Which tile saw?

[Anna]

I got so much good advice with respect to my tiling questions, that I'm planning to start by practicing on the front steps soon.

I'm thinking of using slate, for the front steps and eventually in the bathroom. Any recommendations as to which tile saw to buy? I don't think the manual scorer will work with slate, but I can't buy the really big, professional-type tile saws either (it's just too hard to justify that to a skeptical husband right now).

I looked at the Harbor Freight versions, and there are four. I'm leaning towards the 3/4 hp benchtop version, but I'd be happy to hear other suggestions. Is it worth the price difference to get a free-standing version at all?

Anna

[jziegler]

I used the benchtop HF version (40315) to cut the granite tile for my kitchen counters, as well as ceramic tile for the backsplashes. It worked well for my needs. Nothing fancy, but it works. Use hearing protection, a dust mask, and work outside if you can (it's messy). How thick is the slate that you'd use? Cutting 3.8" thick granite is a bit slow, but works ok.

Jim

[JimD]

I've never tried slate with my angle grinder and abrasive blade. I've cut marble with it and it tends to chip if you don't go real slow. I think you need a wet grinder for slate. I borrowed a professional wet saw from a friend to do the marble tile on my bookshelf and it worked fine. If I bought one for home use, it would be one of the ones that are a bit like a table saw. They are a lot cheaper and the capacity is not limited like the overhead ones.

Some of the reasons I do not normally like a wet saw is I do not like having to mark with something waterproof, I do not like trying to see my line with water on it, and I do not like having to dry off the tile. For natural stone products, I think you need one, however. For tile, I prefer a grinder (as did the tile guy who did the tile in our house).

Jim

[Anna]

I used the benchtop HF version (40315) to cut the granite tile for my kitchen counters, as well as ceramic tile for the backsplashes. It worked well for my needs. Nothing fancy, but it works. Use hearing protection, a dust mask, and work outside if you can (it's messy). How thick is the slate that you'd use? Cutting 3.8" thick granite is a bit slow, but works ok.

That's exactly the model I'm thinking of buying. It seems like a better deal than the other benchtop model. The slate is probably 3/8", but I'm having second thoughts after reading more about using slate outdoors. They are claimed to become really slippery when wet, and that's no good for the front steps.

I've never tried slate with my angle grinder and abrasive blade. I've cut marble with it and it tends to chip if you don't go real slow. I think you need a wet grinder for slate. I borrowed a professional wet saw from a friend to do the marble tile on my bookshelf and it worked fine. If I bought one for home use, it would be one of the ones that are a bit like a table saw. They are a lot cheaper and the capacity is not limited like the overhead ones.

Some of the reasons I do not normally like a wet saw is I do not like having to mark with something waterproof, I do not like trying to see my line with water on it, and I do not like having to dry off the tile. For natural stone products, I think you need one, however. For tile, I prefer a grinder (as did the tile guy who did the tile in our house).

I don't have an angle grinder yet, but thanks for the idea. I saw some DIY shows where they used the grinder to shape the tiles, but I'm not sure what the learning curve is. The tile saw just looks a bit easier to work with.

[billwmeyer]

I purchased a wet saw from Home Depot last fall for around $78. It worked very well for my bathroom floor's ceramic tile. At that time the closet Harbor freight was about 1 1/2 hours away.

Bill

[rnelson0]

I purchased a wet saw from Home Depot last fall for around $78. It worked very well for my bathroom floor's ceramic tile.

I bought one from Lowes for $88. It's a little plastic base but it came with two saw blades (like woodworking, THESE are the expensive parts!) and it could cut 12" tile without a problem. I've also let two other people borrow it and they didn't have a problem with it. I've only cut porcelain with it, but I imagine slate would work, even if you had to buy a better quality blade.

In Lowes, it was with all the other wet saws at the back of the tile aisle and it was the second cheapest. The cheapest was a hunk of crap that could barely handle 6" tiles.

[Red88chevy]

Good to see you back. I got the $80 saw from Home Depot and have been very pleased with it. Tiled a large bathroom and just recently put slate in a kitchen and it did very well. Have also cut 1inch thick limestone with it, its cut everything I've tried it on. After using a TS, I've found it very easy to freehand straight lines with it.

[JeffG78]

I too bought the $88 HD Workforce saw. It has been an awesome saw. I used it for my whole bathroom which had a ton of cuts. I used ceramic floor tile for the shower walls, floor and ceiling as well as the bathroom floor. After that, my dad borrowed it and used it for a kitchen. I then used it to tile my basement floor. In total, it has been used for over 2000 square feet of tile and is running like new. I have gone through a dozen or more blades. They still cut great, but tend to chip the edges a bit more when they need to be replaced. I highly recommend it!

[Anna]

Thanks for the recommendation, guys. I've seen the Workforce tile saw at HD, and I've wondered if it's any good. But if you guys say it works well, then I'll go with it. The nearest Harbor Freight is at least an hour away. Having the HD nearby will also make it easier to return the saw if it stops working. I'll also pick up a box of slate tiles and see how they look on the front steps.

By the way, where do you get extra blades? And I seem to get the impression that there are different types. Which ones are the best?

[JeffG78]

I buy the diamond blades at HD that are in the tile isle with the other tiling tools. I think they run ~$20 these days. For slate, one blade should last quite a while. I went through quite a few on the ceramic floor tile since many of the cut edges would be visible. Any chipping on the edges shows up since the glazed top layer is very thin. Slate is solid and is very rustic by nature with variations in thickness, color and texture. Chipping shouldn't even be an issue. Good luck.

[Red88chevy]

We've tiled/slated 1500-2000 ft on a couple of big projects and I'm still using the original blade. It does seem like I have to push harder now to cut the slate, but it still cuts fine. Only thing I notice is sometimes it will chip out the last part of the cut, so often I'll cut some from both directions and it seems to help.