How to saw tiles with an angle grinder without chipping

angle grinder for cutting tiles: can it be used instead of a tile cutter?

Repair work in your own apartment or house often begins with rooms such as a kitchen or bathroom, where you need tiling, porcelain tiles or decorative artificial stone. However, manufacturers can not match the size of the tiles so that they perfectly fit on the wall, often requires trimming material, which is easiest to produce with a special tool called a tile cutter, which is not everyone, and the cost he considerable.

In most cases, home masters and craftsmen have accustomed to cut tiles with an angle grinder, which can be done without excessive dust, jagged edges and chips, not so easy. In order to properly cut the tile with the angle grinder, without leaving on its surface absolutely no traces, it is worth to learn all the subtleties and nuances of this work.

Peculiarities of work with the angle grinder

In the process of finishing, many people wonder if it is possible to cut tiles with a grinder, as they will face the problem of size and shape correction of tiles, anyway. There is an option to purchase a quality professional tool, and then the problem of how to cut the tile with an angle grinder, in general, will not be on the agenda, but such costs are not always justified, because if you are not going to work them, then he will gather dust on the shelf for years, slowly becoming obsolete and subject to corrosion.

In order to qualitatively and safely perform all the work, the disk for the angle grinder on tiles, attached to the tool, you must always close a special protective cover. It is somewhat difficult to work, and the maneuverability of the device will be worse, but splinters and dust will not fly in your face, and it is already a valid argument.

You can use improvised means on the model of a glass cutter, but if for the wall glazed tile, which has a small thickness, this option is suitable, then the rough floor tiles, and the more so, ceramic granite, can hardly be cut with it. The most affordable and easy way to cope with the problem is to cut tiles with an angle grinder, if it is available in the household.

This unique device in general is a real find for any handyman, because in addition to its immediate function of grinding, it can cut metal, stone, tile and more. In order to qualitatively, without chips and dust to cut ceramic tiles with an angle grinder, it is necessary to buy a special nozzle, as well as to organize a good fixation of each tile, so it does not wobble and does not pop out.

Special accessories: cutting tiles with an angle grinder

Before you get to work and find out how to cut tiles with an angle grinder without chipping, you must understand all the nuances and subtleties, to prepare everything you need. First of all, it is worth to understand a few simple recommendations, without which you can not organize your work properly.

• Cutting tiles with an angle grinder with a diamond grinding wheel, as any other materials can not provide such an effective and clean cut, as this attachment. It is better to change the disc for the angle grinder on ceramic tile quite often, not allowing the cutting of remnants or a damaged disc.
• When choosing a fine diamond dusting for dry trimming, you should be aware that the tool will dust a lot, but the cut will be clean and even.
• If it is assumed that the angle grinder for cutting tiles will be used for a long time, it is better to organize the wetting of the disk, in order to avoid strong overheating of the tool, which can lead to its damage. The water supply can be automated by taking out a small pipe. It is very easy to just spray the disk with a spray gun or you can even periodically dip it in a bowl of water.

Especially angular grinder for tiles is not designed, so when working with such a device, you should observe all the necessary precautions. It is a good idea to regularly check the quality of fixing the nozzles and discs, to get working gloves and glasses, a mask and a suit with buttoned cuffs are also useful.

What is the best angle grinder to get?

The main thing in this tool is the number of revolutions. Many people mistakenly believe that power is more important. But it is the revolutions that determine the purity of the cut. If the rotating shaft is of high quality and installed centrally without offsetting, there will be no vibration. And small jerks can’t help but affect the trimmer’s tile-guided fishing line, which is important for the cutting tool.

If the shaft is offset from the center, the following consequences are possible:

A smaller diameter of the circle leaves a clearer cut, as the edge is thinner, the speed is higher.

Tools

Cutting tile can be done in different ways. For this purpose, special tools are used. For example:

Each variant has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

For example, the tile trimmer is a very popular device used for this purpose. It can be made in three variations:

The first option is more suitable for mass work conditions. This means that volumes must be large. Even the toughest materials, of which tiles can be made, are under the power of such a device.

In the process of cutting the material is fed with water, which allows you to get a more even edge, do not heat the material and do not breed dust. The only disadvantage of such a device. high price. In addition, one-time work. not for him. It is better to rent an electric tile cutter.

As a result, the manual model is quite popular. But in this case you will have to do everything with your hands. An alternative option is a tile cutter-pincers. The tool is designed for thin metals. At the same time there is another disadvantage. it requires subsequent processing of the ends. grinding. And that’s not always a good thing.

Glass cutter, drill, as well as cutters, you can also cut tiles. In the first case, there are limitations on the thickness of the workpieces. Tiles may not cut through as a result. Drill together with wire cutters can get a good cut.

