If you've ever done (if you're a professional) or considered (if you're a DIYer) a large tile job, you know how amazing a high-capacity wet saw can be to help you get the job done quickly. While I know many people who swear by small saws, straight edge cutters, and even diamond edge grinders, a wet saw like a Chicago Electric tile saw is often the go-to tool when dealing with dense tile like porcelain, and it's traditional Tougher to cut than standard tile.
Ah, tiles. rugged. dense. We have over 250 square feet of space to install…most on the wall…half of it in a diamond pattern…with chair rails and decorative inserts. Now is not the time to try a weak chainsaw, especially considering the density of porcelain versus tile. For this job, we chose a 2.5 HP 10-inch Wet Saw from Chicago Electric Power Tools. Chicago Electric sells almost exclusively through Harbor Freight – a name that conjures up some people's images of cheap Chinese tools. In others, thoughts shift to how long their no-name tool will last. In either case, we were able to snag this giant 10" tile saw for less than $200 — not a bad deal if you've shopped around for a full-size tile saw like the Bosch TC10 .
Chicago Electric Tile Saw Build Quality
The Chicago Electric Power Tools 10″ Tile Saw is actually a very sturdy saw. It has a cast alloy body and a dual station cutting head that can handle tile and masonry up to 3.75" thick. The frame is made of steel with Has a square welded base with lots of support and tubular rims attached to the rollers and slide mechanism. This is a very heavy piece of equipment, weighing up to 140 lbs at the shop. Since it has no stands, even if you're just moving it from a nearby shed to the table for cutting, this thing is also heavy. We wholeheartedly recommend getting some sort of stand for the saw, preferably with wheels. Chicago Electric Tools has a folding table stand with wheels, but stronger 3rd party solutions are possible More suitable for long-term use and storage.
Tile cutting is done by placing the tile on the rolling cutting tray and sliding the tray towards the 10" diamond blade. The blades run about $20 at Harbor Freight, but you can pick up 10-inch blades for $11 to $150 at your local home improvement store. We'll save the diamond blade shootout for another article. The rolling tray is made from the same strong steel and has rubber pads on top to hold the tiles securely in place and dampen vibrations during cutting.
Where the pallet meets the steel frame, there is a steel-to-steel rail system that allows the pallet to slide along the left side. It's important to keep the rails lubricated because there are no ball bearings or rollers on the hinge side to help the tray roll smoothly. On the other side is a single small roller, positioned centrally along the length of the pallet, guiding the right side along the tubular right side rail. The tray and rail combination gets the job done, but isn't terribly complicated.
adequate pumping
The included 3 gallon per minute pump is actually pretty solid. You would think there would be a problem with filter clogging over time, but the physics of the pump is such that it will only block large tiles and not introduce other real filters to clog dilute thin sets or other foreign materials. Over time we've found the pump to be a little weak, and it actually works best when plugged in by itself, rather than through the 3A switched outlet located next to the chainsaw's power supply. This is the same pump that I've seen powering various lawn fountains around, so continuing to use it isn't a problem as long as it gets a continuous stream of water.
Chicago electric tile saw room needs improvement
We did notice a few issues. One of them was a kink in the clear hose leading from the pump to the dual feed tube of the watering blade. It doesn't completely block the flow of water, but it's a permanent kink that won't show up over time. The second problem was that one of the metal water pipes used to direct the water to the blades was closed, causing the water to miss the blades. We used a flat head screwdriver to bend the tube back into place and to better cool the contact point where the blade meets the tile during the cut. This is called a "wet saw" for a reason. If there is not enough water entering the diamond blade at the point of contact, your tile will chip and crumble more easily, and you won't get a clean cut.
Accessories
The Chicago Electric Tile Saw comes with a straight edge guide and a 45-degree miter guide, allowing you to cut corners on chair arms as needed. The included tray is made of ABS plastic and has a rubber stop that is chained to the tray. It's a relatively shallow tray, which isn't a big deal, unless you're making sure you're on fairly level ground when using the saw, you won't have enough water to completely cover the pump and cool the cutting surface of the blade. I do like the weight of the plastic container, and the fact that the drain can be easily opened to drain most of the water into the 5 gallon bucket. Afterwards it's a simple process of removing the tray and hose it down, ready for the next day's work.
Testing the Chicago Electric Wet Tile Saw
We've really abused this saw and used it for a variety of jobs, from simple tile to hard china and even some brick cutting. One thing we never experienced was motor or blade lag. No matter what we feed the saw, the blade never stagnates or lacks power. That means the saw is only as good as the blade you put in it. While we plan to test out the diamond blade at a later date, Harbor Freight's $20 will definitely get the job done, although we suspect a better blade might make cutting easier and more precise (we did notice a lot of chipping around the edges) we cut – this is usually not an issue with the type of tile we install).
