MK Tile Saw Buying Tips

If you were to buy a saw, you should know before hand the size of tile you are going to use. The smaller the tile, the lower is the capacity and hence the price. For small tiles of 8x8" you may have an MK Tile Saw, which uses a special angle grinder with a blade of 5-6". Now, that's a sturdy hard working machine but very noisy. Of course, there are experts who might use this machine even for cutting 16x16" travertine tile, but that would be a bit too much.

For 20x20" tile size you need a standard sized saw. But, for cutting diagonals of such a tile you have to use two operations, first you cut along half the diagonal and then turn the tile over to the other side and complete the cut across the diagonal. Dewalt makes a saw large enough to cut that sized diagonal in one operation only.

MK Tile Saw, Target, and Felker etc make first-rate saws but are very expensive and viable only if you are going to do a lot of tile work. Depending on the accessories you may opt, for a new Felker Tile Master would cost between $900-$1100. You may be lucky to buy a new decent saw for just $600 if one is on sale at the regular tile suppliers like Oregon Tile and Marble, or Intrepid.


At times one may find a good used saw. Look for the classifieds of popular newspapers or check up Craig's List. For small jobs of around 600 sq. ft., you might as well have it on rent. Check up with Star Rentals or any other equipment rental company. Perhaps Home Depot might rent wet saws too.

Be watchful of buying used saws:
Make it appoint to buy from reputable dealers only. Pawnshops sometimes have construction equipment but only the good ones will check if it's stolen. . If someone is selling a saw, find out why is he disposing it off. Someone going out of business and selling it is understandable but what if it were stolen or it might not work.

Have a trial before you pay.
Make sure that its blade works without much of wobbling. May be the seller already has a few broken pieces of tiles lying around. If for any reason the seller wouldn't let you try the machine, do not buy it. Invariably the pump of the old machines is not in working order. But that can be taken care of by spraying water thru a bottle or a hose to keep the blade cool. Make a few cuts to see that arbor is running fine and the motor too is o.k.