"Paul Franklin" wrote in message
...
On 1 Sep 2005 19:48:58 -0700, "TheNewGuy"
wrote:

Thanks Paul, that's just the info I needed.

We are borrowing a real tile saw from a friend who owns one for all the
straight cuts. But for a few places where water supply lines come
through, I was hoping the jigsaw could do the job. ... I suppose it
might depend on how tight a radius I want to cut, eh? Any thoughts on
the practical limit of how small a circle I could cut? ... I guess it
would be good for the toilet waste pipe, but water supply lines might
only require such a small opening as to make the jigsaw not practical?


-Chris

You can nibble away a small hole for the supply lines using the grit
blade. Because the grit is a bit wider than the blade it will sort of
cut on the sides a bit too.

There are a couple of alternatives.

The pro's would use a carbide, or more likely, a diamond hole saw of
the appropriate diameter. Might not be worth buying one for one job,
but you can rent if you have a good rental place nearby. The diamond
ones are pricey, but the carbide ones not so bad.

You can also get a carbide grit rod saw that fits into a hacksaw
frame. It's a piece of heavy wire coated with carbide grit and it
cuts in any direction. You would drill a small hole first, thread the
rod saw through, and then attach to the frame and saw away. Describing
it is more work than doing it; it really goes pretty fast.

you can also get the equivalent of a scroll saw blade that is coated with
diamonds.

Final alternative is a roto-zip with a carbide grit masonry bit. This
will drill it's own starting hole and then allow you to make the
cutout. A little tricky to control accurately, but for a rough hole
for plumbing, good enough. The roto-zip will set you back more than a
hole saw by several times, but it's a pretty handy tool to have if you
are planning on a lot of remodeling or rennovation, especially if it
involves drywall work.

Good luck,

Paul