Blade replacement is quick and easy. To change the blade, the metal guard lifts up to expose the 5/8" arbor (which, by the way, is how you access the metal pipe that feeds the water to the cutting area). To allow quick blade changes on the 2.5 hp tile saw, it features a spring-loaded blade lock that stops the blade from spinning when you use a wrench to loosen the arbor and replace the diamond blade. It works really well and you don't need to apply a lot of force to the spring loaded actuator to stop the blade. To the left of the power supply and blade stop, the metal cover surrounds the belt system that drives the blade shaft. Replacing the belt is a simple function of removing the belt cover and accessing the drive system underneath with two hex wrenches.
Cut tiles like butter
The lighter tiles are sawn like butter. It also cuts through bricks like plasticine. On harder porcelain products the cut is much more controlled, the edges will chip and the speed at which we push the tile needs to be slowed down to ensure we don't push too hard and crack the tile at the end of the cut. There is a little friction when pushing the tray through the cutout, you do need to push from the left side where the hinge and guide assembly is.
Pushing from the right seemed to bind the tray, even with a generous spray of WD-40 all over the guide system. To alleviate this, we recommend using some lithium-based grease, which is more viscous, lubricates better, and won't evaporate or wash off as easily as WD-40. The over-constraint is due to the lack of bearings and guides, which rely on the distribution of friction over a large area of circular steel pipe. Overall it works, but it's a bit clunky, and a more expensive product will show a significant improvement.
Use the included diamond blade
The 10" diamond blade we used was purchased with the saw at Harbor Freight and it was a little thick on one side, but even that was good enough to cut all kinds of tile. When cutting porcelain in a diagonal pattern, we've found that applying equal pressure to the tile and letting the saw cut gradually—without forcing the blade through—produces the best results. In fact, we cut eight 12" tiles straight down the center and none of them broke prematurely or left the edges unfinished.
BTW, if you want to cut any tiles larger than 12" diagonally with this saw, you'll need to look elsewhere. One of the downsides of this saw compared to some of the more expensive competing products is that many of the more expensive saws allow you to cut tiles up to 18 inches diagonally. The water jet also covers the blade well, ensuring the cutting path is completely cooled and dust from cutting is kept to a minimum.
cutting thicker tiles
We had some extra thick tile from a local Florida supplier, Florida Tile, and the saw did an excellent job of cutting it, although it was very loud in doing so. In a given 12" tile cut, we've measured up to 120 dB SPL at 3 feet using a standard SPL meter – if sustained at this level, some damage will indeed occur. The saw with basic ceramic wall tiles was noticeably quieter at just 110 dB SPL. Your final noise output level is more of a combination of the blade interacting with the tile at the rotational speed of the saw, not necessarily a negative, but if you end up cutting into something that resonates equally loudly, it's not a bad idea to consider hearing protection – especially Yes if you do it for a living.
Speaking of revs, we tested the manufacturer's spec of 3340 rpm and found it to be well below the actual 3775 rpm we recorded with the laser tachometer. Granted, the saw does hit a higher peak (over 3800 rpm) when it starts up, then settles down when it starts biting into a tile, at a speed closer to the manufacturer's specs. On its own, the tile saw is fairly quiet, with a sound pressure level of just 74dB measured at 3 feet. While Harbor Freight offers a lifetime warranty on all hand tools, its power tools (unless otherwise noted) come with a standard 30-day money-back and 90-day replacement warranty.
in conclusion
Overall, the Chicago Electric Tile Saw packs a punch. Its solid build quality, 10-inch diamond blade, and powerful 2.5 HP motor really power most jobs without even breaking a sweat. Some niceties like a longer cutting tray, smoother rolling action and better water delivery might be found on competing models—but at a much higher price. There's also the matter of the short warranty — at only 90 days, you're on your own. It's hard to fault this saw, though, especially after using it for multiple jobs without any real difficulty.
In this case, the cheap option paid off and resulted in a very useful tool that performed above and beyond our expectations. We think it deserves a 9 in our Value rating because of its ridiculously low price and great performance—especially since we see this tool retailing for just $199. You'll be hard-pressed to find a decent 7" tile saw for this price. Overall, it's hard not to recommend this as a recommended tool. We think most pros and do-it-yourselfers will find this an especially good deal.