Ray, I agree with this article, A power tile cutter is worth its weight in gold. It not only save time, but also save tile breakage. 3 years ago my wife and I started out with a manual tile cutter, laying down more than 1100 square feet of the stuff. It didn't take me long to rent a tile table saw for $12.50 a day. What we did, was to lay all the full tile, rent the saw for a day and cut and filled in the needed areas. Which took us just a short time to finish that task and had the saw back at the rental place before 5 PM that day. RJ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Boyce, Ray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 11:20 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] New Tool Review, Tile Cutting Saw
> Hi > GMC LSTSAW Laser Tile Cutting Saw > Review > > So you've made more than a hundred woodworking projects, spent endless > hours in the workshop, and now its time to renovate the bathroom, > kitchen or laundry > area and your significant other wants you to do it! > > Tiling may not be your specialty, but if you need to cut tiles to fit an > edge or to work around an immovable object, a powered tile cutter will > make life > a little easier! > > Today we are taking a look at the GMC Tile Cutter, which is another tool > from the GMC range fitted out with their "Redeye" laser feature. Let's > take a closer > look... > > Out of the Box > The GMC LSTSAW Laser Tile Cutting saw ships mostly assembled. All you > really need to do is attach the laser mount arm to the saw, add the > fence, and install > the supplied batteries into the laser's battery compartment. Certainly > one of the more simpler and quicker out-of-the-box setups we have > encountered lately > I must say! > > There is the normal high-quality, color-printed manual supplied with the > tile saw, as with most GMC products now, as well as standard warranty > card and > registration information. Everything was in tip-top condition once > assembled - no dints or dings to be seen. > > Specifications > Below are the listed specifications as per the manual for this tool: > > Power: 650W > Speed: 2950 RPM > Blade Size: 180mm Diamond Blade > Bore Size: 15.88mm (5/8") > Bevel Capacity: 0 to 45 degrees > Maximum Cutting Depth at 90 deg: 35mm > Maximum Cutting Depth at 45 deg: 21mm > Table Size: 420mm x 360mm > Laser Class: 2 > Laser Output: <1mW > Batteries: 2 x AAA > > Features & Function > The first feature you may notice once you have this tool out of the box > and are ready to move it to its place of use is the integrated tool > handle. Located > on the left side of the tool (when standing in front of it) the flip up > handle allows you to carry the tool around very easily and conveniently. > The weight > of the tool seems pretty well centered under the handle, so there is > little strain when lugging the tool around. > > The motor offers 650W output. For tile cutting this is plenty. Most > tiles have a similar thickness and few ceramic tiles measure more than a > quarter or > third of an inch thick (except from some specialty tiles) so 650W of > power is more than enough to complete regular tile cutting tasks with > ease. I haven't > been able to bog the saw down yet during a regular tile cut. The motor > is also of the induction type. It is very quiet when switched on and no > ear protection > will be needed. Once you start cutting a tile however, the noise level > jumps up a little. This is not the saw itself becoming noisier, but > simply the noise > the tile makes as it is being sliced by the diamond blade. > > The saw uses a standard, non-segmented 180mm diamond edged cutting > blade. The bore size is listed at 15.88mm, which is 5/8". Finding > replacement blades > shouldn't be terribly difficult if you search a big box hardware store, > or from tile retailers that also sell cutting gear (many do). A quality > tile cutting > blade will last for quite a long time if used only to cut common tile > materials. A plastic blade guard protects the user from accidentally > striking a spinning > blade causing injury. Personally, I found the blade guard was a little > flimsy, but when set properly, it performs the task it is designed to do > and doesn't > really move when the saw is turned on and cutting is in progress, so who > I am to criticize! Its light weight probably contributes to the saw's > easy portability, > so my back certainly is thankful for that. > > The next main feature is the table itself. It can tilt to the right to > 45 degrees if you have a need to make a beveled tile cut. As most tile > cuts will > likely be made at the square 90 degree setting, I didn't really find > much use for the tilting table function but at least the function is > there if and > when you do need it. A small knob on the front of the unit releases the > table allowing you to tilt it to 45 degrees. The small etched scale and > arrow marking > system approximates the bevel angle. It's crude but more than sufficient > for tiling cuts, where accuracy to less than a single degree is rarely > required, > if at all. > > The scale on the table itself provides a method by which a distance from > the blade can be calculated to set the fence. It measures a little over > 8 inches > left of the blade, and 4 inches right of the blade, with a central "0" > setting in line with the blade's projected kerf cut line. The scale is > found front > and back on the table as the fence is a dual clamp system and not self > aligning, so to get a square cut, you need to set the fence at the same > measurement > front and back. > > The fence itself is of aluminum box construction. It is fairly rigid > when locked down. You can flex it a little, but only with excessive > pressure you wouldn't > normally be applying pushing a tile against