Cutting shower tile question

[TresK3]

As I continue to work on the shower tile, a bit each night, the cuts have been simple, straight lines that I do with a score-and-snap cutter. Pretty soon I'm going to need to cut some 'L' shapes, make holes in tile for plumbing, and some 45o angles (more or less) near the ceiling.

I could rent a water cooled circular cutter, but it's a bit pricey if I don't do all my cuts in one day. I have an oscillating saw (which is great, BTW). I can get a tile blade for that. Or I can use this as an excuse to buy an angle grinder and get a diamond blade for it. Or, I could get a blade for my jig saw (I think). I could also get a tile blade for my hack saw and some bits for the holes.

Leaning towards the angle grinder and diamond blade, but I'd like to hear other ideas.

Any thoughts?

 

[sportbikerider78]

Buy your own wet tile saw. A small one from Home Depot or Lowes will come with a blade and be perfect for a small project.

<$100

 

[TresK3]

Buy your own wet tile saw. A small one from Home Depot or Lowes will come with a blade and be perfect for a small project.

<$100

Thought about that, but then I have a tool that I have to store (limited room) and will probably never use again.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Craigslist

 

[blades]

The wet blade tile cut is the best way - avoids chipped edges in the glazed portion also cuts way down on the mess ( dust) vs a high speed angle grinder. there are blades for the jig saw again dusty and the oscillating saw you are already aware of. Difficult to get nice straight longer cuts with free hand power tools. There are also diamond edged blades for skill saws/ table saw again messy. small wet cut units might not have enough travel for a 45 for the tile to pass blade all the way -support for blade cover gets in the way. over arm style units do not have that problem vs a table saw style.

I used a 6" diamond blade in a skill saw to accomplish what I needed but it wasn't a shower area where you want that edge to look good. ( 12" tiles cut across corners) that is apx a 17" long cut.

 

[Dobish]

pawn shop.

 

[greg13]

Harbor freight $63. regular price, always coupons around. I have one and it does a decent job.

 

[Wooden Head]

I bought a $150(new) 7 inch blade wet tile saw that was used for $40 on Craigslist. I have used it for cutting fake stone for outside of house, ceramic backsplash kitchen tile and 800 square ft. of porcelain tile in my basement. Diamond blade gave it up about three tiles from finish. Bought new blade $30. Also bought a 3 inch blade wet saw for $35 (never used, still in box) for a backup for my last install. By all means, buy a wet saw.
For making round holes you would likely need a diamond hole saw . The one I bought was for sink fixtures in quartz counter. As I remember less than $50.

 

[blades]

The prices on some of these tools have really dropped over the past few years. I can remember when a diamond edged hole saw was $150+ for a 2" and a 7" dia blade was almost $250.

 

[TresK3]

So on Friday after work I picked up a Bosch angle grinder and diamond blade. I got the smaller, 7.5 amp one because I figured it would give me better control. Then I got to thinking about a wet saw. Went out to Harbor Freight first thing yesterday morning and bought their mid range tile saw ($165 with non-segmented diamond blade, after 20% discount coupon).

First thing out of the box, I saw a significant rust spot on one of the top guide bars. It didn't restrict sliding the saw, or make anything rough, so I figured I would just go with it. Assembled everything, put the new blade in, and started practicing my cuts. The first cuts chipped the edge of the tile noticeably; worse than the score-and-snap cutter I already have. Tried going slow, tried going fast - no difference. If the cuts were going to be buried in a corner, it wouldn't matter, but they were landing on the edge, next to the bullnose pieces. I thought perhaps it was just a cheap blade, so I played around with my new angle grinder, with a new Bosch blade. I could control the cuts fairly well, but it too chipped the edges too much for where I was putting the tile. I figure it wasn't likely the blade.

I also noticed that the wet saw didn't seem to be cutting square. Not too bad; maybe a millimeter on the 12" length of a tile, but not square. Overall, for the money and extra time involved going up and down two flights of stairs, I wasn't pleased. I called HF back and explained my concerns. To their credit, they agreed to take back both the saw and the blade, and not charge me the 20% restocking fee. My only loss was time.

As for actually cutting the tile... I pulled my old glass cutter down from the peg board, rotated a fresh wheel into position and used a straight edge to align everything. Once I scored the tile, I broke it with hand-held snap cutters. The edge wound up smooth as... well, smooth as glass! Takes a bit of time and practice, but the result is near perfect. The old-tech seems to be working the best.

Thanks to all for your advice.