Impossible to cut porcelain 12"x12" -- Advice please.

[Ken]

Got a big commercial job that i'm on with the company I'm working for and we're having a very very difficult finding a good method to make these cuts.



With a 4" angle grinder we've tried dry, we've tried wet. We've tried plunge cuts on a rail saw. We've got a water fed drill press on site with all size of core bits. We've marked the tile and set it, waited 3 days and tried to cut it in place. A local slab company who has a high end water jet machine cant make these as they blow apart on it as well as everything else we've tried.

Every time we get the cut close to being finished, the entire corner blows off.

Its a crossville cross-sheen 12"x12"

Did I mention we've got probably 400+ of these to make, if not a few more all because of how the room HAS to be laid out. The only thing I can personally think about trying, though no one at work seems to agree, is to reinforce the tile with some sort of thin layer of fiber glass with an epoxy resin and allowing it to cure to the back of the tile prior to trying to make the cut.

Looking for any radical ideas on how to get these cuts in one piece.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Sounds like a problem in the kiln during manufacturing. You need to contact a company rep for the tile. Big time.

[gueuzeman]

Where's william the mad scientist guy? He's described the annealing process a few times and hhat the tiles were probably cooled too fast , making them brittle. Or something.

Like Tonto says- call the rep- NOW. Yes, it's Friday 8:30pm. Call the rep- NOW.

.

[Ken]

They've been contacted

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Is your company or the GC supplying the tile?

[gueuzeman]

Try your epoxy idea, what do you have to lose. Show up Monday with one made and you're the hero.

.

[Ken]

Tonto, We supply all the materials.

gueuzeman, Ill have to bring a tile home on Monday. The only epoxy that I have is Latipoxy that i'll have to mix by hand out of containers i have.

[JC]

Maybe it was fired twice coz it was not annealed correctly the first time..

wonder if you can refire it and slow cool it in an oven or kiln yourself?

color epoxy the pieces back together after they break?

good luck with that.

[ceramictec]

mark your cuts and take the to a water jet guy and let them do it.
you'll be done faster then no time. all the time your wasting it will be
worth $10-20 a cut.

[carpenterdrew]

Kurgon, how about a rotozip with the diamond coated Xbit?
I've used mine on porclain before with great results although
they are pricey, I think around $30 each.

[tileman2000]

I agree about the water jet,but $10-20 per cut would be $4000-8000.Make sure to add that to the bill if you go that route.Fastest and easiest to get the job done though.

[JC]

he did that already Brian

[ob1kanobee]

Try another water-jet shop and DON'T tell them that someone else tried to water-jet them and it wouldn't work. They don't need to know that.

[ceramictec]

BTW, most glazed porcelain tile are fireds twice, Bicottura.
once for the body and once for the glaze.
some thicker porcelain tile are fired 2,3,&4 times possibly
especially with decorative tiles with multiple colors.
monocottura is once fired tile.

[ceramictec]

Originally Posted by JC

he did that already Brian

sorry I read and started typing.
seems like they are blowing them out too hard.

can you move the switches ? that would be the easiest.