How to cut ceramic tile with a jigsaw. Characteristics of the tool

Jigsaw porcelain tile

Cutting ceramic tiles with an electric jigsaw is not difficult. This electric jigsaw is very handy and you can learn to use it in a matter of minutes.

So, let’s start figuring out how to cut ceramic tiles with an electric jigsaw. Working principle is as follows:

• Secure the selected saw into the groove;
• On the tile, draw a line marker for the trimmer notch;
• Position the tile on a stable surface so that the saw does not damage the surface itself;
• Turn the tool on medium speed;
• Make a through cut along the contour.

After several passes it is advisable to clean the saw blade and check if it has worn down and replace it if necessary.

Cutting tile with a jigsaw hand also does not present any difficulties. Here is the principle of operation:

• The above-mentioned saw. “rope” is inserted into the jigsaw mounts;
• On the marked line, you begin to move the saw progressively, cutting the tile on the contour.

There is nothing complicated, however, it should be noted that it is quite difficult to “saw” for so long.

That’s all, cutting tiles with an electric jigsaw and an ordinary, hand jigsaw is finished! Happy results and correct calculations!

The jigsaw is a universal tool that any craftsman has. Therefore, in order to cut tiles, there is no need to purchase special equipment. It is enough to buy the right saw for the job. With its help, you can cut ceramic tiles evenly. Experts recommend choosing an abrasive saw.

Wall and floor materials may differ in thickness and density. Therefore, in order to cut the product correctly with an electric jigsaw, it is recommended to choose a ceramic tile of medium size. Masters use the tool for wall covering. For working with floor materials it is recommended to use other tools.

If you have an electric jigsaw it can also be used to cut ceramic tiles. In addition to straight cuts, it can also be used to cut curved lines, shaped edges and holes.

Cutting tiles with an electric jigsaw is possible with the use of special abrasive saws. If you have used a jigsaw to cut wooden parts, you can also cope with cutting tiles. But, as practice shows, using a jigsaw for cutting ceramic tile is appropriate only when you need to cut a hole for a socket, switch, under the pipes, etc. д.

Using a handheld tile cutter makes the process much quicker. The basic principle is the same as with the pliers. But the cutting wheel slides easily over the sturdy guide rail and the cutting guide rail lets you make cuts exactly to size and even diagonally. We set the tile on the platform exactly on the cutting line.

Let go of the machine handle and set the roller cutter at the beginning of the marked line. Firmly push the roller forward with light pressure. A shallow groove in the tile will appear, and then the tile can easily be broken with the handle set in the break position. If you feel any difficulty in cutting, don’t try to run the line a second time. It may be worth replacing the cutting roller or wetting the trimmer line with water, kerosene, or machine oil. the process will go faster.

Cutting porcelain tiles at home

The need to cut or drill tiles may arise when tiling walls or laying flooring. Exceptions may be those cases where it is possible to pick up tile elements with a size that will allow you to finish the surface without excess. But a perfect match in size is difficult to achieve, and in the corners, complex areas processing porcelain tile and inevitable at all.

There are several available technologies that are used for cutting porcelain stoneware at home, but first let’s look at the traditional methods that are used in such jobs.

Cutting ceramic tiles curvilinearly, or how to saw them with an electric jigsaw

In the process of laying ceramic tiles, it is often necessary to make a through hole of a non-standard shape. Ceramics. it is a strong, but at the same time fragile material, which can be cut with an ordinary jigsaw, but you can not use conventional saws for wood or metal. After reading the article, you can learn how to cut ceramics with a jigsaw, and which blades to use.

Ordinary users who are not involved in laying tile material professionally, often ask questions about whether it is possible to cut it with an ordinary electric jigsaw. This question is relevant, because every skillful owner has this tool.

It is possible to work with ceramic, but it is necessary to use special attachments and devices that allow you to do it as comfortably and qualitatively as possible.

Basic principles of work

The principle of working with porcelain stoneware is slightly different from how they saw metal or wood. It is important to consider the following points.