Cutting a round hole with an angle grinder

Using this tool in the tile is possible to make a hole with an exceptionally large diameter. The process itself is as follows:

• First of all it is necessary to draw the necessary hole on the glossy surface of a tile and on the back side in the same place using a spirit marker.
• After inside the resulting outline on the front surface should be a straight line crosswise to determine the middle of the circle made, putting at its identification mark.
• Then you need a carbide drill bit exactly on the marked point to drill a through hole with a diameter of 3-4 mm.
• In the next step, you can proceed to making incisions with the circle of an angle grinder to a depth of 1-2 mm on the contour of the hole depicted by the marker on both sides of the tile.

Note! The tool should be carefully rotated so that it gradually fits into the planned circle.

• Now it is necessary to make through cuts inside the contour, and then using wire cutters begin to remove small pieces of ceramic from it. An alternative method is instead to make the deepest possible cut along the previously traced lines crosswise, and then gently pull out the four halves of the circle that have been made.
• Lastly the inside of the cut must be finished off all along the hole with coarse abrasive paper or a file to remove any chipping or roughness that may have occurred during cutting.

Cutting a rectangular hole

By means of a marker and ruler on the outside of the tile should be marked the boundaries of the cut, then exactly at its corners, without crossing the limits of the contour, it is necessary to make holes with a carbide drill with a diameter of 5-7 mm. Then it is necessary to make through cuts between the drilled holes along the rectangular contour with the angle grinder, removing the cut out pieces of tile. After you are finished, you must trim the corners and cut areas with a file or coarse-grained emery paper.

In this case, the angle grinder should not be held in a straight position, but at an angle. To make such a cut is a little more difficult than the usual, but it is much easier to cut a hole round or other shapes. The work is carried out as follows:

• Initially it is necessary to make a cut of a tile in the same way as it is done in a straight cut. Thus the tool circle should be located under necessary angle and at slow and careful influence it is required to carry out removal of all superfluous things to receive a perfect angular cut.
• When finished, to give a perfect look, you can use ordinary sandpaper, which should be fixed on a block of wood for convenience.

Pay attention to! To properly cut the tile with an angle grinder without chipping it is recommended to carry out its cutting only from the front side. In this case, the outer coating of the glaze will be significantly less damaged, and all the defects formed during the work will remain on the back edge, which will be fully concealed during further gluing.

How to cut tiles with an angle grinder without dust and splinters

Ceramics. it is quite a fragile material. To cut it perfectly, you will need skill and adherence to some rules. When working with an angle grinder you are unlikely to completely get rid of the appearance of dust and occasional chips, but we give some tips to help reduce their number.

Recommendations for working with an angle grinder without chipping:

• The greatest likelihood of splintering occurs when the cutting disc comes out of the workpiece.
• It is recommended to reduce the intensity of rotation at the beginning and end of the cut.
• It is not necessary to cut a ceramic tile completely, it is enough to leave a deep groove in it. It is convenient to break the workpiece by hand along the cutting line.

If you want to avoid splintering as much as possible, start cutting on the right of the marked line. If chips occur, they can then be removed with a grinding wheel.

Wet cut

The wet method implies that the cutting edge will be in contact with liquid while working on the material: the working edge is immersed in water, or it is supplied by a jet.

This method is more difficult to implement, but it has advantages:

Cutting finer points

So, how to cut floor tiles with an angle grinder? Everything is simple enough, just need to remember a number of rules:

• Always guide the tool away from you when cutting. In this case, the sparks will not fall in your direction, and the disc protector will protect you from the cutting part;
• At the beginning of the work it is necessary to allow the disk to untwist completely, and only then. start directly to cut;
• When cutting, do not apply pressure on the tool, the disc should cut without your assistance, your role is only to guide and hold the tool.

Well, it’s time to move on to the cutting process.

Straight cut

• On the front side of the tile, we put a marker on the trimmer line along which the cut will be made;
• Place the tile on a stable surface, if possible, to free one hand, secure the tile;
• We turn on the tool and give the disk time to spin completely;
• Along the line we make an incision up to 5 mm deep (this depth depends on the thickness of the original material). From the edge of the tile you begin to move slowly, and then you can move faster;
• Now, according to the line. let’s break the tile, putting it on the edge of the table and pressing on both sides.

Cutting large holes

• Mark the center of the hole you want with a marker;
• Use the drill to make a through hole at that point;
• On both sides of the tile (both on the front and on the back), draw the outline of the future hole with a spirit marker;
• Turn on the angle grinder, make notches no deeper than 1-2 mm throughout the contour, and. on both sides of the tile;
• Now. make through holes angular grinder inside the contour, and, with wire cutters, remove small fragments of the tile itself;
• Inside, the resulting cut is processed by sandpaper or the same file.

