If youโveย ever taken on (if youโre a professional) or thought about taking on (if youโreย a DIY-er) a large tiling job, then you know how amazing a large capacity wetย saw can be in helping you get the job done quickly. While I know plenty ofย people who swear by smaller saws, straight edge cutters, and even diamond-bladed angle grinders, a wet saw like the Chicago Electric tile saw is often a must-have tool when dealing withย denser tile like porcelain, which is traditionally harder to cut through thanย standard ceramic tile.
Ah, porcelain tile. Rugged. Dense. And we had just over 250 square feet of it to installโฆ mostly on the wallsโฆ and half of it in a diamond patternโฆ with chair rail and decorative inserts. This was not a time to try out a wimpy saw particularly when you consider the density of porcelain vs ceramic tile. Forย this job, we chose a 2.5 HP 10-inch wet saw from Chicago Electric Power Tools. Chicago Electric is sold almostย exclusively through Harbor Freight โ a name that will bring to mind visions ofย bargain-priced inexpensive Chinese tools in some. In others, the thought willย drift to how long their no-name tools will last. In either case, we were ableย to pick up this 10-inch behemoth tile saw for less than $200 โ not a bad dealย if youโve done any shopping around for full-sized tile saws like the Bosch TC10 Tile Saw.
Chicago Electric Tile Saw Build Quality
The Chicago Electric Powerย Tools 10โณ Tile Saw is actually a pretty rugged saw. It has a cast alloyย body and two-position cutting head for handling both tile and masonry up toย 3.75โณ in thickness. The frame is made of steel, with a squared-off weldedย base with plenty of supports and a tubular rim to which is attached the rollerย and sliding mechanism. Itโs an extremely heavy device, weighing in at 140ย pounds at the store. Since it doesnโt come with a stand, this thing is one heckย of a load, even when youโre just porting it from a nearby shed to a table forย cutting. Weโd heartily recommend purchasing some kind of stand for the saw,ย preferably something with wheels. Chicago Electric Tools has a folding table stand withย wheels, however a more robust third-party solutions might be better for longย term use and storage.
Tileย cutting is done by placing a tile on the rolling cutting tray and then slidingย the tray towards the 10-inch diamond blade. Blades cost around $20 at Harborย Freight, but youโll pay anywhere from $11 โ $150 for a 10-inch blade at your localย home improvement store. Weโll save the diamond blade shootout for anotherย article. The rolling tray is built out of the same sturdy steel and has rubberย pads on top to hold the tile securely in place and cushion it againstย vibrations during a cut.
Where the tray meets the steel frame there is aย steel-on-steel guide system that allows the tray to slide along the left side.ย Itโs important to keep the guide lubricated as there are no ball bearings orย rollers on the hinge side to help the tray roll smoothly. On the opposite sideย is a single small roller, centrally located along the length of the tray whichย guides the right side along the tubular right-side rail. The composition of theย tray and guide rail gets the job done, but itโs not very sophisticated.
Adequate Water Pumping
Theย included 3 gallon per minute water pump is actually pretty robust. Youโd thinkย it would present a problem over time with the filter clogging up, but theย physical makeup of the pump is such that it merely keeps out large pieces ofย tile and introduces no other real filters to get clogged with diluted thin-setย or other foreign materials. Over time we found that the pump got a tad weak andย it actually worked best when plugged in separately and not via the 3A switchedย outlet located just off the power supply of the saw. This is the same pump Iย see powering all manner of lawn fountains in my neighborhood, so continued useย isnโt a problem provided itโs able to get a continuous flow of water.
Chicago Electric Tile Saw Room for Improvement
We didย note a couple of problems. One was that the clear hose that leads from the pump toย the twin feeder tubes that douse the blade had a kink in it. It wasnโtย completely blocking the water flow, but it was a permanent kink that wouldnโtย come out over time. The second issue was that one of the metal water tubes usedย to direct water to the blade was off, causing the water stream to miss theย blade. We used a flat head screwdriver to bend the tube back into position andย do a better job of cooling down the point of contact where the blade meets theย tile during a cut. There is a reason this is called a โwet saw.โ Ifย you donโt have enough water getting to the diamond blade at the point ofย contact, your tile can chip and shatter more easily and you wonโt get a cleanย cut.
Included Accessories
The Chicago Electric tile sawย comes with a straight edge guide as well as a 45-degree miter guide which willย allow you to make corner cuts on chair rail as needed. The included tray isย made of ABS plastic and comes with a rubber stop that is attached to the trayย with a chain. Itโs a relatively shallow tray, which isnโt a big deal exceptย that youโll want to make sure youโre on fairly level ground when using the sawย or you wonโt have enough water level to completely cover the water pump andย cool the cutting surface of the blade. I did like how light the plasticย container was and that the drain could easily be unstopped to allow forย draining of the majority of the water into a 5 gallon bucket. After that it wasย a simple process of removing the tray and cleaning it off with a hose to readyย it for the next dayโs work.
