How Do You Cut Custom Shapes In Ceramic Floor Tiles?
Making straight cuts in ceramic tile is usually just a matter of scoring and snapping it on a tile cutter, but curves, angles and other custom cuts require a rod saw. This is a hand-held tool that looks like a small hacksaw, with a thin, rough carbide rod as a blade, which can saw around almost any contour. The trick with a rod saw is to make sure the blade cuts into the glazed surface only during the forward strokes, to prevent chipping. Mark the shape that you want on the face of your tile, using your wax pencil. Mark it clearly and firmly so it doesn’t wipe off as you’re working with the tile. Set the tile in a mounted vise with padded clamps. Make sure the main part of the drawn design is standing up out of the clamps, vertically. Hold the blade of your rod saw against the edge of the tile, at a point where the line meets the edge. Push the saw forward, tilting the blade slightly down toward the direction of the face, so it’s going through the glazed surface of the tile before it g
