How to Use a Tile Cutter Manual On Tile

Every home craftsman should be able to use a tile cutter. This skill is useful during repairs in the apartment, when it is necessary to trim tiles with your own hands when laying a kitchen apron or when facing a bathroom, as well as during other work with ceramics.

The purpose of the tile cutter

High-quality ceramic tiles can be cut only with a specialized tool. A tile cutter. This fixture is designed for cutting glass, stone and glazed tiles.

Working with a tile cutter does not require special training, enough desire and some skill.

Types of tile cutters

There are several varieties of tile cutters. The scope of their application is determined by the estimated scope of work and the qualitative characteristics of the processed material. By the principle of actuation, these devices are mechanical and electrical.

Manual

The following types of hand tools for cutting tiles are distinguished:

1. Roller. The simplest device, which is a cutting roller (diamond or carbide) on a plastic or wooden handle.
2. Mechanical tile cutter. Tubular guides are fixed on the base frame along which a special carriage with a working cutting element (roller) moves.
3. Tile Cutter. The tool looks like simple pliers. The cutting roller is located on one side of the retaining elements (jaws), on the other. A special plate with tabs is placed.
4. Tile cutter with breaker. A thin metal rod, at one end of which there is a tungsten roller for marking and cutting, from the opposite end there are legs with carbide brazed to break the material.

Electric

A special tool for cutting tile material is an electric tile cutter. It allows you to quickly and efficiently work with a large number of tiles.

The following designs of electric tile cutters are distinguished:

1. Manual Electric Cutter. The equipment is similar in principle to a modified and improved circular saw equipped with a cutting diamond blade. It is difficult to make a high-quality cut with this tool and it is inconvenient for a large amount of work. But it is mobile and can cut tiles that are already glued to a vertical wall.
2. Horizontal floor (engine below). The electric motor is fixed under the working platform. The cutting element through a special slot partially protrudes above the table surface, the lower part of the disk is immersed in a container of water. The liquid cools the cutting element and reduces the amount of dust emitted during operation. The tool allows you to cut tiles of any size, because there are no dimensional limiters on the desktop.
3. Top-facing horizontal tile cutter (pavement or rail). The massive supporting bed is motionless; guides (monorail) are installed on its edge. The carriage with the engine in which the saw blade is mounted moves along the monorail. Water for cooling is supplied to the cutting element by a pump.
4. Top-drive machine with a movable bed (cantilevered). An engine with a cutting element is mounted on a stationary frame. The processed material is placed on a movable platform, which moves along the guides of the frame. These models of tile cutters belong to professional equipment, they allow for high-quality cutting with high speed.

Which tool to choose?

When choosing a fixture for working with tiles, the following important factors must be considered:

1. The nature of the cut. If you do not need to make a curly cut or cut an angle in the tile, then you can do with a simple hand tool.
2. The thickness of the material. With a thick and hard material, not any device can handle it. In this case, you need to use a good electric tile cutter.
3. Scope of work. When performing a large number of cuts, professional equipment is more convenient.

Household factors also influence the choice of tool. Sometimes you can not use a noisy unit or it is advisable to work without the formation of dust. Often in a cramped room it is impossible to use the overall equipment (machine).

How to Use a Tile Cutter Manual On Tile

For thin tiles

You can cut tiles of small thickness with any tool. Single cuts are easily made even with a simple glass cutter or tile cutter-pencil. If there is a lot of material, it is more convenient to cut the tiles with a manual electric tile cutter. The quality of the work performed will be higher and much less time will be required.

For floor tiles

Thick floor or textured (corrugated or wavy) ceramic tiles are cut with a special electric tool equipped with a cooling system. A small number of cuts can be made reinforced with a manual fixture, but the quality of the edge will be low. It is better to work with porcelain stoneware with an electric tile cutter, since this solid material is poorly processed. A correctly selected tool will allow you to get a quality product and reduce to zero the percentage of marriage.