Testing the Chicago Electric Wet Tile Saw
We reallyย abused the heck out of this saw and used it for a variety of jobs, from simpleย ceramic tile to hard porcelain and even some brick cutting. One thing we neverย experienced was a lag in the motor or blade. No matter what we fed the saw, theย blade never bogged down or lacked for power. That means that this saw is aboutย as good as the blade you put in it. While we plan on testing diamond blades atย a later date, the $20 one from Harbor Freight certainly got the job done,ย though we suspect a better blade might make cuts even easier and more preciseย (we did note a lot of chipping around the edges of our cuts โ something thatย typically isnโt a problem with the type of tile we were installing).
Bladeย changes were quick and easy. To change the blade, the metal guard lifts up toย expose the 5/8โณ arbor (incidentally this is also how you would access theย metal tubes which feed water to the cutting area). To allow the 2.5 horsepowerย tile saw to quickly change blades, it features a spring-loaded blade lock thatย stops the blade from spinning while you use a wrench to loosen up the arbor andย replace the diamond blade. It worked extremely well and you didnโt have toย apply a lot of force to the spring-loaded activator to get the blade to stop. Toย the left of the power supply and blade stop, a metal cover surrounds the beltย system that drives the blade axle. Replacing the belt is a simple function ofย removing the belt cover with two hex wrenches and accessing the drive systemย underneath.
Cuts Ceramic Tile Like Butter
Lighter ceramic tile the saw cut through pieces like butter. It also slicedย through brick like it was made of play-dough. On harder porcelain productsย there was a much more controlled cut with some edge chipping and a need to slowย down the speed with which we pushed the tile through to ensure we didnโt forceย it and crack the tile at the end of the cut. When pushing the tray through theย cut there is a bit of friction and you really need to push from the left sideย where the hinge and guide assembly is located.
Pushing from the right seemed toย bind the tray, even with ample amounts of WD-40 sprayed all over theย guide system. To alleviate this, we recommend getting a hold of someย lithium grease which sticks better and provides a bit more lubrication thatย wonโt evaporate or wash away as easily as WD-40. The excessive binding is dueย to the lack of bearings and a guide which relies on distribution of frictionย across a large area of rounded steel piping. Overall it works, but itโs a tadย clumsy and an area where more expensive products will show a markedย improvement.
Using the Included Diamond Blade
The 10-inchย diamond blade we were using, which we purchased at Harbor Freight with the saw,ย was a tad on the thick side, but even so did an adequate job of slicing thoughย all sorts of tile. In cutting through porcelain in a diagonal pattern, we foundย that applying equal pressure to the tile and allowing the saw to cut through itย gradually โ without forcing the blade through โ yielded the best results. Inย fact, we cut over 8 pieces of 12-inch tile directly down the center and not oneย broke off early or resulted in an edge that wasnโt cleanly completed.
By theย way, if youโre looking to cut anything larger than 12-inch tile diagonally withย this saw youโll need to go somewhere else. One of the downsides with this sawย vs. some of the more expensive competition is that many more expensive sawsย allow up to 18-inch tile to be cut on a diagonal. The water jets also did anย excellent job of covering the blade and ensuring that the cutting path wasย completely cooled and that dust from the cut was kept to a minimum.
Cutting Thicker Porcelain Tile
We had someย particularly thick porcelain tile from Florida Tile, a local supplier here inย the state and the saw did an excellent job of slicing through it, though it wasย incredibly loud as it did so. On a given 12-inch porcelain tile cut we measuredย up to 120 dB SPL at 3 feet with our standard SPL meter โ a level that, ifย sustained, could really do some damage. The saw was noticeably quieter withย basic ceramic wall tile, just 110 dB SPL. Your ultimate noise output level isย more a combination of the blade interacting with the tile at the rotationalย speed of the saw and not necessarily a negative, but itโs not a bad idea toย consider hearing protection should you end up cutting into something thatย resonates equally loud โ especially if you do this for a living.
Speaking ofย rotational speed, we tested the manufacturerโs specification of 3340 rpm andย found it to be far less than the actual 3775 rpms we recorded with our laserย tachometer. Of course, the saw did peak higher at start up (over 3800 rpms) andย then settle down to a speed closer to the manufacturerโs spec when it began toย bite into a piece of tile. On its own, the tile saw is rather quiet, measuringย just 74dB SPL at 3 feet. While Harbor Freight has a lifetime warranty on allย hand tools, its power tools (unless otherwise noted) have a standard 30-dayย money back and 90 day replacement warranty.
Conclusion
Overall theย Chicago Electric Tile Saw packs a wallop. Its robust buildย quality, 10-inch diamond blade, and powerful 2.5 HP motor really powers through most jobs without evenย breaking a sweat. Some of the niceties, like an extended cutting tray, smootherย rolling action, and better water delivery system might be found on competitorย models โ but at much higher prices. Thereโs also the issue of a short warrantyย โ just 90 days and youโre on your own. Still, itโs hard to fault this saw,ย especially after using it on multiple jobs without any real difficulties.
Thisย is one case where the inexpensive option has paid off and resulted in a veryย useful tool that has outperformed our expectations. Because of its ridiculouslyย low price and excellent performance we felt it deserved a 9 on our value ratingย โ especially since weโve seen this tool with a street price of just $199. Youโdย be hard-pressed to find a decent 7-inch tile saw for that price. Overall, itโs hard not to make this aย recommended tool. We think most professionals and do-it-yourselfers will findย it to be an especially good bargain.