Rectangular holes

• With a marker on the face of a tile you mark out the necessary aperture;
• Drill through holes with a carbide tip in the corners, without going beyond the boundaries of the contour themselves;
• Now, you connect these points with through cuts, which are made by the angle grinder;
• Remove the unnecessary fragment;
• Finish the cut and the corners with emery cloth.

That’s it! Now you accurately learned how to cut the floor tiles with the angle grinder, with what we congratulate you!

Cutting discs for tiles

To cut ceramic or granite tiles we use discs for stone or steel discs with a diamond-coated edge (Suhoresis). As practice has shown, the best performance when cutting the edge of porcelain stoneware or simply ceramics was with diamond wheels. Further, about each of discs in more detail.

Simple stone discs

such discs are the cheapest ones for stone, their life time is short and they are often replaced. Besides they are thicker than their diamond competitors, respectively, and the line for trimmer cutting with these circles is thicker, and the dusting at work is also more. In these wheels there is a high risk of chipping on the cutting edge, and the disc seems to be intact, but it is necessary to replace it, because further destruction of the cutting edge can cause injury to the worker.

Diamond-tipped discs

Suhores are able to carry high loads without overheating and shattering. The only condition. direct contact with the cutting surface should not exceed 90 seconds, then the disc should cool down in idle mode, and then you can get back to work. When buying a cutting tool, craftsmen often give preference to the solid diamond coating.

If during cutting you notice a glowing stripe all over the edge of the wheel, then immediately stop the process, otherwise the tile will be overheated and ruined. But don’t be discouraged, the blade is still working but overheated. Just make a couple of cuts on any abrasive surface (rubble stone, granite, sandstone) and the wheel will be like new again. Dry cutters are available in two types: segmented, solid.

• Segmented diamond discs. This type is presented in the form of a steel disc divided into segments. Basically, the disc has an intermittent cutting edge. Both ceramic and natural stone can be cut with this disc. In spite of the fact that such disks have better cooling capacity, they tend to leave chipping while cutting, so they are most likely not suitable for filigree work.
• One-piece diamond circles. These discs can perform a wider range of applications: in addition to cutting tiles and stone, they can also be used to shape and angle the side edges. Thanks to their minimal detonation, these wheels can cut glazed tiles with practically no splintering.

Cutting tiles without chips

To keep chipping to a minimum, try to adhere to the following rules when working with the tool:

• Linear cut. Mark the face of the tile with a construction marker. Make sure that the disc is positioned correctly in the direction of rotation indicated on the grinder and the disc. Bring the angle grinder into working condition and let it gather working speed. Use rubber clamps to fix the tile on a flat surface so as to prevent its sudden position change while cutting. Along the line of marking without effort to make a uniform cut to a depth of 2-4 mm, based on the thickness of the glaze and the body of the tile. Pass through the glaze very slowly and as responsibly as possible, after this stage it is possible to apply slight pressure and bring the process to completion. And also there is a variant not to cut the body of the tile up to the end, and the cut edge can be broken off and the edge refinished with an abrasive.
• Cutting of round hole with large diameter. Apply a marker to the point that will be the center of the circle. Then with a drill bit with pobeditovye tip drill a hole in the place of the mark with a diameter of 3-4 mm through. Now on both sides of the tile you need to mark a circle of the desired diameter. Then, using an angle grinder to make 2-3 mm short cuts on the contour of the marked circle, only after that you can cut the circle from the inside through cuts, and remove the remains with pliers. For complete removal of chips the edges of the hole must be processed with a file and sandpaper.
• Rectangular hole. Make a line marking of the hole with a marker and a template, then drill through holes of 7 mm in diameter in the corners, without protruding beyond the marked contour. After that, use an angle grinder to connect the holes with even cuts. Now you can remove the cut ceramic fragment and trim the edges until the chips disappear.

If desired, in the body of the tiles can be cut a hole of any diameter and shape, especially in today’s building world there are all sorts of nozzles and accessories for angle grinders. The only thing you should never forget is to observe the necessary safety precautions when working with an angle grinder!

Cutting curbstones

Paving tiles differ from other materials in their structure. Concrete is taken as the basis, and granite crushed stone is used as the filler. To cut such workpieces with an angle grinder is recommended to purchase a combined or segmented diamond circles.

The work site should be organized only in the open air, as in the process of cutting there will be a lot of dust. In case it settles on an already laid tile, you must immediately remove the dirt, because the dust penetrates into the material and changes its color.

It is recommended to perform the work in protective clothing, a respirator and goggles. For small thicknesses, the standard through-cutting technique is used, while thick tiles are first notched and then the excess is chipped off.

