Posted: 8/25/2009 8:48:26 PM EDT
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I think I'm gonna go ahead and buy (next couple of days). Throw out your opinions/credentials [lay tile for a living?] of different saws.
I'm in the construction biz and again I have a client that wants some tile work, I do not want to sub this one. I have experience with MK and Rigid and I'm leaning towards the new Rigid 10". DeWalt has good reviews in Fine Home Building this month. Price range is $6ish give or take (Rigid is $7) Thanks. P.S. Do I care about 7" vs 10" if the rip capacity is the same (18" diagonal & 24" straight)? If so, why? Thanks again. |
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How often do you plan on using this saw?
I bought one from Harbor Freight (10") with table for ~$250. I had one project to use it for, and I've now used it to lay probably 4000 sqft of tile over the past few years. I've also used it to cut brick. Honestly, I never thought it would take the abuse I've thrown at it. If you're looking to do one project, I'd go for it. If this is something you're planning on using in your business long term, definitely go with the name brand. |
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I did two showers and about 2000 sq ft of flooring with a bridge type Harbor Freight saw. A friend did his entire house and patio with one too.
I didn't even have to change blades. This is the type of saw that the blade is over head like a radial arm saw. I bought the extended warranty, thinking that the motor would burn up. I was wrong. Several rooms and most of the showers and walls are on angle so there are plenty of cuts. I also used a profile blade on the saw to profile edges of natural stone. I did three counter tops too. Granite, Travertine, and porcelain. The same saw is rebranded and sold by Home Depot and others. This one If you look around a bit, you can find a 20% off coupon. 
I will post my credentials later............ |
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I bought an IMER about 7 years ago.  Wasn't doing much tile so I sold it. Got a couple of bathrooms recently and borrowed a buddy's MK. Damn I miss my IMER.  Imer is Absolutely Top Notch. As a guy that sells tools I can tell you MK is/was a lousy company for me to do business with. The Husqvarna are the same as the former Target tile saws. Not fancy but built almost bullet proof. The Felker is virtually the same exact machine as the Husqvarna / Target The DeWalt is nice but not as heavy duty as the Imer Target Husqvarna. Rigid has some good tools but where can you get one fixed or where can you get parts? The best Chinese machine We've seen is the Saw Master. It has a water cooled bearing cartridge that if it fails can be removed and replaced and have you cutting in tile again in under 10 minutes. |
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Hey guys, thanks for your responses. I decided to hold off on the purchase and not make a hasty decision.
I'd like to get a saw that makes the smallest mess possible also. The last job I did was finishing a basement w/bath. I used a small MK (it couldn't even handle a full 12" tile) inside in the partially finished basement (no carpet). I had to repaint a wall. I'd like to mitigate this in the future. Tarps and puddles kinda suck inside. If I had to cut outside I would have almost had to bring in another guy to help just to make sense. It is still a pain in the ass to mix mud, cut tiles, squat to the floor/wainscoting for a few days, if I had to run upstairs every cut... 
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Hey guys, thanks for your responses. I decided to hold off on the purchase and not make a hasty decision. I'd like to get a saw that makes the smallest mess possible also. The last job I did was finishing a basement w/bath. I used a small MK (it couldn't even handle a full 12" tile) inside in the partially finished basement (no carpet). I had to repaint a wall. I'd like to mitigate this in the future. Tarps and puddles kinda suck inside. If I had to cut outside I would have almost had to bring in another guy to help just to make sense. It is still a pain in the ass to mix mud, cut tiles, squat to the floor/wainscoting for a few days, if I had to run upstairs every cut... Horrible video, but you might find it interesting. How to cut tile indoors |
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i took a class on tile this past weekend at home depot. the guy there highly recommended their $80 or $90 rigid brand wet saw you said your price range is 6-7 did you mean 60-70? they were talking about a grinder, not a wet saw. The rigid saws are 500 for the 7" and 700 for the 10" To the OP, what kind of tile are you primarily going to be installing? If anything other than natural stone, we use our snap cutter a lot more than out ruby 10" that will cut a 24" tile on a 45 which I really like BTW. |
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I like it! Thanks ragedracer. I watched few more of his videos too. His artificial enthusiasm is addictive  .
Edit: I'm going to have to start impersonating him at work until the laughter subsides. Then I'll stop immediately. 
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To the OP, what kind of tile are you primarily going to be installing? If anything other than natural stone, we use our snap cutter a lot more than out ruby 10" that will cut a 24" tile on a 45 which I really like BTW. I can't answer for sure how much natural stone I'll end up cutting, but for now I seem to get mainly ceramic. Big +1 on the tile snappers. No one likes to hulk around a big ol' wet saw. |
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I threw out my clinker (snapper). I will never use one again. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile I thought all clinkers didn't work very well until I used a $400 unit my tile guy had. With the right wheel you can cut porcelain and ceramic with very little breakage |
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I threw out my clinker (snapper). I will never use one again. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile I'm smellin' whatchr' stepin' in, but disagree. If you're doing say 30-40' in an upstairs bath and only have one or two outside corners (vanity, etc) and a hole to cut for the throne, it comes in handy. Better than running downstairs, standing in you're wet saw puddle, wiping off the "half cut" tile, running upstairs tracking crap on the carpet (or dropping out the runway), plus you save the setup & take down time of the wet saw. If we are talking about a larger more complicated endeavor, you can pretty much leave the "clinker" at the curb. |
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I did porcelain tile in my small bathroom (around 100 sq feet) and didn't buy a saw. I just laid out all my tiles beforehand and then took the ones to be cut to Lowe's. It was supposed to be $.25/cut. The first visit I brought in probably 2 boxes of tiles. I was off by a couple so I had to make another visit, but in the end it only cost me around $25 for all the cuts.
Obviously, in the OP's case or someone who intends to do a lot of tiling this wouldn't work but for the average homeowner it's entirely doable without a saw (and even better if you have a grinder). |
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I threw out my clinker (snapper). I will never use one again. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile I thought all clinkers didn't work very well until I used a $400 unit my tile guy had. With the right wheel you can cut porcelain and ceramic with very little breakage I have used $500+ European models. ONce I got a saw, no more clinkers... |