How To Cut A Tile With A Tile Cutter By Hand Secrets

3 ways to cut tiles at home Ways and tools for cutting and adjusting tiles with your own hands to the required size. How to use a manual tile cutter and an angle grinder to cut tiles.

How to cut porcelain stoneware

It is believed that porcelain stoneware is the hardest material from which floor tiles are made. You can trim it in the same way as a regular tile.

Sometimes simple floor tiles are more difficult to cut than porcelain stoneware. There is a hardened tile, on which, after cutting with a tile cutter, an incision in the glaze is almost invisible. And even a diamond disc does not take it on an angle grinder. The notch turns out to be torn, like after a tractor. In such cases, use an angle grinder and file a 2–3 mm groove from the back to mark the fracture location.

Electric tile cutter

If you have a large volume of work, then the fastest and highest quality cut comes from an electric tile cutter. They use a diamond wheel and supply water to the cutting area to cool and remove dust. The cheapest types of the amateur class can be found on sale for 3-4 thousand rubles.

Tile cutter tongs

Tile-cutting tongs are the cheapest (200-400 rubles), and they are suitable only for small volumes of work with thin ceramic tiles at home.

After notching, press down on the tile with a cracking pliers

  • Mark all gaps and seams (–5 mm).
  • Attach a metal ruler to the mowing line and slide the cutter along the line once. The pressure should be moderate to form a visible streak. Lead him from the far end towards you.
  • Place the tongs with their feet along the mowing line of the crowbar near the edge. The sponges should be on top of the glaze and the straight part on the bottom. The line of the break should be right in the middle between the edges of the upper lip.
  • Press gently on the handles to break off the tiles. At the same time, do not lift it high, otherwise it will break after falling.

Tile cutter-tongs

For small volumes of work, it is convenient to cut the tile with a tile cutter-tongs. It is an inexpensive, practical tool. It looks like a large wire cutter, on the side there is a sharpened roller, which makes a furrow along the marked mowing line. The sharp part of the jaws of the forceps is designed to fit into the groove of the face part, the flat foot is at the bottom. Then they gently press on the handles, which ensures an even break. It is advisable to keep the die not high above the table so as not to break it if accidentally dropped. You can bite off thin strips with such forceps.

How to use a tile cutter: everything about cutting principles

Repair in a private house or apartment is not complete without facing walls or floors with ceramic tiles or tiles. You can do the work yourself, without the involvement of professional repairmen, since the services of the corresponding firms are regarded quite expensive. To use the tile cutter correctly, you need to know how to install the tiles correctly.

Roller tile cutter

The instructions for use of the manual mechanical device provide the following procedure to cut the tile with the tile cutter.

  1. Place the insert face up on the bed with the diamond cutter positioned exactly over the marked cut line.
  2. To prevent displacement, the tile rests against the stop available in the bed.
  3. If it is necessary to cut a small strip, it is necessary to put a stop under the main overhanging part for stability of the same height as the bed.
  4. After that, holding the lever, the carriage is brought into working condition, the support legs are bent, the diamond cutter is placed on the marked line of the cut.
  5. Pressing the lever, roll the roll on the marked mowing line. Do not rush and make sudden movements, the cutter must be smooth, with uniform pressure.

In case of light pressure and a shallow furrow, do not re-pass with the cutter. When the cut is repeated, the edges begin to crumble, resulting in a sloppy cut.

When working, it is worth considering that a manual tile cutter cannot cut strips less than 1 cm wide. If necessary, break off the edge with pliers. The curly edge is made in the same way. For the first time cutting tiles, it is better to practice on defective or broken tiles. There is a bearing mechanical tile cutter design that is designed for plates thicker than 16mm.

Advantages and disadvantages of manual tile cutters

Like any other tool, a manual tile cutter has positive and negative qualities that you should definitely consider when choosing a tile cutting attachment.

Among the advantages are the following characteristics:
  • Independence from electrical networks;
  • The ability to use at any temperature and humidity;
  • Compactness;
  • Light weight;
  • Low cost.

The disadvantages include the following qualities:

  • Does not cope with a large amount of work;
  • Does not allow cutting a strip of tile less than 1 cm;
  • Cuts particularly hard material with difficulty.

How to work with a roller tile cutter

The roll cutter is the simplest tile cutter, but its options are limited. They can cut soft material, but they cannot cut hard and dense tiles. This tool can only cut a few pieces, since its performance is low.

Along the applied mowing line, the cutting roller makes a groove from edge to edge of the tile. If the cut is deep enough, then the element is easily broken along the mowing line of the cut. To do this, you can place the tile on the edge of the table or on a large nail and press down.

How to properly cut tiles with a tile cutter

Experienced craftsmen, before cutting the tiles with a hand-held tile cutter, recommend holding the tiles for some time in warm water. It will become slightly softer, which will reduce the likelihood of cracks and chips. To reduce friction and improve cut quality, it is advised to drip machine oil directly onto the line or the cutter wheel.

Preparatory work

Manual tile cutter. An elementary, but at the same time, cutting tool that requires certain preparation and sequence of actions to obtain an accurate result. Let’s talk about them in more detail.

Before how to cut tiles with a manual tile cutter, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation:

  1. Inspect the cutter structure for visible damage and irregularities in the guides.
  2. Check the smooth movement of the carriage with the cutting roller along the tubular guides. It is important that they are free of any contamination that could interfere. If you’ve just cleaned them, you can apply a small amount of machine oil to the surface to lubricate.
  3. Check the condition of the cutter wheel. It should rotate freely without unnecessary sounds such as creaking or jamming. If the surface of the cutter wheel is damaged (such as burrs or gouges), it should be replaced. Otherwise, irregularities or cracks will appear on the cut.

Before cutting the tiles with a tile cutter, you should also take care of your own safety. To prevent scratches, cuts and other troubles, it is worth using construction gloves. In the process of cutting the tiles, under no circumstances should your fingers get caught in the cutting roller. Also, the field of receiving an incision, the tile must be broken along it, while small particles are formed that can get into the eyes. Wear safety glasses.

How to cut tiles with a manual tile cutter. Instructions for using the tile cutter

A popular and practical finishing material for bathrooms, toilets and kitchens is ceramic tiles, the laying of which always requires accurate marking, as well as cutting to the required dimensions. If we talk about the industrial scale of construction, then most often professionals use a mechanized (electric) tile cutter, but the manual option is quite suitable for home conditions.

What is a manual tile cutter?

Tile cutter. This is the combined name of a group of tools designed to obtain straight or shaped cutting on ceramic or tile. As for the design, then manual tile cutter consists of the following elements:

  1. The base, which is the supporting part for all other elements;
  2. Tubular guides designed for precise movement of the cutting element;
  3. Cutting element, which is a metal roller with a pointed edge mounted on an axis;
  4. A handle designed to move the carriage with a roller along the intended cut.
how to cut a tile with a tile cutter by hand secrets

Years of experience in construction work shows that the use of manual table cutter in a domestic environment, this is the best option both in terms of performance and accuracy, as well as simplicity. Benefits of using a manual tile cutter:

  1. Ease of operation due to the elementary design of the device;
  2. The handle in the design plays the role of a lever that significantly reduces the effort with which it is necessary to cut the tiles;
  3. Quite accurate (in comparison with the more elementary method with a glass cutter) cut.

However, the use of this type of tile cutter imposes some restrictions on the processing of tiles. So, for example, you cannot get a cut at a distance of less than 5 millimeters from the edge of the tile. If you try to do this, then the edge is likely to break. Also, in addition, you can read the article on how to use the tile cutter.