New tile saw vibration.

[MGMaxwell]

I am building a house in North Carolina, which is 452 miles from my home in Jacksonville,Fl. I am installing porcelain tile in the kitchen now, and will be using ceramic tile in my bathrooms. Since I am doing this three days at a time over two years my wife gave me permission to buy a tile saw rather than rent. I bought an MK 660. The sliding platform is smaller than my 12 inch tile, and as the blade starts to cut the tile it has a fine vibration that results in some chipping and/or cracking. I called customer service, and they suggested upgrading the standard 200 blade with a 315 or 415. I will do that if you all agree that it will help. I wondered if enlarging the surface the tile rests on so that it is not hanging over the edge would help if upgrading the blade does not?

[Lunicy]

If it vibrating, it means something is off balance. Most likely the blade. The blade is the biggest piece of rotating mass on the saw. Make sure the blade is mounted properly, and tight.

[Bud Cline]

Is the blade height adjustable on that monster?

If so...try raising the blade a little so that the angle of attack isn't so aggressive. Set the blade so that it is about 1/16" into the table groove and see what happens.

Just an idea.

[ninemile]

What kind of tile are you cutting? How fast are you feeding the piece into the saw? Perhaps slowing down a bit on your feed may help. If that doesn't help try a better blade. It worked for my cutting very hard 1/2" quarry tile for smoother and faster cuts. Colleen

[John Bridge]

All of the suggestions are worthwhile, but I'll go with David. Most saw vibrations are caused by blades that are not balanced. I buy cheap blades. I know.

Welcome, MG.

[Jerry The Tile Guy]

I would change the blade also.
I bought a Pearl saw last week. VX 10.2
Has an articulating (spl) bed that extends in stages. will cut 24".
Will use it for the first time next week. I will keep you posted.

[MGMaxwell]

Thank you all for the suggestions. What I've found so far is that the big boxes don't have a large selection of blades.Today I'll try real tile stores. When the saw is running I can put my finger next to the blade and feel fine wobble. I don't have enough experience to know how much is normal. My feed rate was pretty slow already, but I will try raising the blade.

[tileguytodd]

Shoulda Bought a Felker Tile Saw,well there is always next time