Rubi cutter help

[Grainde]

Hi everyone,

I'm not a regular tiler, just someone who is trying to fix up a few rooms around the house. I have a little bit of experience though, as I tiled my bathroom a few years back with a friend's cutter. 😉

I recently bought a Rubi HIT850N as it was a large cutter and on offer. Unfortunately, I noticed during cutting that the scored line deviates approx. 2 mm over the length of a 60 cm tile. I checked all the cuts I made, and this was not a one off. In addition, looking at the top rubber section where the breaker bar is used the wheel is 1 mm to the left and at the bottom, where the rubber stopper is, it's about 2 mm out to the right. As the brackets are both cast (iron?) and not adjustable, this would suggest a production issue.

Tiling to the wall isn't really a problem, but tiling across a doorway is. When going into another room, it gives a perceivable zigzag effect and looks shabby.

Anyway, I'd be interested to know if others have seen this with the HIT or HT 850N and whether this is a general problem with Rubi cutters?

Rubi has a good reputation, so Im hoping this is just a one off. However, due to the fact all parts are cast, I'm wondering if there was perhaps an issue with one production run and therefore whether it might be safer to try a different model?

Any help and/or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks and ATB

Edit: Just reading on the forums and Sigma seem to be also very popular. As an alternative to Rubi, which model would you suggest for 60 x 60 polished porcelain tiles?

 

[Dave]

Morning. The thing is with Rubi scribe cutters is that the cutter runs on nylon inserts along the rails , once these wear then the scribe becomes unstable and doesn’t run true. The twin rail system can also do the same over time. Try doing a point to point cut rather than relying on a straight cut off the fence.
Mark both ends of the tile to be cut and cut point to point on the marks. See if that works any better.

As for Sigma. , i used Rubi for over 17 yrs and was offered the chance to try out a Sigma and really like them. So much , my whole selection of cutters are Sigma. The new range with auto tile depth adjustment are fab. Got one a couple yrs ago. Unreal cutters.

Let us know how you get on. 👍

 

[Grainde]

Thanks for the reply.
The Rubi is actually brandnew and has made around 30 cuts. I have asked on amazon if I can return it and am now considering my options.
So which Sigma would you suggest? Ill be tiling around 60 - 70 m2 with 60x 60 cm polished porcelain. Later I plan to do a small bathroom and a separate toilet so I still have a bit to do! 🍺

 

[Dan]

You'll have to adjust the tile for each cut in that case, touch the scribe one end and move the tile to the line/mark you made then do the same the other end. Then one single good score and snap. They're sods for that it might have been loose (not in a case) in the van and something fell on it. Doesn't take much to knock them out but that means you might be able give it a whack (put a block of wood between the rail and your hammer one end) and tap hard, check, do it again, check.

Not ideal but saves you sticking it on Ebay and risking bad feedback when somebody else notices it.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for the reply.
The Rubi is actually brandnew and has made around 30 cuts. I have asked on amazon if I can return it and am now considering my options.
So which Sigma would you suggest? Ill be tiling around 60 - 70 m2 with 60x 60 cm polished porcelain. Later I plan to do a small bathroom and a separate toilet so I still have a bit to do! 🍺

It depends on your method of scoring, i prefer a pull to score handle and they you can get push to score. Look up the new NEX cutters from sigma. Look at YouTube as well

 

[Grainde]

Sorry cant seem to delete this accidental post.

 

[Grainde]

Thanks Amazon just accepted the return, so Ill just go that route. 😉

Ill have a look for a Sigma but they seem very expensive even for the 62 units.
I cant seem to find any 3s for sale, but I have found a new 2B3 @ 260 €. The 4s on the other hand eg. 4BN cost 460 €... Are the 4 series really that much better?

FYI originally from Bournemouth, but live in Germany, hence the € prices!

One other thing I wanted to point out with the Rubi, was an issue with scoring. In order for the tile to break properly I had to score quite hard (and actually inconsistenly) over the whole length. The problem here is the raised rubber cover on the base plate where the breaker bar should be used to snap the tile. As it is firm and raised you end up increasing the pressure on the tile as you get nearer the front ie if you keep the bar position constant and continue pushing. At the back however the bed gives and absorbs some energy so the score mark is not so pronounced. Hence my inconsistent remark.

