Hand-holding on saw purchase

[papavino]

Now that I'm to the actual dome and floor building part of my WFO, I need to make a decision on the type of saw to use/buy. I'm torn between table-mitre-tile. A tile saw would be the ideal for this project, and I can foresee some more uses coming up with tiling a shower, bathroom floor, front entry, and the kitchen. A table saw would be useful for the kitchen remodel if I choose to build my own custom cabinets. A mitre saw would be great for everything else. I can see using a mallet and chisel for the dome bricks, but I want a nice, smooth surface on all faces of the oven floor. For the few bricks that I'll be cutting for the floor, I am thinking that it won't kill either a table saw or a mitre saw. But looking at the projects that I have coming up after the oven, I can see the benefit of having a proper tile saw. Someone, anyone, just say "Get a tile saw. You won't regret it." Ugh.

[blacknoir]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Get a tile saw. You won't regret it!

I would never use a table or miter saw for cutting tile unless it was made for tile cutting and had water circulation. You'll need a very good table saw for cabinet making, I'm a wood guy not a tile or masonry guy, and you will NOT want to take the chance of damaging it by cutting brick.

[dougrappe]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

and furthermore...save your lungs and your hearing, a wet-tile saw will cut cleaner and quieter. I'm a woodworker too, the thought of cutting any kind of masonry on a tablesaw gives me chills.

Get a tile saw you won't regret it.

Doug

[papavino]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Thanks, guys. I'll definitely go the route of tile saw. I was thinking HF, but also looking at the QEP 6200 as a step up since this will be used quite a bit in the coming months and years.

[dmun]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

I'm not usually a cheerleader for Chinese machinery, but my HF 10" wet saw is a champ. I did my dome, a whole lot of masonry for the enclosure, a fireplace, a two story chimney angled at 8 degrees, quarry tile cover for same, and now working on a granite tile bathroom floor, no problem except the pump, which may have been improved my now, and in any event can be made more long-lived by running it in a bucket of clear water instead of the muddy saw tray.

[RTflorida]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

ALL THREE!!!
I can't imagine NOT owning a tile saw, table saw, and miter saw. I would also say that a circular saw and jig saw are "must haves" for any DIYer......my list could go on and on.

Get the HF 10". I, like dmun, have never cared for chinese machinery (I have always had terrible luck with motors, switches, relays), but this saw has proven indestructable in my 3 yrs of ownership. Even the original pump still works fine. By far, this has been one of my smarter tool purchases. At $199 I figured I would be lucky to get through my oven build...it has done 2 bathroom and 2 kitchen remodels since, involving granite, porceline, and ceramic tiles.

RT

[jmhepworth]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

If you register with Harbor Freight, they periodically send a 20% off coupon. That helps a lot on something as expensive as the saw.

[papavino]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

I signed up for the e-mail newsletter, but I also did a check via Google to see if I could find a coupon. And I found a 20 % off coupon good until tomorrow. The latest flyer also has the saw listed at $229 until July 5th, I think. I'm definitely going to take advantage of that! Thanks for all the encouragement!

[ttriche]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

I signed up for the e-mail newsletter, but I also did a check via Google to see if I could find a coupon. And I found a 20 % off coupon good until tomorrow. The latest flyer also has the saw listed at $229 until July 5th, I think. I'm definitely going to take advantage of that! Thanks for all the encouragement!

Yeah it goes on sale periodically. It's $184 when you apply the 20% off coupon to the sale price. It's worth every penny. I bought the stand (another 20% off coupon, of course) although some 2x4s and wheels would do as well. I'd like a better angle jig, but otherwise it's perfect.

Rarely have I been as pleased with a tool as I am with the 10" wet saw. It's great. I bought the extra year's worth of coverage (may up it to 2 years) in case I manage to destroy it. So far, it seems like the saw is laughing off every idiotic mistake I've made. I bought a blade on eBay; I'd do that again, but I'd get a nicer blade (you can get a turbo blade with 15mm segment height for around $40, which would make for much faster cuts). One thing I'd suggest against is ever allowing the pump to run dry -- not because I care about the pump, but because you could wreck your blade if you cut without running water. That would suck. I did it once before the horrifying flinty burning smell alerted me to the problem.

If you're interested in building a low dome oven, or just like using expansion bolts for anchoring things, their 3/4" SDS rotary hammer is also a champ, and costs $44 right now ($36 with 20% off coupon). The difference between a real SDS rotary hammer and a cordless 'hammer drill' is night and day. Placing rebar uprights for the insulating buttress and knocking in 1/2" redheads would have taken forever with a cordless hammerdrill; it took me about 45 minutes with the SDS drill this morning to knock in 20 upright pieces of rebar and 4 more horizontals for extra cement under the landing. For $36 I can't imagine a much more useful tool, although it does feel like cheap Chinese crap (which it is). But man does it get the job done.

And there you have it, the only two exceptional tools I've ever seen from Bottom-of-the-Harbor Freight :-)

[Lars]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Buy a chisel!!! You will be done with the entire oven before you even get your tile saw!

Lars.

[papavino]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Thanks, Lars. I think I'll use a chisel for most of the bricks in the dome, but I'll use the saw to make nice, clean cuts on the floor and the transition. That seems like a good compromise between the traditional way and the modern way. I went and picked up the HF saw today and put it together tonight. Everyone gets a +1 for the comments about the assembly instructions. Absolutely useless. I need to get a chisel from a friend this week, then I'm totally in business.

[ttriche]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Thanks, Lars. I think I'll use a chisel for most of the bricks in the dome, but I'll use the saw to make nice, clean cuts on the floor and the transition. That seems like a good compromise between the traditional way and the modern way. I went and picked up the HF saw today and put it together tonight. Everyone gets a +1 for the comments about the assembly instructions. Absolutely useless. I need to get a chisel from a friend this week, then I'm totally in business.

I don't get it. You have a fairly precise instrument now, which could enable you to build your dome with much smaller joints and much greater structural integrity. It wasn't free, either. Why not use it?

If anything, I'd say that the transition and floor could easily be done with a chisel, whereas a tight dome practically requires a 10" diamond saw. YMMV. I used mine for just about everything and certainly don't regret doing so.

[Lars]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Well Papavino,
Of course everyone thinks their own way is the best, otherwise, why would they choose it for themselves. Personally, I liked the quiet plink, and relatively accurate angle cuts I made with a chisel. ( and I will let you know in 100 years whether my dome has 'structural integrity') I am sure that many of the surviving ovens from antiquity were made with a 10" diamond saw, so I guess I am stuck in the stone age.

I am pretty sure that either way, ( chisel of saw) with the proper mortar, your dome will have structural integrity. I put up a post about using a chisel for cutting a taper on bricks in the 'tips and techniques' section a while back. I thought this method worked very well for my dome, and reduced the size of the mortar joints between the bricks horizontally at least...

[papavino]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

I'm sure both methods will create a structurally sound oven. I'm going to try them both just to gain the experience. That's what is so great about this. I'm greatly expanding my skill set during this project. I've never used a tile saw, never cut brick, never chiseled brick. But after this week I will have done all of those.
In anticipation of the end result, I made a pizza last night to feed the helpers. Conventional oven, but it was still good.

Take care.

[RTflorida]

Re: Hand-holding on saw purchase

Lars, I don't think tt was attacking your build method. I think we all have an appreciation for "old school" work by hand. This thread was all about using a wet saw (whether good or bad) and papa was obviously bitten by the power tool bug and purchased the saw.....now he has a saw that he may or may not use. I'm a bit confused as well.

RT