If you are tiling the surface with tiles and there is no necessary tool at hand, it will certainly be interesting to learn about cutting tiles without a tile cutter. It is not at all necessary to spend money on the purchase of special equipment during the repair work, many tools are completely interchangeable. Therefore, they cut tiles with practically improvised means, without the use of a special tile cutter.
Tile cutting uses not only tile cutter
Alternative tools and their features
There are some of the most popular tricks that are sure to come in handy. So, they cut ceramic tiles with the following tools:
- Angle Grinder. This is a manual grinder, which when replacing the nozzle is used in cutting metal, wood, tile and other materials. She even copes with granite. The work uses a diamond-coated disk.
- Glass cutter. This hand tool is a fixture comparable in size to a regular pencil. Despite his miniature, he copes with tiles, in particular, glazed. However, it requires clarity and confidence in action.
- Drill. This tool is used in hole making and rounding. A conventional drill or special nozzles such as crowns or ballerinas are used.
- Pliers. The sharp edges of the tool are able to cut through the top layer of the tile and create a line of break. True, it will take a lot of time and effort.
Basic Tile Trimming Tools
They also use a jigsaw, a circular saw with a special blade, and even a simple sharp nail.
For processing tiles, only diamond tool tips are suitable. Serrated saws and weak drills will not cope with the task and damage the material.
Angle Grinder
Since floor tiles are cut without using a tile cutter with a strong and powerful tool, an angle grinder is best. Such a device is available in most home masters. If you use it in cutting ceramic tiles, change the nozzle on the diamond-coated disk for dry cutting, but leave it for wet if you work on a wet basis using water.
The tile is cut by an angle grinder, but the method requires certain skills, otherwise there is a high risk of spoiling the material
Video: How to Cut Tile Without a Tile Cutter And Angle Grinder
They work on the front side. The direction of the tool should be towards you. First, mark the cut line and firmly fix the tile so that it does not move during operation and nothing impedes the passage of the cutting element. Hold the angle grinder straight to form a straight cut. If you are cutting at 45 degrees, lock the tool on its side in the desired position.
A special cap will protect you from injury, which, in the event of a disc convergence, will take a hit on itself. However, it is necessary to take additional care of personal protective equipment. A respirator or mask will shield you from dust, and construction glasses from small fragments.
Glass cutter
This is the easiest and most affordable way. It works on the same principle as a mechanical tool, but at the same time, all operations are performed independently.
It is better to use a diamond tip or roller made of an alloy of tungsten and cobalt.
Application of manual glass cutter:
- To do the work, you must first draw a line on the front side.
- Attach a ruler and attach to the edge of the glass cutter farthest from you.
- Press down and in one confident motion draw the line. There will be no more attempts. Do not press the cutter firmly.
- Tap with a wooden handle the resulting break.
- Expose the tile so that one part of it turns out to be a canopy.
- Press on the edge of the tile and break it along the drawn line.
If you managed to make a sufficiently deep incision, the edge will turn out to be even and neat, without chips on the front side.
Glass cutter. the easiest and most affordable way to separate tiles at home
Such a tool is not practical to use with large volumes of work.
How to make a rounding
Sometimes they prepare a tile for laying around pipes or plumbing. Then the question arises. how to cut tiles figuratively without a tile cutter.
Processing is carried out in several ways:
- using a drill;
- pliers
- Angle Grinder;
- jigsaw;
- glass cutter.
How to do with pliers alone? To this end, draw a fishing line. Make the task easier by scratching it with a nail. Then take the tool and in small parts begin to break off unnecessary material. Best of all, carbide clamps handle this task.
Inconvenient areas and curly cuts are made with pliers
As for the drill, ordinary drills are used here to outline the contour, and then break off the excess with the same nippers. A more effective way to make holes of any diameter is to use special nozzles: a feather, a ballerina, a crown, etc.
Waterjet cutting
If there is volume work ahead and you need to cut a solid ceramic floor tile, but there is neither an angle grinder nor a tile cutter, it is better to use the services of companies involved in the sawing of building materials. The best option is waterjet cutting.
Using this method, even the most complex curly elements are created. The bottom line is that a thin stream of water mixed with the smallest hard abrasive particles, for example, sand, is fed to the front side of the tile under high pressure. Computerized process control allows you to work even with the most complex templates.
Each method is good in its own way. The choice of a specific alternative method depends on the amount of work and skills of the master. With the help of these tools do without the purchase of a special tile cutter.