No More Wet Saws.

Paulie

Just finished my 3rd tile job without hauling the wet saw. Just a snap and crack and a angle grinder. It's so much faster not to have to go in and out of the house for cuts I can't see hauling and setting up the wet saw ever again.

www.phbconstruction.com

angus242

I assume you grind outside? If so, what will you do in Feb. when it's 5° out? These aging bones can't take the cold!

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Paulie

Nope, I have the bathroom or whatever contained and a air mover to suck the dust out. Using a wet saw in the winter is one of the main reasons I found a alternative.

www.phbconstruction.com

Mike Finley

Are you using a breaker board? Snap board?

One of our tile setters who moves like lightening always tries to use his breaker board and grinder. Not all jobs will be where you can just get by with those but on the ones that do he flys.

Paulie

It's expensive but soooo easy to make cuts in seconds.

www.phbconstruction.com

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owtm

take a small pail 3 1/2 gallon work best, cut a small hole to match your shop vac hose about 4 inchs from the top and cut some egg crate like the kind on florescent lights to fit the diameter of the bucket so it sits a bit below the top of the pail. makes a pretty efficent down draft table for cutting with the grinder.

charimon

I love my sigma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p7_TNEJMAo

http://www.tools4tile.com/servlet/th...an-tile/Detail
. I don't pull out my wet saw since i set it up in my trailer. In bathroom work you can probably get away with it unless you start laying stone.

Paulie
Which cutter are you using?

Craig

Frank P

Dont forget the biters......

JAD

What is it? Where'd you get it? How much? My tile guy is going to need one because I'm tired of his wet saw messes. TIA

Paulie

I get the pail and vacuum part for filtering the air but you lost me on the egg crate. I'm used to seeing egg crate foam. Why use egg crate? Why have your work below the top of the pail?

Good idea though.

www.phbconstruction.com

TileLady

I'd really be interested to see how your cuts come out with a grinder. Can you post a picture?

How clean can you really get cuts with a grinder?

I use a clinker and a very small wet saw (weighs about 20 pounds) for small tile jobs. I can usually set it up in a basement or balcony (or even bathroom).

I just can't imagine getting nice clean straight cuts with a grinder.

Paulie

There's a learning curve with a hand held grinder. After a few times you'd be surprised how straight and clean a cut can be made. I don't have any pictures all the tile is down and grouted. There are very few cuts that ever show with shoe molding and electrical covers and such. Next job I will take a shot of a cut, I'll bet you can't tell the difference between a wet saw and a grinder cut.

www.phbconstruction.com

skyhook

4" dry blade on a AG.

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Paulie

You really got me thinking on your system there. Whats to stop a guy to make a workstation on wheels with a fan motor and filter built in? Although I contain the area I don't like the dust I have to clean up afterwords. With a portable self contained work station as described one could eliminate the dust and have a workstation to cut the odd corners.

www.phbconstruction.com

Mike Finley

The grinder should be for cutting out things that will get covered, like a heating grate or the shower valve eschution. Other than that you should be making cuts with the tile breaker and those cuts should be the ones on the edges of the floor that will be covered by base (NO SHOE ARG!).

Nobody is cutting porcelain or ceramic with a grinder that looks as good as cut with a wet saw. That picture posted is limestone which don't count.

There's a fine line using a grinder and breaker board, knowing the limitations and boundaries are what separates the pros from the wanna bees.

Great for floor where your cuts get hidden under base, not so good for a shower or tub surround if there are intricate patterns and such.

The smartest guys use a combination of all three -grinder, breaker and wet saw, knowing when to use each one for the greatest gains.

owtm

paulie the egg crate is a electrical trade term its a open grid of plastic about 3/4 inch squares. i like to use it to catch the larger scraps that want to fall in the pail.
its surprising how well it works to pull the dust down and into the vacumn.

do a google search for whale tail when i get the time im gonna adapt the idea on a square table for the grinder same principle though

Paulie

I agree with you Mike, I do tile jobs infrequently and haven't got into a intricate pattern as of yet. The speed of the grinder/sigma is such a gain on my simple jobs that my wet saw may get real dusty before it's used again.

www.phbconstruction.com

Even if it's ceramic the cuts in question are 99% of the time covered like you said.

WarnerConstInc.

I have used my Rubi cutter many times with porcelain. Always looks good.

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charimon

Here is a quick vid of a strait cut in some Dal porcelain (Fairly brittle) the quality of cut is about the same as with a small wetsaw you can use a wood strait edge or just draw a line. I happen to be using a segmented blade right now (it was on sale ) a turbo, if it is not a new (as opposed to one that has been broken in) Bosch air flow, will cut just a tiny bit smother! Many of my sets involve exposed curve and radius work so I have become ONE with the grinder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxtpBgX1XA4

PLEASE EMBED THIS FOR ME AS I AM TOO DUMB TO DO IT MY SELF

Thanks Craig

WarnerConstInc.

Here Craig:

+ YouTube Video

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