh, I don’t really use them that much for small tile. I’ve had the same Bricolina with the stock blade for 15 years! Generally yes though, it’s how good the blade is and how well it’s cooled, the actual cutter is just a motor turning the blade you’ve selected. You could get a similar result with a 115mm grinder, Abracs blade from Toolstation and a sponge to water cool it, but it’s awkward and messy for small tile, a flat bed wet saw is much easier.
I'm about to do some tiling so this thread had me doing a bit of research. There seems to be a suggestion that bad cutting can be the result of the blade not being at 90°, don't know how likely that is but could be worth checking?
I've used one of these to cut tiles (both wall and floor) and it's been good. Including cutting holes for wall sockets into the middle of large 12" tiles.
https://www.toolstation.com/qep-diamond-wheel-wet-tile-cutter/p10565
The best way I found was to ensure the pretty side of the tile was face down and then it was fine. It does give you a headache marking out as everything is in reverse.
score the cut with the tungsten bit scorer thing, before you cut it on the diamond wheel. give the enamal a weak edge to snap off at.
Rubi tile cutters, I have a couple that I’ve had for years, they still cut tiles really well, easily and no fuss.
i also use my makita 18v small grinder with a super thin diamond tile blade and it’s been surprisingly effective, even on long or thickish tiles.
before this I had the ALDI wet tile cutter, that was bloody messy to use, but with a better cutting disc on it, was really surprisingly good, but it has long since died.
i am not a professional, but I have done a lot of tiling.