QEP 83200 24-Inch Bridge Tile Saw with Water Pump and Stand

by QEP

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The 1-1/2 HP professional tile saw cuts all types of tile, marble, granite, stone, porcelain and masonry products. The locking, tilt-up blade guard makes blade changes quick and easy. Includes a 10 inch continuous rim diamond blade. The rust proof, fiberglass impregnated water tray easily slides in and out for easy cleaning. This is the perfect saw for both professional and do-it-yourself jobs.

Product Description

Great features and a great price make this bridge tile saw the right choice for you. 1-year limited warranty. HP: 1 1/2, Speed - No Load (RPM): 1,100, Engine Speed (RPM): 3,550, Cutting Length (in.): 24, Cutting Thickness (in.): 1 3/4, Blade Diameter (in.): 8, Arbor Size (in.): 5/8

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 37 x 18 x 47 inches ; 106 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 106 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000AV6SYQ
• Item model number: 83200
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,235 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #17 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Power Tools > Saws > Tile & Masonry Saws

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The right choice, July 10, 2006

By 

J. Aman "flippy" (Clinton, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: QEP 83200 24-Inch Bridge Tile Saw with Water Pump and Stand (Tools & Home Improvement)

I shopped everywhere for a tile saw. I had a kitchen counter (50 sq. ft.) and a kitchen and den floor to tile (650 sq. ft.). I originally bought a tile cutter and it only took me a few minutes to take that back. I bought this saw hoping it would be okay and also because it came with a stand. It worked almost flawlessly. The only problems I had were with the water pump and the slide on the back gauge for angle cuts was sticking on a screw that appeared to serve no purpose so I removed that. The pump would only come on if tapped, but after cutting about 100 tiles it seemed to operate fine from that point on. If I had one thing to change about the saw it would be the wheels on the bottom of the cart. That don't work that well, but that's something I will rectify shortly. I give it five stars because to me it was well worth the money. I would buy it all over again.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 out of 5 for this one, not sure why others are complaining..., November 16, 2009

By 

Rob "rv36116" (Fort Worth, Tx, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: QEP 83200 24-Inch Bridge Tile Saw with Water Pump and Stand (Tools & Home Improvement)

I almost stopped unpacking this and returned it to Lowes (got it for $279 today on sale) from reading the reviews and I was very hesitant, but when I unpacked it, everything was pretty much set up nicely and snapped into place.

The ONE thing that I can see why people rated it lower was due to the same problem of the vibration of the blade. I put on a brand new Dewalt diamond 8 inch blade and I didn't have it completely clamped into place, because when I turned it on, it was VERY wobly. I stopped, opened up the blade change system, and made sure that I held the blade right up against the black interior blade holder while I squeezed it together with the outer aluminum colored blade holder and screwed on the screw. Instantly different! So, make sure you do this and double/triple check if the blade is not true and rotating in sync with how a normal blade should rotate.

So, on to the good stuff. I had been cutting tile with a cheapo 80 dollar table top tile saw (chippy-mcgee from HD) and then got a Ryobi mitre saw that was the worst thing every to try and cut a straight line. I spent 5 hours trying to get a perfect set up to simply cut a tile, unsuccessfully after 6 attempts, I threw in the towell and told the wife that if I was going to do this 2nd shower perfectly with the travertine tile, I would need better equipment. HD had some nice products, but they were all $500 and $700 respectively. I couldn't justify that. But neither could I justify renting a machine for $50 per day and use it for 24 hours, rushing to get through and probably end up spending $100+ on a rental.

So, off to Sears, and they had NOTHING in stock to see...Disappointed, I ran to Lowes because they had some tile saws online but this one I'm reviewing wasn't on their website. I got there and it was on sale for under $280! AND it could cut over the size of 16" travertine that I needed to use it for. Perfect.

Got home, opened the box, everything was packed nicely, protected well and seemed to be 90% together when I took it out of the box. Needed to put in the blade (again, refer to the above, MAKE SURE you are sandwiching that blade in between the inner and outer blade holding collars before tightening it up snug), the laser guide (which CAN be made exact, you just have to be a bit patient and fine tune it prior to putting it on the saw, and fine tune it a bit more when you put it on the saw...patience pays off) requires 2 AAA batteries, so pick some up if you plan on using it.

