cutting out for sockets

[justinisaac]

Hello all

Could anyone give me some advice on how to cut holes in tiles for electrical outlets? The tiles are ceramic, 12 x 300 x 600. I tried with the angle grinder with a suitable blade from both front and back of the tile but when it comes to breaking the waste piece out the tile cracks.

Also tried drilling 65mm hole through the tile and then nibbling the rest out - same result unfortunately!

I have quite a few to cut out - some tiles have 3 sockets - so I would really appreciate some help as we don't have too many spares!

My kit includes a Rubi ts 600, the basic Rubi ceramic drill set, a few carbide tipped drills up to about 8mm, Rubi parrot and standard nibblers and a standard electric saw with a decent quality blade attached.

Thanks
Justin

 

[Gazzer]

Practice more mate. Have you tried plunge cutting on the wet saw? My preferred method is the angle grinder but it takes some getting used to.

 

[grumpygrouter]

You might want to try a dremmel with tile cutter bit. Drill a hole in each corner of the area to be cut and then use the dremmel to cut between the holes. Take your time though!

 

[Alan.P]

Hi Justin, my preferred method is plung cutting, obviously you cant see where the blade is coming through until it's through so start on the inside of the box see where it comes through and adjust to suit, Holding the tile face up of course, you will be able to get into the corners and not need to break or nibble with luck, takes a bit of practice, might pay you to practice on an off cut or broken tile first.

Hope that helps

 

[oogabooga]

Angle grinder user myself and agree it does become pretty easy with practice. Most important thing is to have a good blade as cheaper ones are not well balanced and induce a lot of vibration causing chips and fractures.

As suggested, practice on the scraps. You could cut from the top up to your marks in each corner, then cut a diagonal to each corner, gently tap out the centre scrap. Try it on a bit of scrap carpet if vibration is causing the problems. If that doesn't work (i.e you can't get close enough into the corners) once you've made the cuts from the top of the tile, flip the tile over and gently join up your cuts underneath (without over cutting your marks on the top) - should be enough for you to tap out the centre (if it doesn't just fall out). Good luck!.

 

[Deleted member 1779]

We've done an article on sockets before. Maybe worth a look?

Cutting Sockets into tiles

 

[P'boro tiler]

i use my handheld battery powered makita and simply plunge

 

[White Room]

Prefer the plunge method

 

[Leatherface]

Usually grinder for sockets

 

[faithhealer]

Plunge cutting for me