ceramic tile?

I just ordered one from Coastal Tool, and am eagerly looking forward to
it replacing my Skil jigsaw (won't go as far as to call it a POS, but
blade deflection is routine - not capable of precise cuts at all, esp.
in knotty or figured wood).

But I got to wondering if I could use it - w/ the proper blade - to cut
1/4" ceramic porcelain? What WOULD a proper blade be? And what would
be the right type of bit (material) to drill a starter hole for cutting
interior holes in a tile?

Thanks much,
Chris

On 1 Sep 2005 17:10:57 -0700, "TheNewGuy"
wrote:


ceramic tile?

I just ordered one from Coastal Tool, and am eagerly looking forward to
it replacing my Skil jigsaw (won't go as far as to call it a POS, but
blade deflection is routine - not capable of precise cuts at all, esp.
in knotty or figured wood).

But I got to wondering if I could use it - w/ the proper blade - to cut
1/4" ceramic porcelain? What WOULD a proper blade be? And what would
be the right type of bit (material) to drill a starter hole for cutting
interior holes in a tile?

Thanks much,
Chris

You bet. Get a carbide grit blade. Won't give you as clean a cut as
diamond, but works fine for the occasional odd size cut.

If you've got a lot of tile to cut, and the cuts are straight, get (or
rent) a real tile saw.

A carbide tipped masonary drill bit will drill a starter hole. Put a
piece of masking tape on first to prevent the bit from sliding all
over while you're getting it started.

HTH,

Paul

"TheNewGuy" wrote in message
oups.com...

ceramic tile?

I just ordered one from Coastal Tool, and am eagerly looking forward to
it replacing my Skil jigsaw (won't go as far as to call it a POS, but
blade deflection is routine - not capable of precise cuts at all, esp.
in knotty or figured wood).

Look on the coastal tool website. http://tinyurl.com/bf2bj

Bob

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

Doh! Too bad I didn't ask this question before placing my order w/
Coastal :^) Oh well. Thanks for the pointer.

-Chris

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.

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

"TheNewGuy" wrote in
oups.com:


ceramic tile?

I just ordered one from Coastal Tool, and am eagerly looking forward to
it replacing my Skil jigsaw (won't go as far as to call it a POS, but
blade deflection is routine - not capable of precise cuts at all, esp.
in knotty or figured wood).

But I got to wondering if I could use it - w/ the proper blade - to cut
1/4" ceramic porcelain? What WOULD a proper blade be? And what would
be the right type of bit (material) to drill a starter hole for cutting
interior holes in a tile?

Thanks much,
Chris


What you want is a Fein Multimaster XL. THAT little rascal is made for
doing such things with precision and finesse. Carbide grout blade.

Or a DeWalt 4.5" low angle grinder with a continous grit dry diamond blade.
And a ShopVac to clean up the fine dust that WILL get into everything.

I really like my Bosch jigsaw, but I wouldn't want the dust from tile
cutting inside of it.

Wear a dust mask when cutting tile, unless you're using a wet saw.

Patriarch,
whose bathroom remodel, as of 1 pm today, is officially functional. Only
the mirror remains to be framed & hung.

"TheNewGuy" wrote in
oups.com:

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



Get the proper sized hole saw with carbide grit cutting edges. Use
plumber's putty to make a water dam around the hole, and cut the tile on
your messy bench, or on your drill press.

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:

What you want is a Fein Multimaster XL. THAT little rascal is made for
doing such things with precision and finesse. Carbide grout blade.

Next project

I really like my Bosch jigsaw, but I wouldn't want the dust from tile
cutting inside of it.

I'll keep that in mind. When I can, I do the highly-dust-producing
tasks outside, and for the couple/few tiles I need to makes holes in, I
can certainly do that. Sometimes I even setup a fan to make a forced
cross-wind to whisk dust away from me/tool. Dustmask not optional (nor
are earplugs and eye protection...)

Congrats on the bathroom remodel completion! Ours is hopefully not
too far behind. Finishing the wainscoting, then on to the floor:
self-leveling compound for the couple low spots in the ply subfloor;
backerboard; tile layout and cutting and laying, (etc., etc., ...)

-Chris

Thanks for all the great info, Paul.

"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

I'm sure that a powerful router like a 1590 could easily cut ceramic
tile (with the right bit).

Heck, I just remodeled one of our bathrooms and for those tiles that
needed odd cuts and round notches, I used a Dremel. That little Dremel
chewed through the tile like butter.

Jack


TheNewGuy wrote:

ceramic tile?

I just ordered one from Coastal Tool, and am eagerly looking forward to
it replacing my Skil jigsaw (won't go as far as to call it a POS, but
blade deflection is routine - not capable of precise cuts at all, esp.
in knotty or figured wood).

But I got to wondering if I could use it - w/ the proper blade - to cut
1/4" ceramic porcelain? What WOULD a proper blade be? And what would
be the right type of bit (material) to drill a starter hole for cutting
interior holes in a tile?

Thanks much,
Chris

"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 97.136...

Or a DeWalt 4.5" low angle grinder with a continous grit dry diamond
blade.
And a ShopVac to clean up the fine dust that WILL get into everything.

My son went nuts when he saw this pictu
http://www.anneldavis.com/bobandanne...p/cooktop6.jpg. He's a safety
nut and he chewed me out for not having a dust mask. In retrospect, it was
supremely stupid. That was two years ago. Now I look like a spaceman when I
suit up to do dusty work like this. Then there's the roar of the shop vac
and overhead dust filter running which is mitigated by my Worktunes hearing
protection.

Bob