I am going to be laying some slate floors and want to buy (vs rent) a wet saw. I will be using it for tile in the future but want it most for the stone work. Are there specfic features, level of power, size etc that I should look for or stay away from? Out side of using my wine buying technique (not the cheepest not the most expensive) I’m not sure where to start.
Replies
How large of tile/stone do you plan to be cutting?
Look here.................http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/index.php
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
I was curious too so I followed the advice below and found this thread:
http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=8323&page=3&pp=15
and here's a saw a lot of these guys like:
http://www.constructioncomplete.com/TileSawsAllSizes/FelkerTM75TileWetSaw.html
hope this helps,
-s
The Felkers are great saws! Get one and don't look back. Once you finish, if you want to, you can go back to JohnBridge or elsewhere, and sell it for very little less than what you paid, which is NOT something you can do with the cheap Chinese saws. (I have a big Felker Tilemaster that will never leave my hands.) JMO
I've been shopping for a tile saw as well, and here are a couple of things to consider:
1) Capacity. What's the biggest tile you're likely to work with? If the answer is 12", then there are lots of alternatives in the lower range of price.
2) Is there are provision for handling overspray? For the last few years, I have been using a big MK, and that thing kicks out an enormous amount of spray -- which makes it difficult to use the saw indoors.
3) The MK saw above weighs in at 120 lbs., which is more than I want to carry around by myself.
4) Have you considered the El Cheapo tile saws? I used one for a recent job, and was impressed with how well the thing worked. It cost $99. It is surely not a saw I would want if I needed to make a lot of fancy cuts, but for straight cuts, it worked just fine.
Finally, I recently came across a new tile saw from Dewalt, which seems to have all the bells and whistles. I have not checked out any reviews, but here is the Amazon link:
http://tinyurl.com/djhof
********************************************************
"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
-- Herb Caen (1916-1997)
http://order.harborfreight.com/EasyAsk/harborfreight/results.jsp
Believe it or not.........Harbor Freight.
The top one is great, don't kniw about the bridge saw, that's something new.
This has been discussed here before & Harbor Freight gets good reviews. I know 3 guys who bought them and like them. Heavy SOB though.
Joe H
I have a middle-of-the-road tile saw, an MK770, one of the saws based on an angle grinder body rather than an external motor. I've had it 5 years and have been using it this week a lot... and I came to the conclusion that I always do when I buy a tool like that... I shoulda bought better.
Yes it makes straight cuts thru 12" ceramic just fine. But, it has less power (been cutting 5/16" porcelain), less cutting length (been doing diagonal cuts on 13" tiles... no can do), is less accurate (heel cuts chip the glaze), has a cheap plastic water tray (cracked it somehow, so it drips), makes more noise (screams, actually), has no miter gauge (jury rig the speed square), and has a goofy setup for the water pump that causes the thing to turn upside down and go dry. Best thing about it... it's light enough to carry around.
So, I bought less than the best and now I'll probably go buy a real saw next time I'm doing tile. Wanna buy an MK770? Just kidding, I'm keeping it.
I actually bought that little "Workforce" saw ($88) from HD. My dad has one and I tried it out and thought (for the money) its great. The blade gets water from underneath the table and as far as spray goes, I think I could cut inside on white carpet and you'd never know I was there. I've used the small MK in the past and that has alot of spray, big problem if you're working far from an outdoor cutting area.
I used the little HD tile saw to tile my kitchen walls. I was less pleased with it's performance. First, it kept tripping my GFCI. (Perhaps I shouldn't have plugged it into a protected outlet, but I had set the saw up on my kitchen island, and it *is* an electric motor sitting next to a tub of water.) Second, it sprayed water like crazy until the water tray was empty, which happened frequently. But if I kept the tray filled I got saturated. Third, the only things that keep the motor dry are the seals and gaskets between the motor compartment and the water tray. Next time I'm going to rent a nice big saw with a motor mounted up *above* the water.But I should point out that it DID work and the tile came out pretty nice. It was just more frustrating than I think it should have been.
Are we talking about the same saw? I have the THD550. I always have mine plugged into a GFCI and have never tripped it. Second, i've cut tile all day and have not had to refill the tray once. Finally, I still say that compared to other saws i've used this is the cleanest/dryest saw i've ever used.
Dewalt, It weighs like 75 lbs. and the guy that I know that has one uses it every day and loves it. He used to have an MK and he says that this one is much better.
Actually, I just Googled for a picture of the saw, and found that I was very mistaken. The saw I borrowed was $100 and made by Plasplugs. It basically sucked.It's good to know that there's at least one cheap saw on the market that works.
I bought a 100$ diamond blade for cutting firebrick on a chopsaw. I've also used it to cut 12" ceramic tiles(fully saturated with water) on my tablesaw. Worked very well. Just another option if you'd rather not buy a whole new saw.
don't all jump on me, but the big wet saw HD sells is great, its an import, MKO, or something like that. I've done many bathrooms, porcelain, tile, slate, and interloc laneways, retaining walls and brick. Its been a real workhouse that won't quit, anything thicker than 4 inches you have to flip to cut, but for the utility its great, 5 years and counting, no problems. As one of the posters noted, overspray is always a problem but you can minimize it by adjusting the angle of the jets to the blade ...
Wish I had a $1 for every cut my cheap lil PlasPlugs tile saw has made.I know its laid 1500 sq.ft.. Slow/not much table/will fit in a briefcase and ripped 18" stone tiles better than the big rental one we ending up returning after 2 miserable cuts.
MK 101
start there, then find the best deal close to it.
For the money, best saw on the market nowadays
Dewalt 24000, the best tile saw in the world, hands down. Not too heavy, precision guide system, power, good splash protection....need I say more?