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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Hi all,
I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. Cheers, Ben |
#2
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Ben wrote:
I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. !!!! I would class mine as about the *best* £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. You are, without a doubt, doing something horribly wrong. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I don't get it - why do you need a line? You hold the tile against the fence (the plastic guide thing) and it cuts straight. That's it. Please explain. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. And they really, really are. I've just finished floor-to-ceiling tiling our shower room, and this is a *superb* tool. I really think you're doing something wrong. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. Need more info. How is it going wrong? Why is it wandering? Is it moving away from the fence? -- Grunff |
#3
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Grunff wrote: Ben wrote: I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. !!!! I would class mine as about the *best* £30 I ever spent. Hmm, I'm about to start tiling in my bathroom and need to do a lot of cutting. Where do they sell the Plasplugs cutter- is it available in the sheds? Cheers, Jim. |
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Jim Walsh wrote:
Hmm, I'm about to start tiling in my bathroom and need to do a lot of cutting. Where do they sell the Plasplugs cutter- is it available in the sheds? Yes, the sheds keep them. Get one. They're really good. -- Grunff |
#5
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
"Grunff" wrote in message ... Jim Walsh wrote: Hmm, I'm about to start tiling in my bathroom and need to do a lot of cutting. Where do they sell the Plasplugs cutter- is it available in the sheds? Yes, the sheds keep them. Get one. They're really good. -- Grunff I agree - it was only £10 more than the hand version. I've done loads of wall and floor tiles with it and haven't lost any due to breakage - only my mis-measurement! Mal |
#6
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article ,
Jim Walsh wrote: Hmm, I'm about to start tiling in my bathroom and need to do a lot of cutting. Where do they sell the Plasplugs cutter- is it available in the sheds? Yup. They do several models, but I found the cheapest one fine for normal stuff, although I've now got a bigger one. It looks cheap and nasty, being plastic, but seems to work as well or better than the cheap metal ones that some sheds sell with a chrome top. And at least it can't rust. -- *If only you'd use your powers for good instead of evil. Dave Plowman London SW 12 RIP Acorn |
#7
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
"Ben" wrote in message om... Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. Bro-in-law's got one and he says it's a Good Thing. Are you trying to cut too quickly, perhaps? Si |
#8
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article , Ben
writes Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. You should be pushing the tile up against the guide as you feed it through...? I did my kitchen tiles with one of these a couple of months ago and thought it was great. -- Tim Mitchell |
#9
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In message , Ben
writes Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. I've never had any real problem with mine. :-) If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. Hmm, not sure, what exactly is the problem, is it gradually running of line , or is it at the end or what? It sounds like the guide isn't staying set properly maybe? - on mine it clamps at each end and once set doesn't move, is yours like that? -- Chris French, Leeds |
#10
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article ,
Ben wrote: I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. First, is the whole machine solidly supported? It needs to hook over a solid workbench or similar so it can't move - at least until you get used to it. Assuming you've fixed the guide correctly and it's square, I'd say it's how your feeding the tile through. You need to apply pressure as near to the centre line of the cut as possible, so push the tile through with two hands, one either side of the 'line' only using enough sideways pressure to keep it on the guide. If taking a small piece off where this might be difficult, use the 'pusher' provided on that side. -- *Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental Dave Plowman London SW 12 RIP Acorn |
#11
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
"Ben" wrote in message
om... Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. On mine the guide along the bottom (the bit graduated in millimetres) seems to be a total fiction - I always set the guide with a ruler or from a mark made on the tile (before switching it on and getting everything spattered with slushy water :-). The only problems I find with the plastic guide are (a) getting the clips fastened (they're a bit plasticky) and (b) sometimes the back end of the guide will be fractionally closer to the blade than the front end and the tile will either jam when it hits the riving knife (metal shark's fin behind and in line with the blade) or bind against the blade as it's going through. Like everyone else who's replied I can't see how you can be going wrong as you describe. I certainly wouldn't describe it as the best thing since sliced bread, but that's because I think sliced bread is crap (discuss ;-) For what it's worth however, if I'm cutting ordinary glazed wall tiles I prefer a score+snap cutter which is quicker, less messy and a gives a cleaner cut. I use the plasplugs cutter when I'm doing floor tiles, porcelain (or harder - I've cut granite with it!) tiles or have to cut a smaller bit from a tile than I can do with a score+snap. |
