Need Advice on Saw - Ceramic Tile Advice Forums

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 07:39 AM

Hey folks,
My husband and I have done a few ceramic tile projects here at home and for family. We are now looking at taking on the project of granite tile for the kitchen counter top. The pieces will be 12 X 12 tiles. We want to know which do-it-yourself wet tile saw you would recommend. We have looked at the MK 370 EXP. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,

Barbara

muskymike · 03-13-2005, 09:06 AM

Hi Barbara, welcome. The Felker TM 75 is a dandy saw. Not too expensive. Check out the link at the top of the page for Contruction Complete.

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the quick reply. That looks like a good saw. The price range is about what we were thinking.
Now for the next question, I may need to start a new thread for this. Anyway
if we want to take off just the sharp edge on the front of the tile, is there any way to do this with a grinder or the tile saw? I know all you pros are probably laughing at me for all the dumb questions. I know that it would be easier to just take to the tiles to a pro, but then we couldn't say the " WE DID THIS" !

Davestone · 03-13-2005, 04:28 PM

Are you trying to mitre it for a bullnose like effect? Yes you can,and it would be easier if you bought a saw that came with the tool kit for this..it's called a mitre gauge..but you can get them separately also..or make one out of wood yourself.

jdm · 03-13-2005, 04:30 PM

Most of the pros here have recommended beveling cut edges with either a hand held rubbing stone or a belt sander with a cabide-grit belt. If you use the sander, either put the tile in a vise, or rig up a jig to hold the sander upside down. And wear eye protection.

Tool Guy - Kg · 03-13-2005, 04:40 PM

Welcome Barbara,
That Felker TM-75 is a nice saw. What you may not know is that it is phenomonally quieter than that MK. The MK's motor is what is known as a universal motor (it is SCREAMIN' loud). Believe me, I have owned a bunch of MK equiptment and picked up this saw not too long ago for the smaller jobs. It is a dandy.

The sharp edge can be knocked off with a rub stone or a diamond file.

What are you doing that you need to knock off the sharp edge? Typically all the cut edges are faced into the corners and nothing is needed because of this. If you let us know what you are doing, we may be able to offer more in-depth insights.

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 04:45 PM

Oh, Thank You, Thank You !!! Then there is a way to do this and it will look pretty good??!! And the cost, will it be a lower cost than taking them to the pro to be bull-nosed? We plan to start this project in a couple of months when I get out of work for the summer. I don't mind spending the time to do this, I just want it to look nice when we are finished.
Thanks again
Barbara

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 04:48 PM

OK, thanks for the help... When we tile the kitchen counter, I didn't really want a sharp edge on the front of the counter. (You know, where it hangs over the front) I wanted to just kinda smooth off the front edge.

Davestone · 03-13-2005, 04:52 PM

Usually we use a bullnose for this,especially for ceramic.A sharp 45 mitre isn't going to...look nice...wear nice...or feel nice, i'm afraid.

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 04:54 PM

No, this is going to be granite tiles..
Barbara

Davestone · 03-13-2005, 04:57 PM

Well,the same thing kind of applies,you'll have a seriously weak edge to get chipped, i would have it polished or bullnosed.

jdm · 03-13-2005, 05:02 PM

Granite tiles normally have a microbevel on the top edges. Just enough to remove the sharp corner and ease the tile-to-tile transitions. You should only have sharp corners where you cut the tiles. Most of the time, as Dave said, these cut edges can be hidden against walls, but in a few places, mostly front corners, you may need to bevel a cut edge.

All that said, many people prefer to pay to have the countertop edges bullnosed. There's no shame in not doing 100% of the job yourself. Especially when what you're paying for requires a substantial investment in equipment.

And we won't tell if you won't.

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 05:04 PM

I don't want a 45 mitre. I just want to take off a small edge off the top of the tile to smooth it over a little.
Thanks for the help.
Barbara

Barbrich54 · 03-13-2005, 05:06 PM

Thanks Jeff. I was hoping that we could do this.
Barbara

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