Safety precautions when working with an angle grinder

angle grinder belongs to the dangerous power tools, in case of improper use of which you can be injured. During the cutting process, in addition to dust, splinters also fly from under the rotating disc. Therefore, when cutting tiles with an angle grinder protective equipment is used:

• A thick body suit that must cover your body, legs and arms;
• special goggles, preferably a mask to protect the whole face;
• gloves or gloves.

Before you begin work, the angle grinder is checked for serviceability:

Cut-off wheels can be replaced only after disconnecting the tool from the power supply. After replacing the part, check that it is securely fastened and free from defects and that the special key is loosened. Only after these actions you can reconnect the angle grinder to the power supply.

Safety precautions

To ensure safety when cutting tiles, the following requirements must be met:

• Use protective cover;
• hold the angle grinder firmly, do not turn it vertically;
• Use appropriate PPE. protective clothing, goggles, respirator, gloves, etc.д.;
• Work in the open air or in a well ventilated area.

In addition, it is necessary to observe electrical safety precautions, not to use defective tools with damaged insulation of the body and the wire. Before you cut tiles with an angle grinder, you should prepare the workplace, ensure appropriate conditions. lighting, ventilation, etc.д. Compliance with these simple rules will allow you to avoid injuries and perform the work without any damage to health.

Highly specialized devices

Of course, the cutting methods we discussed above are suitable for those who are not in a position to spend a good amount of money to buy a machine for cutting porcelain stoneware. However, for professional tilers to save time on the operation of cutting porcelain tiles is fundamental, so the machine will be very helpful. Though the machine can make only straight cuts, most cuts are straight. In addition a good machine will allow to cut tiles at different angles.

In addition to the large allowable cutting thickness, the machine has several other advantages. First, it will be possible to use wet cutting of porcelain stoneware. This way reduces the probability of overheating of the cutting disk and the appearance of chips on porcelain tiles. Secondly, the hands are relieved from the burden of the weight of the power tool. The machine has a platform on which the electric motor and the cutting edge are rigidly fixed. Thirdly, the machine has devices for straight forward motion: either the tile or the motor with the cutting tool. This avoids irregularities and significantly improves the quality of the cut. All that remains is to control the feed rate along the guideways while the cut is being made. But the main advantage is the absence of dust when cutting tiles, which is especially important when renovating an apartment.

Depending on how often and how much the craftsman has to work with tiles, he can think about what type and size of tile cutting machine he will need. For example, if the work is carried out in a cramped room or not often, then the machine with the location of the motor below the working table will be more suitable. Such machines are less bulky, lightweight and much cheaper compared to the machines with a top-mounted motor (for example, the Praktika 1860 model has an average ). But such variant has a bigger limitation in depth of cut. Not every model is equipped with guides for straight tile feed and tile fastening devices, which requires certain skills from the master. Also, a 45-degree angle cut in many models is not provided.

opportunities and comfort when cutting porcelain tiles provide machines with the engine location above the working table. For a craftsman who specializes in working with tiles, this option would definitely be preferable. Although these machines will have large dimensions, they will provide safer and more comfortable working conditions, a much greater depth of cut (up to 100. 135 millimeters), some models allow the cut not only at an angle of 45 degrees, but also in intermediate values. Naturally, this type of machines will have more powerful motors and larger diameters of diamond cutting circles. Some of these machines will be stationary, which means they will have a very large size and weight.

Depending on the manufacturer, equipment, size and abilities, top-mounted machines come in a wide range of prices. Here you can read a detailed review of tile cutters.

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Gourmets of quality and sophistication

It is no secret that there is a special category of customers who can be called gourmets of quality. They are willing to pay a lot of money to get the job done to perfection. Most likely, it will be difficult to convince such a customer that it is possible to make a fairly high quality porcelain tile cutting by hand. The water cutting of porcelain stoneware or hydro-abrasive cutting can come to their rescue. This is a modern technology, which allows cutting of porcelain stoneware with highest quality. This operation is not performed at home, since it requires special equipment. The main drawback is the high cost of the work, which is unlikely to be affordable to an average customer.

Waterjet cutting can cut up to several centimeters in thickness, and the product does not need resurfacing. A great advantage of this method is the possibility of a high complexity of the cut, which is not possible with manual methods. The complexity relates not only to the cutting pattern, but also to the widths of the parts to be cut. Waterjet cutting of granite allows you to cut parts at an acute angle to the edge of the tile, cut thin elements, cut holes and other complex cuts. Due to this, it becomes possible to create drawings, mosaics, panels and other images from porcelain tiles of different colors. Since the cut is controlled by the computer, it is possible to fit the mating parts with perfect accuracy. Indeed, gourmets will get the desired result.

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