#12
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Hi all,
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I'm mistified as to how I'm getting this so wrong. I suspect that the problem might be that I'm only pusing the tile from one side of the blade. I use the plastic guide and I clamp it in so that it's square. I push the tile hard up against the guide and turn it on. I then push the tile through as slowly as I can - using enough even pressure from behind to keep it moving - that's it. The problem is that there is gap the width of the blade (obviously) between the off cut and main part of the tile. What seems to happen is that the tile (not the off cut) is rotating to try and fill the gap. This leads to the cut wondering off. Someone mentioned that there should be a pusher supplied for pushing the tile on off cut side of the blade - well I don't think I got one of these. I guess I could make one out of something. Of course, it could be that I have a duff machine. But I find can't anything obviously (to me anyway) wrong which is why it's more likley to be user error. Last night I went out and got some more tile cutting gizmos - hand saw, score, snap machine, etc etc. The score and snap machine wrecked the first attempt. In the end it took me two hours to cut one tile with the hand saw and file down until it fitted. It was a neat result but it's gonna be a long job if that's what it's going to take. Cheers, Ben "John Stumbles" wrote in message ... "Ben" wrote in message om... Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. On mine the guide along the bottom (the bit graduated in millimetres) seems to be a total fiction - I always set the guide with a ruler or from a mark made on the tile (before switching it on and getting everything spattered with slushy water :-). The only problems I find with the plastic guide are (a) getting the clips fastened (they're a bit plasticky) and (b) sometimes the back end of the guide will be fractionally closer to the blade than the front end and the tile will either jam when it hits the riving knife (metal shark's fin behind and in line with the blade) or bind against the blade as it's going through. Like everyone else who's replied I can't see how you can be going wrong as you describe. I certainly wouldn't describe it as the best thing since sliced bread, but that's because I think sliced bread is crap (discuss ;-) For what it's worth however, if I'm cutting ordinary glazed wall tiles I prefer a score+snap cutter which is quicker, less messy and a gives a cleaner cut. I use the plasplugs cutter when I'm doing floor tiles, porcelain (or harder - I've cut granite with it!) tiles or have to cut a smaller bit from a tile than I can do with a score+snap. |
#13
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article , Ben
wrote: I'm mistified as to how I'm getting this so wrong. It's upside down and untrimmed. See if this helps: http://www.allmyfaqs.com/faq.pl?How_to_post -- AJL Electronics (G6FGO) Ltd : Satellite and TV aerial systems http://www.classicmicrocars.co.uk : http://www.ajlelectronics.co.uk |
#14
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
"Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)" wrote in message ...
See if this helps: http://www.allmyfaqs.com/faq.pl?How_to_post umm.. yeah, cheers Andy... very helpful. *must..* *resist..* *pointless..* *discussion board..* *rant.* |
#15
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Hi, a frequent cause of tiles not cutting squarely is that the blade and the
guide are not parallel. I find that my tile cutter needs a 4mm offset between the two ends of the guide to get a square cut. ie Set bottom of guide to 6cm, then top end of guide to 6.4cm. Hope this helps. Regards Capitol |
#16
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
"Ben" wrote in message om... Hi all, I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. I can't for the life of me seem to be able to cut the tiles straight and true. All I want to do is cut about 15mm from the edge of the tile. Out of the eight I've put on the wall I've had 5 rejects - and I'm only happy with the 8 so called successes coz I think I can loose the cut edges in the corner with grout. On average I'm getting around a 5mm wander in the cut. I'm using the plastic guide thing that clips in and using the guide along the bottom to set the width. Then I push the tile through as slowly as I can with even pressure from behind. I thought about putting a line down the tile where I want the cut and trying to guide the tile with that. But this turned out to be useless as the line gets covered by red muddy stuff from the tile which gets mixed in with the water and thrown about by the blade. I was very suprised to find nobody who is complaining about the same problems. In fact most people seemt to think they are the best thing since sliced bread. If anyone has any ideas why I'm so rubbish at using this thing then I'd be very grateful for the advice. Cheers, Ben As with the others here I've had a very good experience with this cuter, having recently tiled a porch and the bathroom. The guide needs to be set up carefully to ensure that is set parallel to the blade, the additional markings on the surface of he machine are good for a guide. the small bracket holding the splash guard is pretty flimsy and you need to ensure that it is correctly aligned with the blade so that the tiles can pass by