New tile saw - chipping.

[Steve in Denver]

I got a new tile saw (a DeWalt D24000) and tried it out last night. There are a lot of things I'm happy about, but the cut quality was not what I was hoping for.

I cut three different tiles and got similar results on all of them. (See pictures)

I'm using the blade that came with the saw - DeWalt XP4. I'm happy to buy a better blade if that's the problem.

1. Is the chipping shown in the pictures normal / typical? Is it reasonable for me to expect better with this saw?

2. What can I do (cutting technique) to prevent/minimize chipping?

3. What tests / measurements can I do to understand what is causing the chipping?


What I have done so far:

1. With the saw running I carefully moved a pencil into the side of the blade until it just touched. I moved the pencil radially from near the center toward the outer edge. The resulting marks are in fairly consistent positions, and it appears there are 3 "high spots" at approximately equal (120 degree) spacing. I'm not sure if there are actually 3 high spots or if using the pencil to press on the blade causes a vibration, or something else.



2. I put the blade on a surface plate (I think it is flat within a tenth of a thou across small areas) and was able to find a high spot on the rim of the blade - was able to get a 0.007" feeler gauge under that section of the blade. I also measured with a dial indicator and found it to be about 0.004" higher than other parts of the blade.

3. I measured the arbor by placing the motor side on the surface plate and then used a dial indicator to measure the runout and it appears to be about 0.0015" The arbor is approximately 3" diameter, so this would be amplified to about 0.005" at the perimeter of the blade.

I'd like to have no chipping, but I'm also not interested in chasing perfection at infinite cost. If the saw is bad / out of spec / should be better I want to get that dealt with, but if what I'm seeing is normal / within range, I can accept it and get on with things.

Any guidance is appreciated.

Thank you as always.

-Steve

[SpaceCadet]

I bought a 7" dewalt tile blade once. Can't remember if it was XP or XP4. The thing was garbage. So out of balance that the table shook while the wet saw was running. Cut tile like a jackhammer. Only reason I didn't return it was because I took too long and then lost the receipt or something. I might trim bricks with it some day but I'd be scared it'd break the saw. Don't know why I'm still holding on to it. Don't know if that's typical but I won't be getting another dewalt tile blade again.

I got better results with a cheap wet saw from harbor freight and the blade that came with it. The blade was a diamondback DB. Leaves a very smooth edge but eventually starts to cut crooked. You could probably pick that up for ~$20 to see if that's the problem. Just don't rely on it for very long.

[ss3964spd]

Those cuts do look pretty rough. My first thought is the blade.

Assuming you spent some quality time getting the table squared up to the blade, you'd need to check with DW to find the arbor run out specs.

[Steve in Denver]

Thanks for the input. I have not squared the table with the blade yet - I’ll give that a look tonight.

Steve

[Kman]

Before sending it back, I'd try a different blade. If you do end up returning it, you can keep the blade.

I'd recommend the T3 Razor. Overall, it's probably the best one out there. You might get some other opinions for blades.

But if it continues to "cut" like the previous blade, it's the saw.

[Steve in Denver]

Originally Posted by Kman

I'd recommend the T3 Razor. Overall, it's probably the best one out there. You might get some other opinions for blades.

Thanks for the recommendation - I just ordered one, hopefully it addresses my chipping problem.

I also noticed with this DeWalt blade that it appears to be dished. What I mean by dished is that if I set it on a flat surface (again, I'm using a surface plate, so almost perfectly flat) I get about 0.015" of deflection at the center (when I push down / axially) and if I flip the blade over and do the same thing I get much less (0.003"?) deflection. I considered that maybe this is intentional, but maybe it's a defect.

In any case I will contact DeWalt and also see how the new T3 Razor works.


Thanks again.

Steve

[earnsdorff]

I bought and used a Pearl P5 blade for my wet saw and it cut half inch marble tile perfectly. I'm very happy with it.

I even used it to create tiles with a bevel edge for end pieces and other trim type pieces. The blade leaves a very smooth edge on the tile. The cut edge didn't even need a great deal of polishing.

[earnsdorff]

FYI - It's a 10" Pearl P5 Turbo Mesh.

[Steve in Denver]

I ordered and received the T3 Razor blade. Significant improvement, but it still chips.

Left side of image is a cut made with the original blade, right side is a cut made with the T3. Is this reasonable/acceptable?



The T3 blade seems to have some goobers in the paint and I wonder if it's getting a perfectly flat interface with the arbor. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but do you guys ever do anything to the blade before putting it on the saw?

How hard should this be, I wonder...


Also I did submit something to DeWalt and they suggested either trying to get a new blade from the retailer or returning the saw completely for a new one.

Seems excessive to me, but maybe that's what I will do? Is there anything else I should be thinking about?

Thanks

Steve

[Kman]

Get a couple of different tiles from your local big box store and see how they do. If you get their clearance tile you'll probably have the same results. If you spend 3-4 dollars a tile you'll get a better idea of whether it's the blade and/or the saw, or just the tile.

[Kiasmama]

would one of those sanding stones (Not sure that is the right term) smooth that out? Meaning using it on the tile afterwards.

[lochrie22]

New blade needs to be dressed

meaning it needs to be broken in buy cutting a brick or using a dressing stone. I bet that blade will cut smoothly after that

[Steve in Denver]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I just spent an hour with the saw trying to figure out what is going on. Somewhat surprisingly the T3 blade has a lot of runout. It looks to me to be about 0.017” a 0.020”.

In spite of that it is much quieter and cuts smoother than the DeWalt blade (which had 0.005”-0.007” runout)

I’m hesitant to do anything else to the razor T3 since I think it’s defective and will probably have to be returned.

Frustration aside I’m still cautiously optimistic about this saw.

[Kman]

Steve, if you've got two bad blades in a row, I'd say it's more likely to be the saw that's the problem. Not an absolute, of course, but what are the odds?

I'd still try on some different tile before going further. Some tile just chip more than others.

One other thing I'd try is pushing the tile through slower than what you have been. Forcing it through will cause more vibration, and more chipping and cracking.

[Steve in Denver]

I would tend to agree but the two blades are significantly different in terms of runout, so if it were a motor / arbor issue I’d think they would be close to each other. For what it’s worth the “on the saw” measurements agree with the surface plate measurements. I’ll take both blades into work tomorrow and measure again.


I did run the tile through much more slowly and it did result in a cleaner cut. It felt pretty slow to me though. 20-30 seconds for a 12 inch cut? Is that about right?