it, so it is really a moot > point. Under normal use, there is no visible flex and tile cuts remain > parallel > front to back. As mentioned above, the fence uses a basic front/back > clamping method, using a cam-type clamp up front with a pressure > adjustable turning > lever, pretty similar to the clamps you find on Leigh dovetail jigs, > although not as substantial, or as bulky either. In use the fence works > well. A little > fiddly to align and clamp down at times, but no different to any other > tile cutting saw of similar design and price tag. A miter gauge is > provided which > sits over the tube fence and rides along the top of it. The fit is snug, > but easy moving with little side to side play to ensure good accuracy. > The guide > can be rotated 45 degrees either way to make mitered tile cuts, and the > right angle in the gauge itself provides a relatively secure "caddy" to > hold the > tile against while making a cut. The gauge is marked, curiously, in 2.5 > degree increments, with major marks at 15, 30 and 45 degree settings > each way. > The yellow knob atop the gauge secures and releases the gauge to its > runner to allow you to make changes to the gauge's angle. > > When it comes to alignment and fence issues, GMC's addition of their > "Redeye" laser to the tile saw offers back some brownie points. Since > most tile cuts > are not measured by setting the fence itself, but rather scribed as a > line on the tile itself to fit a particular space taken right from the > jobsite, the > ability to bring the fence and tile together, then move them to line up > your pencil line on the tile with the laser line generated from the > laser arm "floating" > above makes quick and simple fence setting for distance possible. The > laser uses two AAA size batteries, and two are included in the kit to > get you started, > and even these are nicely branded with GMC logos! The laser can be > adjusted in several planes to line up with the blade's projected cutting > line forward > of the blade tip allowing fairly precise fence settings. Naturally, > precautions must always be followed when using any laser products. > Although the output > is low, personal injury is still very possible. Never look directly into > the laser beam itself, and read all other precautions in the provided > manual to > ensure safe use. The laser arm attaches to the side of the unit with the > provided hardware, but you do of course have the option to remove the > laser arm > from the saw if you wish. I find it very handy, so it's not going > anywhere! > > The main power switch is a simple on/off switch with a yellow safety > key. The safety key can be removed to essentially disable the switch and > prevent the > saw from being used. These switches are great when you have small > children around with inquisitive minds! However, they are also a good > safety feature > to disable the switch when servicing the machine, changing blades, or > cleaning it down etc. > > Looking down underneath the table you will find the water compartment. > This area under the saw feeds the blade with a constant supply of > cooling water, > which also helps reduce the amount of fine airborne dust thrown up by > the tile as it is cut. There is a plug feature which also acts as the > maximum water > fill level line. If you overfill the compartment, the excess water will > simply drain out from the bottom of the saw body. If you have ever cut > tile before, > you will know very well how much dust can be created in the process. > Adding a little water to the process greatly reduces this problem. Sure, > you often > do end up with a nice sludgy mix of dust and water building up in the > lower compartment and on the table itself after many cuts, but it is > easily removed > with a rag. It sure beats inhaling copious amounts of fine tile dust and > suffering serious lung damage as a result. Bring on the slime, I say! I > found > that almost no visible dust was created above the table top when cutting > a tile. The water really helps reduce airborne dust to almost zero. > > Use and Conclusion > The GMC LSTSAW Tile Cutting Saw is quite simple to use providing you > have some basic knowledge of the tool and understand the way it cuts. > Those who own > a table saw will be very familiar with these principles, as they are > essentially the same with this tile saw. For new users, the included > full-color manual > will provide all the tips and safety information you need to use the > tool correctly and safely. > > With proper set up, making dead straight cuts to a marked line should be > no problem at all with this saw. With the many tiles I cut, there was > really no > sign of chipout on either face of the tile, and cuts were very clean and > "sharp". Given its price tag of AUD $169 I feel you do get enough out of > this > saw to field the opinion that it does provide good value for money. It's > not a commercial machine, but it's not priced at a commercial level > either, and > for what some hire companies charge you to rent out a tile saw for a > couple days, you could buy your very own GMC LSTSAW tile saw to keep and > use for as > long as you want. Sure, the saw is not absolutely perfect, and I have > mentioned some minor issues in the text above, but in the end, I found > it achieved > the task it is designed to do; to cut tiles quickly and easily with good > accuracy. A handy little tool to have for your next tiling job. > > ********************************************************************** > This message and its attachments may contain legally > privileged or confidential information. If you are not the > intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the > information contained in it. 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