Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The right choice, July 10, 2006
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.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A good wet saw for DIY tool-building..., January 12, 2008
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good option for the money, July 18, 2009
I've done quite a few home tiling jobs and had always gotten along with my small wet saw and my Rotozip with a diamond blade. My most recent job involved 20" porcelain tiles and I knew it would require a bigger saw. I decided on the QEP bridge saw because I needed at least 20" rip capacity and didn't want to pay a fortune.
I was very pleased with the cut that this saw produced (even with the stock blade)and I really liked the concept of the saw moving and the tile being stationary. I bought a Hotdog replacement blade because I've read so many bad reviews on stock blades that come with saws but I can not see a whole lot of difference between the two. They both produce smooth cuts. The motor has plenty of power to cut through these large tiles and I haven't had any problem with the pump. The reservoir pan catches most of the water and there is very little overspray during the cut. None of the spray comes toward the operator so you don't end up getting wet.
As others have mentioned the wheels as designed are a joke the way they clamp onto the legs. I ended up drilling two holes and bolting the wheels fast. This made the wheels work very good for moving the saw around.
This is a large bulky saw and not the easiest thing to move around but I only use it in my garage and it moves easily on the concrete floor. Overall I'm very satisfied with this saw for the price paid and the occasional use I will give it.
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