Help with diamond blades please

[cocobolo]

Mornin' gang:
I need a little expert advice here...I bought a 24" ROK tile saw with 10" blade.

Lots of minor problems with the saw, most of which I have remedied. The blade has made maybe 300 cuts (only had the saw a few days). The blade seems dull already.

Right now I am cutting porcelain tiles, 13" if it means anything.

I will have about 700 square feet of porcelain to lay, and about 750 square feet of the Mexican terra cotta tile.

Because almost all of my walls are curved - intentionally - there is going to be a lot of cutting.

Could you recommend either one blade, or two if I need different ones, which might get me through this much tile. The blade that came with the saw is apparently of poor quality.

I will also have a very small amount of marble tile to cut, but that's quite insignificant. 50 square feet I think it is.

Thank you all.

[Davestone]

Keith try cutting a piece of cement block to clean the blade,or get a regular slotted porcelain blade,porcelain tends to glaze over cheap blades,save that blade for marble.

[Lazarus]

Good advice. Although opinions vary, I've had a "Hot Dog" blade on my Felker Tilemaster for over a year now....cutting primarily porcelean tile and some granite. Found that, as long as you don't abuse it by going too fast, it is pretty hard to kill.....and the pricing is reasonable......

[cocobolo]

Gentlemen:

Thank you very much for your replies.

I did get a stone which is supposed to help clean the tile, but I will try the concrete block and see if that works better. I'll let you know.

When we were over to town a couple of days ago I went to see what blades were available. There was a slotted 10" Bosch and a continuous rim blade - forgot the name. The Bosch just looked like much better quality.

I know the hot dog you refer to, but didn't see one, I'll keep looking.

I also have a smaller tile saw which I can use for the marble and so far it has been excellent. I may just revert to using it for the smaller tiles.

Again, many thanks.

Keith

[Davestone]

I've used the Hotdog, but it's much too thin for me and wanders.My fave,porcelain blade is the American Eagler J slot,for the money.

[cocobolo]

Well, I just found a whole concrete block and made a pretty good sized cut in it.

Quite a difference right away.

Before I cut the block, the blade felt like it was "thumping" (for lack of a better word) and I was breaking some of the tiles just before I got to the end of the cut. The "thump" seems to have gone.

And before you ask, I have a tendency to cut slowly...and VERY slowly as I exit the cut.

Perhaps I am cutting TOO slowly as I go through the tile...is there such a thing as too slowly?

And as to the blade thickness...is there a specific thickness I should be looking for?

It would be nice to get the right blade, and I don't mind paying a decent price for it. Much rather have a good tool that works rather than a cheap tool that doesn't.

Thanks again for that tip!

[tileman2000]

Hi Keith,

Cyclone is a fine blade for cutting porcelain as Dave has mentioned a few times.Tried it and it cuts very clean.

Too slow? Not sure,but if you sing happy birthday you should be close or done with the cut.(technical advice of course).

[cocobolo]

Always appreciate getting such highly technical advice...thanks!

If I can't find that blade locally, I'll check online.

[cocobolo]

Well, I'll be darned if the Cyclone blade isn't made over in Vancouver. It's just across the Strait of Georgia from us here.

I've sent them an email to find out if they have a distributor in Nanaimo. If not, I'll get them to mail me one.

Thanks again for your most helpful suggestions.

[cocobolo]

Gentlemen:
I ordered - and received - the cyclone porcelain blade and have been using it for well over a week now. Excellent! What a difference from the cheapie version.

I applied the official musical test, and the original was two choruses of Happy Birthday, plus about half of Dark Side of The Moon.

The new one is less than one H.B. And smoooooooth.

I also bought their marble/granite specialty blade, as the kind accounts gal was giving me 20% off...and I didn't even ask for it!

Thanks again for your excellent blade advice.

[Davestone]

Over the years i have tried so many blades.First i bought them then people gave them to me free to try.When i finally found the jslot,and cyclone i gave up and won't even bother trying a different blade.

[WendyHMN]

Where's a good place to find these blades? I notice neither one shows up in the TYW store. I can't even get anything to come up in a google search for the J slot.

We got a decent Ryobi wet saw for half off because it had been used as a demo. Naturally, we need a new and better blade for our porcelain tile.

[Brian in San Diego]

Wendy,

"J" slot blades are made by many manufacturers. Contractors Direct does carry a couple of choices...the HotDog by MK (actually a "T" slot) and the Razor by Raimondi. They also carry the Raimondi T3 for 10" saws.

If I were to recommend one over another it would be the Raimondi T3 Razor (if you have a 10" saw). I have used both that blade and the HotDog and prefer the Raimondi.

Brian