I tried to even the pressure when getting to the end, but the tile would snap about 2/3 of the way down and then veer of to one side. Fortunately I only lost a couple of tiles, but even so whilst practicing around 60 % of the cuts would not break cleanly. I only solved this by using more pressure and as a result scored the tiles quite harshly at the top. Have others seen this and does this issue exist with the Sigmas?

 

[Dan]

You can use the breaker at either end or in the middle and sometimes needs a bit at one end, a press in the middle too, then the snap at the other end (so you've opened the score but it hasn't snapped until the last press).

Still won't square up bars that aren't square though.

 

[Grainde]

Thanks Dan, but that's not the problem. Its trying to score the tile correctly and this seems to be made more difficult by the design. I guess Sigmas dont have this issue?

So are there any major differences and which would you recommend from the following two:

Sigma 4BU UP 70 cm @ 359 €​

Sigma 4BN NEX 62 cm @ 399 €​

Narrowing it down now 🙂

 

[Dave]

For an ex rubi cutter the nex 62. Is a push scribe with flip foot. I prefer to score back over so the Up cutter is what i got.

 

[Grainde]

For an ex rubi cutter the nex 62. Is a push scribe with flip foot. I prefer to score back over so the Up cutter is what i got.

Ok thanks. So its purely Personal preference? I watched some videos and the wheels that come with the Nex and Up are 16 mm & 12 mm respectively. I do like the push, but to be honest I haven't tried a pull system...Would one of these wheels be better for the tiles I'm using?

 

[Dave]

Ok thanks. So its purely Personal preference? I watched some videos and the wheels that come with the Nex and Up are 16 mm & 12 mm respectively. I do like the push, but to be honest I haven't tried a pull system...Would one of these wheels be better for the tiles I'm using?

A lot better. Unreal cutters they are imho

 

[Grainde]

Ok thanks guys. Just bought the 4BN 62 🙂 Ill report back and let you know how well it cuts.🍺

 

[Grainde]

Just thought Id share a couple of pics of my last tiling project back in 2020. Completely rebuilt the bathroom and added a walk-in shower which I was trying to merge into the floor with 0.7 mm thick radial cuts. 🍺

 

[Dan]

Nice tiling that matey!

What adhesive brands do you use over there?

 

[Grainde]

Thanks Dan! There are quite a few brands here. I used Knauf flexkleber (flexible adhesive) Extra and their flexible grout Flexfuge.

Knauf

 

[Grainde]

Ok, I said I'd give some feedback, so here goes. 😉

The Sigma scores in a straight line and breaks nearly every tile perfectly, even up to 2 cm in width. I say nearly, because the first tile I scored, I probably didn't press hard enough and it broke. Since then, however, not a single tile has been damaged. Additionally, the tile can be broken over the entire length, which helps when trying to remove small scored sections in the middle of a tile. This didn't work properly on the Rubi.

The only minor issue I have is that the cm markings don't completely line up with the scoring wheel. This means I have to recheck the settings with a ruler to be sure before cutting. Also, scoring backward over the edge before I push the lever away cuts into the plastic above the built-in ruler. It's here that you see that the wheel is not at 0 cm.

Anyway, all in all, this is worlds better than either the Kaufmann I tried (the Germans seem to love these) or the Rubi.

The Kaufmann was rather brutal, and the wheel didn't score well. Both the Rubi and the Sigma score like butter. The Kaufmann sort of gouged its way across with a lot of effort and splintered the glaze. The wheel was a gold one from the pro series and also TiN coated, but it didn't work well at all. I made quite a few test cuts, and with any less pressure, the tile would break to the side. Additionally, when the tile did break correctly, the inside edge wasn't clean like the Rubi and Sigma. Here, it was often wavy and full of bumps, i.e., not a flat surface on the cut side.

The machines I tested were:

• Rubi HIT-850 N - Cuts well but limited options and guide rails not straight.
• Kaufmann TopLine PRO 630 - Bit of a blunt instrument with poor to limited results.
• Sigma 4 BN NEX - 62 cm - Very impressed, cuts very well and very reliably!

I'm extremely glad I switched over to the Sigma. Thanks for the help, guys! 🍺

P.S I've attached a pic of my Sigma with the cutting wheel slightly off-center for reference. Perhaps this can be adjusted?

 

[Dave]

0.5mm. I’d be ok with that lol. Glad you like the suggestion to try Sigma.