Ok moving into a house in about a week. I will be putting in crown molding and eventually retiling over 50% of the house. I need a mitre saw, and a tile saw, but can they be one and the same? I may just get a 12" compound mitre saw, and use a tile cutter(etch then break) design. That tile cutter costs about 40-80 bucks. Seems the heavy duty tile saws include a water basin to keep the blade cool/cutting smooth. I don't think I'll be doing many complicated tile cuts, but it could happen as I'll be tiling around 1000-1200 square feet or so. I may just rent a tile saw to do the difficult cuts, but an all in one saw would be ideal

Not sure if I see the need in a double bevel design, but would be interested if I could use it for tile too.

 

i wanna get rid of my table saw, we r gonna have a garage sale and sell it but if u want it, u got it man, well for a price...... have to talk to my dad

 

I don't know if anyone makes a dual purpose saw for wood and tile. If your just putting in molding, you don't really need a heavy duty mitre saw. A cheaper Ryobi model in 10" will do just fine. You might could even get away with an 8" saw. I'm pretty sure they make those. Those big 12" saws can cut pretty big pieces of wood. If all your doing is molding then it would be pretty overkill. Hell you could even buy a mitre box and hand saw. But you'll definately get a cleaner cut with the mitre.

As far as the tile is concerned. Renting would probably be the way to go as long as you bust *** and get it done quick. I used one of those tile cutters before where you score the tile with the blade. They are allright as long as your not cutting a bunch of tile and not cutting 12"x12" tile, atleast in my experience. Me and my friend were cutting small 3"x3" or 4"x4" tiles. It worked OK for those but was still a PITA when you had to cut just a small sliver of tile off. I would rent one of the tile saws with the water. If you'll be making a bunch of cuts. And some ear protection. Those suckers are loud.

Good Luck.

 

you need at least a 10 inch saw, the crown you will have to cut upside down and backwards, and you will probably need a compound miter. ryobi makes decent stuff for the homeowner level, we have 3 compound dewalt 12 inch sliders, but those are $600 a pop, nothing you would need. what size crown will you be using??

as far as the tile, if youre just doing it for you self, you could use a score and snap cutter, but make sure it has a long enough reach to cut your largest tiles diagonally. get a good set of tile nips too, youll need them for around the toilet and for notching things. if you find that renting a tile saw isnt too expensive, that may be the way to go.

if you need any help with anything let me know. interior trim is my main trade, but i know how to do pretty much anything. there are a few others on the site who do similar work as well.

 

yeh id buy a compound mitre saw...those boxes are crap and will just **** you off...ryobi has a cheap one, and i have a ryobi drill which i am very pleased with...

no you can't buy a saw that will do moulding AND tile, to cut tile you need a diamond tipped blade...id suggest just buying the cheapest one from lowes/home depot...ive used one for several apartments(i manage several apartments for my parents) and its worked just fine...plus if you ever need to do tile again or have a friend who sees your tile and his wife goes, "hey why dont you do that to our house?", you can loan it to him...

good luck tiling is sooo much fun :roll:

JIM

edit...im talking about a tile saw, not the score then break type...in my opinon those are a total waste of money...

 

Well I'll have around 500 bucks to spend on tools and such. I am looking at a 12" compount mitre saw at home depot. Even has the laser to show you exactly where your cut will be. I'd try to link it but home depot's site isn't link friendly. The model I want 300 bucks, so that leaves 200 for either renting or buying a small tile saw. I am looking at Dewalt, Ridgid and Delta models in the $300 ball park.

But I do want something heavy duty as my only other circular saw is handheld. The molding is probably gonna be pretty tall, and I have some interesting angles to work with in a few rooms, but I think 12" should cover it. Is a double bevel really just a convience, or a necessity?

Bryan, not sure if I want/need a table saw, but maybe if the price is right...

Luckily we're painting and doing molding first, then comes the tile so I have time to plan it out. I just figured if I'm buying a mitre saw today, I should check to see if one saw could do both. So now I know...

 

Make sure you get a quality saw. If you buy one at Sears, buy the best warranty they offer. If you are going to be using the saw A LOT, there is a chance that you will burn it out. We burned out a miter saw when we were doing some renovations to our house, and thank goodness for that warranty.

 

I've renovated my whole house with a Delta 12" sliding compound miter saw. I've made a million cuts with it and it still runs great. I have a table saw also that can do anything a miter saw can, but it isn't portable and it is harder to cut trim with it because you have to move the trim instead of moving the saw.

You should also get a nail gun. A small finish nailer or brad nailer. I've found the finish nailer works best on baseboard and the brad nailer works good everywhere else.

I've cut inch thick solid oak stair treads that are 12 inches wide with that Delta, did all the trim in every room of a 2000 square foot house and even done 300 square feet of solid oak floor with it. It's a must have tool if you are going to do quality work. I'd go sliding if you can afford it, otherwise at least get a 12 incher.

 

delta is a good saw for the price, you will only need a compound miter if you plan on cutting wide wood at a flat 45 angle, say, tall base on an outside corner OR if you plan on cutting your crown flat. we lay our crown up agains the bottom and back guards, upside down just like it would fit on the ceiling, then you wont need to tilt the saw. if youre going to cut really wide wood, say over 8 inches wide, you may need a sliding saw. as far as nailguns go, all we use is a angle finish nailer (up to 2-1/2 inches) and a staple gun. we dont really use the straight brad nailers that much, they are harder to get in tight spots, but they do use less air and a cleaner entry wound

 

just a thought...if you do the moudling after the tile...you can place the moulding on top of the tile to hide any imperfections in your cuts...kinda pisses you off when you cut a tile and lay it in then realize the cut or the wall isnt quite straight

JIM

 

ur best bet fopr that tile saw is renting from home depot, i rented one with my dad to do the tile in my bathroom, my sisters bathroom, and out laundryroom, its a pretty nice tool too, high quality, it is better than any one u r gonna buy for 200, just rent it for a day for like $25

 

A finish nailer will bust quarter round in half, the nail is to wide. Use a brad nailer when you run the risk of splitting the wood.

 

Yeah, Bryan, I will probably rent it. The current prices are 40 bucks for a day, and 25 bucks for 4 hours.