I've done quite a bit of DIY tiling in the past but so far I've only needed to cut glazed ceramic tiles and I've had good results cutting those using hand tools. Now it looks looks like my next project will involve cutting some 10cm square 10mm thick travertine. I suspect I'll need something better than a sharp nail to do that well.

I was surprised to see how reasonably priced some of these cutting machines are at Screwfix but without seeing them it's hard to tell if they are cheap and nasty or quality items.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/cat.jsp?cId=101289&ts=65090

After the small travertine job I've got two small bathrooms (walls and floors) and a kitchen splashback to do. Probably all ceramic 10mm thick or less. It's unlikely I'd ever want to cut really big/thick floor tiles but which machine to go for? Any recommendations welcome.

Quote:


I've got that T-shirt I was talking to a customer and she couldn't keep her eyes off my erm , when I looked down a big terracotta stain ran from the crotch down  

I've got one of the metal topped ones, they all look pretty much the same machine but some have larger motors. The fence on mine is a complete pain, jamming all the time but it cuts tiles.

TIMBA-WOLF wrote on Dec 13^th, 2006, 10:06pm:




but.............

I'm probably the only person in the UK, maybe even the world, that has NEVER eaten a Big Mac
I bought one once but it looked and smelt so disgusting    

I put it straight in the bin

I bought a cheap tile cutter from Toolstation a few years ago (NuTool I think the brand was).  I think it was about 30 or 40 quid at the time.  Sounds the same as the Erbauer one jimcam has - the water tray IS impossible to take out without tipping its contents everywhere.

The answer I found was to only use the machine outside - and without the water.  This way the dust doesn't matter a bit (I've always assumed that the water was only there to limit the dust) and haven't had any problems with either machine or tiles overheating.  I've used it for my bathroom (porcelein wall and ceramic floor tiles) and my kitchen (10mm porcelein floor and ceramic wall tiles) and only got through 2 cutting wheels so far.

I think it's one of the most useful tools I've ever bought (along with my cordless drill and angle grinder) - especially for the price it was.  I've even cut internal curves in 10mm thick tiles where they fit round the quadrant shower tray in the bathroom.  Takes ages, but gets pretty neat results.

I would quite honestly get the cheapest one you can find and give it a go on a couple of spare tiles.

Cheers,

Andy.