How to use a manual tile cutter

It is permissible to obtain two parts of a tile of a given size with good quality edges using a mechanical tool. There are no special secrets in this, it is only important to observe the sequence of work.

The technology for cutting tiles with a manual tile cutter is as follows:

1. On the front surface of the material with a felt-tip pen or marker on a ruler, apply a marking line.
2. Fix the tile with the stops available in the design, while the marking line should be exactly under the cutting edge of the marking wheel.
3. Place the working disk at the beginning of the marking and press it a little to the work surface.
4. Move the carriage with the roller along the drawn line using the handle. The movements should be smooth and strong enough to cut through the glaze. Excessive pressure can break the fragile tile, and insufficient efforts will not allow to cut the glazed coating and then carefully break the tile.
5. Move the handle to the middle, then break the tile with a sharp movement, lowering the lever. If the lever is not provided in the configuration of the mechanism, then the tile is placed on the edge of the workbench or table along the scratched line, then the protruding part is broken off by pressing on it.

If all the actions were performed correctly, then the material breaks exactly along the groove done. You can cut tiles at an angle of 45 °, for this some models have a swivel base and a special built-in ruler.

How to work with electric tile cutter

Quickly and smoothly cut a part of the right size from the workpiece, and also make a diagonal or curly cut will help a professional electric tool. Such equipment easily copes with ceramic and floor tiles with a thickness of over 16 mm.

You need to cut tiles with an electric tile cutter according to the following technology:

• We install the unit on an even and stable base (workbench, table);
• Mark the glazed side with a marker or felt-tip pen;
• The workpiece is placed on the working surface of the device, combining with the pointer the beginning of the drawn line;
• Turn on the engine of the unit;
• We cut the tile, gently pushing it toward the cutting disc (when the cutting element comes into contact with the material being processed, we increase the force);
• Turn off the device.

If an electric top cutter model with an upper engine is used, then the cut part is firmly fixed to the bed (rests against special clamps), and then the saw head is lowered onto it. Res start from the edge of the marking line.

Features of cutting corners and curly lines

It is convenient to carry out various curly cuts and to accurately fine-tune fragments during masonry work using tile-cutting tongs.

The sequence of work is as follows:

• Marking line is drawn on the front glossy side;
• The marking cutting roller is pressed against the glazed surface and, in one motion, a deep cut is made along the marked line;
• The jaws of the device are placed on the cutting line so that the tool legs are at the top (on the glaze);
• The planned fishing line should be located exactly in the middle between the lateral planes of the corners (paws);
• Gently shift and squeeze the handles, separating the unnecessary fragment.

In this way, tile cutting rarely achieves good edge quality. To align the cut line and remove small chipping edges, polish with a file or sandpaper.

To accurately cut the corner, it is better to use a hand tool, but with some dexterity this can be done with an electric tile cutter. Thin strips of tiles are cut using a tile cutter-pencil. To do this, a groove is scratched on the surface of the tile material with a marking cutting edge, then the edge of the product is inserted between the jaws of the breaker and separated by pressing on the device.

To make various holes in tiles up to 10 mm thick, a ballerina is used. A special circular drill that is placed in the electric drill chuck.

Safety technique

Working with a hand tool is not particularly dangerous for humans. Safety measures include the use of special plastic glasses to protect the eyes from dust particles and possible fragments, as well as tight construction gloves to protect hands from scratches and cuts. Particularly careful handling is required by floor tiles having increased hardness, since sharp and traumatic edges are formed when cutting them. If a lot of dust is released during operation, then a respirator is used to protect the respiratory organs.

When cutting with an electric plate cutter, it is not allowed to deepen the cutting diamond disk into the processed material by more than half. Do not clean or change the cutting wheel while the equipment is on. First disconnect the unit.

Tool maintenance

The entire tool must be inspected periodically for breakage and damage. Moving parts and mechanisms are periodically lubricated with engine oil. Carefully remove small particles of tile and dust, wipe all surfaces with a clean rag. The cutting roller changes as the diamond edge wears.