• Ceramic tile is easily scratched, so when sawing it, a plastic pad should be installed on the sole of the tool.
• Before starting the work, it is better to soak the tiles in water. This will make the material more pliable and reduce the amount of dust that forms during the process.
• When cutting, the material must be firmly secured with a few rubber clamps.
• The pendulum function of the jigsaw must be switched off when working with all types of ceramic tiles. When making straight cuts, it is allowed to set the switch to the minimum position.
• When making a closed cut, material must be drilled using a ceramic drill bit with a diameter slightly larger than the width of the blade used for the cut.

How to proceed

Before you start cutting porcelain tile or ceramic tile, a saw blade must be installed in the jigsaw.

Then the tiles must be soaked for 5 to 10 minutes.

The next step is to mark the cutting line, after which the material is firmly fixed on a special stand of bars. At home, a regular kitchen table can be used for clamping. It is important to fix the cutting point in such a way that it is suspended.

If a bar stand is used for fastening, its thickness should be greater than the length of the saw blade. It is necessary so that in the process of work the saw did not bump into the base on which the stand is installed.

Jigsaw

The jigsaw is essentially a small saw, a hacksaw, and working with it on the tiles is quite a labor-intensive activity. But let’s take it one step at a time.

In fact, the jigsaw is a framework, in which the required saw is inserted. The main thing is for yourself to understand exactly what you’re going to do, and buy the appropriate fittings.

And also. change them as they blunt, because otherwise, the process of tile sawing will softly slide into infinity.

Also, when inserting a saw, the main thing is not to overtighten the spacer, otherwise it may cause damage to the saw itself. Well, let’s move on to the cutting process itself.

Stages of cutting

About the process of cutting. we can say right away that it is a very time-consuming business. And so, using exactly a jigsaw, handheld to cut a large amount of tile is a challenge, especially if you’re limited by time. In that case even a glass cutter would be better.

But let’s get back to the subject at hand. So, how do you cut:

• Apply the trimmer line as usual with a marker to the glazed tile surface;
• You choose where and how you will be more comfortable to place to work with a jigsaw (take into account that it will be a rather long process, and it is better to provide yourself at least some conditional comfort);
• You put a saw into the jigsaw, fix it, but do not overdo it, be careful;
• Start sawing;
• The fact that you will not be able to maintain the same speed should of course be clear to you, and that is why there may be some kinks in the cut, and some irregularities. Well such tool, it is necessary to accept at once!
• As a last resort, something can be smoothed with a file.

That’s how you cut tiles with a jigsaw and electric jigsaw, in principle, there is nothing too complicated, everything is simple enough.

Cut the tiles with the hole cutter

Another very good option, in my opinion, is to cut tiles with a large and powerful angle grinder with a wall grinder attachment. This attachment allows you to vacuum up dust immediately, so you must connect an industrial/ construction vacuum cleaner to it. Doubly noisy, but without dust and without water.

Cutting tiles with a chisel cutter without dust and water is quite handy

These are all methods and tools that can cut tiles, the choice is yours!

How to saw a laminate flooring

Sawing laminate flooring is not difficult at all. The main difficulty is chipping of the plastic surface that forms on the cutting edge. To avoid chipping laminate strips and other laminated materials (chipboard, fiberboard) need a saw, the teeth of which are directed down from the jigsaw or a cutting blade with an equilateral tooth.

Important! When sawing thick workpieces with a saw with teeth pointing towards the material, such a saw blade recoils from the workpiece and tends to lift the jigsaw. You have to be very careful! The double-sided tooth does not have this disadvantage.

When sawing with an ordinary wood or chipboard blade, it is best to cut from the inside of the strip. In this case, the chips will “decorate” it, and the front side will remain intact.

Ceramic tile curvilinear cutting, or how to saw it with a jigsaw

In the process of laying ceramic tiles it is often necessary to make a through hole of irregular shape. Ceramics is a tough but fragile material that can be cut with an ordinary jigsaw, but not with ordinary wood or metal saws. After reading this article, you can learn how to cut ceramic with a jigsaw, and what blades to use.

Is it possible to cut ceramic tiles with a jigsaw??

Ordinary users who are not involved in laying tile material professionally, often ask questions about whether it can be cut with an ordinary electric jigsaw. The question is relevant, since every skillful owner has this tool.

It is possible to work with ceramics, but for this purpose it is necessary to use special nozzles and devices that allow you to do it as comfortably and qualitatively as possible.

Basic working principles

The principle of working with porcelain stoneware is slightly different from that of sawing metal or wood. It is important to consider the following points.