it easily.... I took the first one I bought back to B&Q for replacement before I even used it because the bracket was so bent. I've managed fine cutting cutting straight lines without the guide as well... (the tiles were 600mm long) I marked a cutting line in pencil and took care to line the tile up square with the blade by eye. I didn't use excessive amounts of water in eth reservoir so that I got a better view of the cutting line, but do keep topping up the water in this case to ensure that the wheel stays wet. I also had to make several cuts similar to yours.. taking off 5 or 10mm along a 600mm length. In this case the the plastic guide was very useful. but I also found it useful to have the line marked in pencil as well. I generally operated with teh splash guard raised 10-15mm above tile, which while making considerably more mess did allow me to see the pencil cuting line as a check. good luck David |
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Ben wrote:
I'm currently tiling my bathroom with 8x10inch ceramic tiles. I'm a tiling virgin so I thought I'd make life easier by investing in an electric tile cutter - and to be honest it's the worst £30 I ever spent. As others have said, you must be doing something very wrong. The first time I used mine was to trim 5mm from a 15cm tile - I was left with an 2mm wide strip of perfectly intact yet hugely fragile tile material which impressed me greatly. I bought it with an immediate job of just 3 tiles in mind - I felt I'd had my monies worth by the time I'd done the third one! -- Scott Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket? |
#18
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article ,
Scott M wrote: As others have said, you must be doing something very wrong. The first time I used mine was to trim 5mm from a 15cm tile - I was left with an 2mm wide strip of perfectly intact yet hugely fragile tile material which impressed me greatly. Same here - the idea of cutting a sliver off a tile and getting two usable bits was a revelation after the score and snap types - let alone being able to cut a small piece reliably. -- *The severity of the itch is proportional to the reach * Dave Plowman London SW 12 RIP Acorn |
#19
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.. I'll have another crack at it
tonight, and if I haven't thrown it out of the window in dispear, I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers, Ben |
#20
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article , Ben
writes Thanks everyone for your suggestions.. I'll have another crack at it tonight, and if I haven't thrown it out of the window in dispear, I'll let you know how it goes. Cheers, Ben I've come in late to this thread Ben but I would concur with the other relies, I think its the best money I have spent, from what you have described I think you're not pushing the tile square if its pivoting around after the cut. I didn't get a tile pusher with mine and don't think you do, I have not needed one yet (mind you I have only got two fingers left on each hand now!) -- David |
#21
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Well I have to say I didn't bother getting the electric tile cutter
out last night. I found that my new PlasPlugs pro-tiler score and snap gizmo works great. I get clean cuts quickly and with a whole load less mess. However I was cutting larger pieces of tile and I suspect that I may need resort to using the electric cutting off smaller chunks. Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions. Ben |
#22
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
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#23
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In article ,
Reader wrote: The piece of tile you want to keep, after the cuttting process, should be butted up against the fence (plastic straight edge) NOT the part that will end up as the off-cut. On mine it doesn't make any difference. I do it whichever way is more convenient. -- *If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled? Dave Plowman London SW 12 RIP Acorn |
#24
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
Hi Reader,
The piece of tile you want to keep, after the cuttting process, should be butted up against the fence (plastic straight edge) NOT the part that will end up as the off-cut. You're right, butting the off cut against the fence does cause the problem. But, in this case the fence would not go on the other side as the tile was too big. Last night I did have some success with it. I needed to cut out a slot for a pipe and so I used the cutter to cut the edges of the slot. This time I had plenty of tile on both sides of the blade to grab hold of. I also used a pencil line and minimal water in the tank to prevent excessive splashing as suggested. And I have to say I got a pretty cut. Anyway thanks again for all the help and suggestions. Cheers, Ben |
#25
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PlasPlugs tile cutter?? What a load of pants
In message , Ben
writes Well I have to say I didn't bother getting the electric tile cutter out last night. I found that my new PlasPlugs pro-tiler score and snap gizmo works great. I get clean cuts quickly and with a whole load less mess. i have one of those and yes it's just as quick, if not quicker as long as the piece you are cutting off is big enough However I was cutting larger pieces of tile and I suspect that I may need resort to using the electric cutting off smaller chunks. indeed, for trimming of smaller bits, cutting angled cuts, cutting round awkward shapes etc. the electric cutter is the business -- Chris French, Leeds |
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