I was only one out (sorry, just looked at the picture and it looks the same). However rubi are good quality IMO.

https://www.rubi.com/en/practic-manual-cutters-r23

 

https://www.rubi.com/documents/exploding/ee744b22f71e1e8092b33f5823d5a006.pdf

 

 

2 minutes ago, joe90 said:

I was only one out (sorry, just looked at the picture and it looks the same). However rubi are good quality IMO.

 

Eh? They look completely different to me! Your base looks cast, mine looks pressed, yours has red end bits whereas mine are silver...

Tiling deffered due to car troubles. I put off doing SWMBO's clutch as I might have use of a two post lift to do it. Find out tomorrow. For the meantime she can use my Golf. Today I had to replace the n/s window regulator on that as it had eaten one of the wires that drive the mechanism. Just the rear wash wipe, exhaust & front suspension to do.

 

I bloody hate old cars!  I'd have a company car all day long and pay the tax for the convenience. 

Playing setting out the "Union Jack" cut tiles. Where the laser line is in the first two photos below is where I cast my fall lines in the slab:

 

 

 

Bit worried the "pointy" ones will crack when I cut them!

 

But wondering if this is a better layout? Although it leaves me with two little piddly bits. Leaning towards my original idea. Bottling doing that first cut, not used a tile cutter in over 30 years.

 

 

I still have the option of getting the pointy ones water jet cut though no idea of what it'll cost.

 

Edited July 14, 20188 yr by Onoff

Can’t you hire a wet tile cutter, I gave mine away, only cost £40 odd from Aldi.

I have a wet diamond disc tile cutter, with a nearly new blade in it, that you can have for free if you want it, as I'm only going to bin it when we move.

39 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

I have a wet diamond disc tile cutter, with a nearly new blade in it, that you can have for free if you want it, as I'm only going to bin it when we move.

 

Very generous of you. I have this one though my chippy mate gave to me ages ago: 

 

 

I've spent the last couple of weeks looking for the "tray" to go with it. Phoned my mate last night and he thought he'd given me the stand and that it was blue. I'd already searched the shed, garage and stable a couple of times each. In the garage last night and looked UP...I'd lodged the stand /tray up in the rafters, it was there all the time!

 

Never used one before. What do I do, mark the tile with a pencil(?) on the laser line and cut to that?

 

YouTube I think for some tutorial videos!

For the pointy cuts, go in from the narrow end at least 2", then turn the tile around to complete the cut or the pointy bit will break off with the vibration of the cutter wheel. Remember when you cut a tile, if you plan on a grout line between it and its partner you'll end up with a 303mm tile not a 300mm tile and it all goes tits up. Thats why I had mine water jetted so the cut took out 3mm of material. 

1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

For the pointy cuts, go in from the narrow end at least 2", then turn the tile around to complete the cut or the pointy bit will break off with the vibration of the cutter wheel. Remember when you cut a tile, if you plan on a grout line between it and its partner you'll end up with a 303mm tile not a 300mm tile and it all goes tits up. Thats why I had mine water jetted so the cut took out 3mm of material. 

 

Ta. Never thought too much about that! Getting this right in my head then:

 

 The manual tile cutter won't give me a 3mm gap. No real gap at all as it breaks on a score line.

 

The wet table cutter.....not sure on that gap. Going to set it up on the patio in a minute and have a play with some scrounged tiles.

 

The water jet. Unfortunately it probably won't be mate's rates but hopefully not too bad. I had steel plates for my brothers astronomy pier done there and I think it was £60 cash inc materials. That was for 3 discs and 4 gussets. I supplied the DXFs.

 

 

I'm hoping I can just draw a thin line on each tile and say cut a 3mm line along that.

 

Just checked the email ref cutting along a line marked  on the tile and the guy wrote:

 

"That is not possible, but we have a way of doing this sort of job. Best
if you bring the tiles to me and we will have a look and give you an
estimate".