• Ceramic tiles are easily scratched, which is why a plastic pad should be used when sawing them.
• Before starting to work, it is better to soak the tiles in water. This makes the material more pliable and reduces the amount of dust produced.
• During the cut, the material must be firmly secured with several clamps with rubber pads.
• When working with all types of ceramic tiles, the pendulum function of the jigsaw should be turned off. When making a straight cut, it is allowed to set the switch to the minimum position.
• When making a closed cut, the material must be drilled with a ceramic drill bit that is slightly larger in diameter than the width of the blade used for the cut.

Order of work

Before proceeding to perform a cut of porcelain tile or ceramic tile, a saw blade must be installed in the jigsaw.

Then the tile should be soaked for 5-10 minutes.

The next step is to mark the cutting line, after which the material is securely fixed on a special stand of bars. At home you can use an ordinary kitchen table for fixation. It is important to secure in such a way that the place of the cut is in balance.

If a block stand is used for fastening, its thickness must be greater than the length of the saw blade. This is to keep the saw blade from bumping into the base plate during cutting.

Ceramic tile and porcelain tile blades

Porcelain tile is a derivative of ceramic tile, but it is produced using higher temperature and pressure. For this reason, porcelain tile is much denser and cannot be cut with carbide saw blades designed for ceramics. Conversely, diamond blades for porcelain stoneware can be used on a normal material.

The peculiarity of the jigsaw for such materials is the dusting. The harder the coating, the better the cutting quality and the longer the cutting part will last. Spraying has a parameter such as granularity. Edge quality and cutting speed are directly related to grit size. The higher the value, the higher the quality of the edges and the slower the cutting speed.

For straight cuts in ceramic, it is best to use wide blades with tungsten carbide inserts, and for curved cuts, blades with minimal width. This rule applies to any material that can be cut with an electric jigsaw.

Using an electric jigsaw for cutting porcelain tile is not the best and fastest way. Ceramic blades are needed when it is necessary to perform curvilinear cuts. When choosing, the main requirement is the presence of carbide coating.

Sawing tiles with a hand jigsaw

A nimble electric jigsaw with relatively massive saw blades, it is not always possible to perform particularly delicate work or a cut with an inner contour. When you need to make a neat, jeweler’s cut with a complex pattern, a reliable hand tool comes to the rescue. Of course, for these purposes it is possible to use a jigsaw machine that works with the same thin saw blades, but this equipment is rather expensive and it is not reasonable to purchase it for small amounts of work.

As it is easy to guess, the usual saws for wood and metal for a hand jigsaw will not be able to saw tiles. To perform such an operation a special carbide-tungsten string or a diamond-tipped file is needed.

The process of sawing by a hand jigsaw is completely identical to its electric counterpart, except that it takes many times more time and effort. Tile is soaked for a couple of hours, then fixed on a flat surface by clamps and during sawing, periodically wetted with water. Once again, the speed of manual work is very slow, and it will take a decent amount of time even for a small figure.

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Determines to a large extent the accuracy and productivity of cutting the material. The technical characteristics and key differences between the saws discussed in this article will help you choose the right blade for different types of work.

There are two ways to choose a file for a certain job: firstly, you are guided by the inscription, and secondly, by the size, teeth and camber.

How to make holes in porcelain stoneware

During construction and repair it is often necessary to make a hole in the tile, for communications or installation of equipment. In this case, specialized tools come to the rescue

Ballerina

The device looks most like a compass. One tine rests in the center of the future hole and is clamped in the drill chuck. Another one can change its protrusion by sliding it along a horizontal bar. It has a carbide cutter at its end.

When the drill is switched on, the center leg is held in the center of the future hole, and the burr leg rotates, scraping the tile to a sufficient depth.

Then it is necessary to knock out the notched circle with a hammer and grind the edges of the obtained hole.

Diamond bits

The teeth with technical diamond coatings cut exceptionally flat holes and do not require great force.

There is only one disadvantage. it is impossible to make a hole of an arbitrary diameter. Teeth can only be of certain sizes. The tool shank is also mounted in the drill chuck, with the center drill bit set to the marked point. You should work at the highest rpm.

Both the ballerina and the diamond drill bit should work only on the front side of the tile. Otherwise chipping is inevitable.