The handle and the wheels were the last things to be put on and the wheels ARE useful if you put them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the ground toward the end that the motor will stay at. Lean it toward the wheels and it rolls around the shop with ease, and the frame doesn't feel flimsy at all to me, especially when I'm rolling it around, it's pretty heavy duty!

As for the grill looking shelf, it does attach from the inside which is strange, but 4 long zip-ties later, the thing is as snug and secure as you could want. and it seems to be a great idea and very useful when finding a place to put your cut or uncut tile.

So, I started it up and immediately had to cut a tile 5 1/4 inches. Did so in about 45 seconds from set up to the cut being finished. The cut was so smooth, I didn't know which was the original side and which was the cut. Only some slight cut marks on the cut side were visible, so that made me feel MUCH better about my purchase.

I needed to cut another piece at 5 1/4 inches on one end and 5 5/16 on the other. This thing set up, and I squared it initially using a solid one piece square that I had, and then simply adjusted the square about .5 of a degree. Ta-da, 5 1/4 and 5 5/16. Its just about too damn good to be true, but this saw already is a winner in my book.

It also cleans up well and has a well placed plug to help drain the water out. You can basically wipe it down with a mildly damp towell like you're drying your car. I found it not to be messy clean up at all and it looked relatively new after clean up. The pump seems well enclosed and I would trim out the power supply cord holder that is a keyhole fashioned hole to hold the pumps power supply cord. It was way too snug, and if you want to take it apart and make sure there's no water left in the pump and clean it to extend the life of your equipment, I would suggest taking some snippers and opening up that hole to let the cord safely sit and be pulled out without it being an act of congress to get it loose from the plastic box inside the water pan that it sits in.

With a little patience and time spent on set up, I could easily refer this to a friend.

I think I got what I paid for and then some. Don't hesitate to get the $30 warranty at Lowes like I did, just in case you get a lemon, but if you don't, this sucker is pretty useful and mechanically sound for it's price!

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good wet saw for DIY tool-building..., January 12, 2008

By 

G. Bloom "discerning shopper" (Boulder Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: QEP 83200 24-Inch Bridge Tile Saw with Water Pump and Stand (Tools & Home Improvement)

I bought this wet saw thinking it'd be like every other bridge saw I've used, where the saw can be pulled across but also raises and lowers to accommodate for cutting different-sized materials. Not so with this one. The available cutting spaces is only 1-1/2", which is fine for tiles but not so much for folks with 2-1/4" bricks. I've found a workaround, though. If you replace the (6mm) bolts which hold the bridge onto the table with longer bolts (a _minimum_ of 50mm, go for 75mm fully-threaded bolts (you'll need four) if you can find them) and add a few 10mm nuts to allow you to raise and lower the bridge, you can increase the cutting space to 2-1/4" and beyond. You'll lose the angular cutting functionality when the saw is lifted, but that's a small price to pay.

I have nothing new to add about the wheels, which are misplaced and don't work very well.

The legs, fold down and are anchored in place by angle brackets which attach over little buttons. They're difficult to get on and off, and even worse, when transporting the saw, the brackets hang down and make it difficult to lower the saw onto the ground.

In order to unfold the legs, you have to rest the saw on its side, however there is no rubber bumper to prevent the weight of the saw from doing damage to the stuff on its side. Also, once the leg is extended, you have to pivot the weight of the entire saw on the two extended legs, and I'm fairly positive that it's not going to survive this for too many uses.

I had the same issue with the pump... tapping it doesn't even restart it sometimes... I have to disassemble the thing while the saw is running, and push on the pump's internal paddles like I'm priming a flywheel. Considering that it's only a 60gph fountain pump, you might be able to find a $10 submersible pump to replace this one.

Finally, the parts that house the 8" non-standard blade are fully detachable from the saw's motor. I wouldn't recommend running this saw without its protective housing, however you _can_ order the 10" housing as a replacement part for QEP's larger wet saw from QEP, providing you with the ability to use a standard 10" blade instead.

All in all, the saw, as delivered, is junk for my purposes, however with only a few modifications it's equivalent to QEP's larger, more expensive bridge saws. Since you're probably not as desperate as I was to find an inexpensive masonry saw, I'd recommend that you find a different saw for cutting your bricks.