glass saw

[LauraJo]

This past summer I purchased a tile saw from Home Depot for $88.  It worked just ok – had to go very slowly to reduce chipping and I sure did get soggy and messy.  My slabs were only about 5/8″ thick.  I was not happy with the amount of and degree of chipping that I got on my glass with the tile saw no matter how slowly I moved the glass.  Would a different type of blade work better on that?

The tile saw was considered because my T3 didn’t work very well on the 5/8″ slabs.  It cut too slowly.  I ended up putting too much pressure on the blade and stretched out the belt which caused the blade to continually come off during use.  Not good.

I just got a Gemini Titan XT which is supposed to work with thicker slabs.  I used it for the first time this morning and I’m on the fence about it.  The slabs I cut were about 5/8″ or 3/4″.  On the favorable side, the Titan XT cuts quite nicely with limited chipping – the glass was smooth after sawing.  The blade is much more heavy-duty vs the T3.  There is a slide top (much like the tile saw from Home Depot) which I like alot.  It helped me keep the glass straighter for cutting, etc.  On the down side, I got quite wet and full of glass chips and there was water all over the place – dripping on the floor, etc.  I don’t like the water system – it is closed and requires the removal of 4 screws to access it and refill.  Also, there really isn’t any place for the water to go to during use – the blade carries it up to the cutting surface, then it flows/sprays down the front and ends up all over the front of me, my table and onto the floor.   

No perfect and affordable solution just yet.