Edited July 15, 20188 yr by Onoff

Another question I've been meaning to ask!

 

I have umpteen boxes of floor tiles. Do I select from random boxes as I lay them or lay a box at a time. Thinking shade variations. Cheers.

could you make one cut yourself and then get the waterjet to take a sliver off one or other side?

6 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

could you make one cut yourself and then get the waterjet to take a sliver off one or other side?

 

Really I haven't got a clue! Just setting this up to play...if I can figure where the pump sits!

 

On mine the pump sat in the water under the table, should be a pocket for it.

46 minutes ago, joe90 said:

On mine the pump sat in the water under the table, should be a pocket for it.

 

Figured where the pump goes, seems to work!

 

Appears enough meat left on the diamond edge:

 

 

So I cut an old 6" ceramic tile up. The cut to my mind isn't perfectly straight. A bit of breakout at the end too. This though doesn't show up on the glaze. A tile file I imagine would take this off.

 

 

 

Is it good enough? This is holding the tile square against the fence. Can't do that for these angle cuts! 

Edited July 15, 20188 yr by Onoff

1 hour ago, Onoff said:

Just checked the email ref cutting along a line marked  on the tile and the guy wrote:

 

"That is not possible, but we have a way of doing this sort of job. Best
if you bring the tiles to me and we will have a look and give you an
estimate".

That's called keep ya beak out  !

Ask if you can bond them to a PB and lay it out with blobs of silicone. They can lay it on the bed and let them plot it. You'll snap the ends offeirh a scribe and snap most prob as you've got ceramic yea? Porcelain you could scribe and then snap over a dowel, ceramic doesn't do so well. 

Maybe see if you can buy a 3mm wheel for your cutter ? 

4 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Figured where the pump goes, seems to work!

 

Appears enough meat left on the diamond edge:

 

 

So I cut an old 6" ceramic tile up. The cut to my mind isn't perfectly straight. A bit of breakout at the end too. This though doesn't show up on the glaze. A tile file I imagine would take this off.

 

 

 

Is it good enough? This is holding the tile square against the fence. Can't do that for these angle cuts! 

Put the cut edges against a full tile to see what it looks like sat next to a dead straight other tile. 

Tbh the cuts will stay in pairs so no need to be laser straight. 

FYI my mate was £120 for all the cuts in that black and white tiled room that everyone loves so much. 

Beer money. 

The wet cutter blade appears to be bang on 3mm which I guess is a bonus:

 

Edited July 15, 20188 yr by Onoff

If the pump will reach, put it into a bucket of clean water and let the tray drain into another bucket. 

 

That way you are only pumping clean water onto the blade and not cruddy water that leaves crap on the tiles. 

Some further getting feel for this:

 

I marked a wedge shape on a clean 6" tile with a Sharpie. I lined one end up with the blade by eye and figured the offset from the blade was 5mm with the aid of the brown, 5mm pack:

 

 

 

Then I held the tile down by hand and went for it. I note one side cuts cleaner than the other so thinking a new blade might be worthwhile?

 

 

 

Should I leave a 3mm grout line where the tiles meet the Aqua Panel? Obviously the wall tiles will come down over this.

 

 

Typically I've left it too late to get a new 180x25.4mm blade today! A Norton one from Toolstation for just under a tenner will be purchased tomorrow.

 

Also ordered one from ATS for just over £20 as they get a good review.

Cutting with the old blade. As I say, plenty of meat on it but it's not exactly like a knife through butter!

 

 

The reason one side cuts better than the other is the back of the blade cuts on the upstroke. You'll typically be pulling or pushing so will reflect which side has the upcutting edge against it. Whichever that is gets shelled, not by the initial down cut but by the resulting upcut off the arse end of the blade. Gets on my wick TBH but you soon learn to engineer how you lean on the machine during use to change the rough edge from the 'keeper' to the offcut.