Erbauer tile saw - any good?

[blondini]

I just got one of these from Screwfix.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/40530...s/Erbauer-ERB180C-Tile-Cutter-Chrome-Top-230V
Bit of an impulse purchase, was in buying something else, happened to need a tile saw, and this one was on clearance.

I've cut one sample porcelain flloor tile, not a great experience. The cut wasn't as clean as expected and I've found the cutting wheel is running eccentric. The edge also seems rather too smooth in places.

Am I expecting too much i.e. should the wheel run perfectly true, and should it cut perfectly clean? Should I just ask for a new wheel, or have I bought a pup?

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

This type of tile saw is very common and you will see it branded under many names, mine was Blackspur I think. They all share a common characteristic, they are cr&p IMHO . The riving knife behind the blade would not line up on mine and I swapped it for another which had exactly the same problem.

I went out and bought one of these

http://www.tradetiler.com/acatalog/info_master.html

and it has been really good

You pays yer money, yer takes yer choice

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

I have only used mine on ceramics and don't know how it would cope with porcelain, there are plenty of tilers who get on here who will be able to advise further I am sure.

 

[seaangler]

if you want to cut porcelain then you need a blade which is capable of the job - the blade that comes with the saw is not

try a norton supergres or a spectrum sl (which is cheaper than teh norton and does the job better)

 

[blondini]

Thanks for the replies. My decision is made and the machine is going back to Screwfix tomorrow. It is poorly manufactured, badly designed, and faulty. I'm rejecting it.

Billious, I'll take a look at the Plasplug machines instead. I have a Plasplug manual cutter and it's ok. I think B&Q have some offers on the electric ones at the moment.

seaangler, the blade was supposed to be diamond abrasive, and was labelled as suitable for various materials including granite, but it didn't mention porcelain. Is there a special blade for porcelain? I thought the eccentricity on mine was what caused the poor performance and possibly damaged the high spot on the cutting edge.

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

Here is the plasplugs website

http://www.plasplugs.com/master-tiler-06.html

and it does say it will cut porcelain

 

[blondini]

I can confirm that it does do what it says, and very nicely too

 

[inspectorgadget]

I bought one of these back in February as I knew I would need one soon and this one was a stock clearance. Today April 13th 2008 was the day and I have just unpacked it. Well it works, I don't know if it's any good because I have never tried a different model, I do know one thing though, how are you supposed to put the water tray in when it's full of water without the water tipping out? and if you pour the water into the tray whilst it's in situ how do you get the water out again? I suppose thats what you get for paying £29.99 for a tile saw. Lesson learnt.

 

[grommett]

I bought mine a few months ago and used it for a fully tiled shower room including porcelain floor tiles. I found the quality and accuracy of the cut was good on ceramic and porcelain. I think it is ideal for a DIY'r with the occaisional project.

Plus points - Cheap, can cut 400mm tiles, quite powerful.
Negative points - very difficult to fill with water without spilling it, difficult to adjust cutting guide and time consuming moving it from one side of the blade to the other, stick-on measuring guide started coming off on first use.

Overall, not particularly well designed but quite robust and very good value (mine even came with RCB in the plug).

 

[kingandy2nd]

These tile cutters are going for £15 quid at screwfix now. It’s cheap and cheerful but if you’re skilled and patient, then you can get a descent cut.

As a diy tool, you can’t really go wrong with it.