Norton Construction Products
Norton Construction Products
North America
Breaking of Norton Premium Continuous Rim Blade when Cutting on Tile or Stone
Question
This blade is breaking the tile when it cuts. We are cutting wet on a 10” tile saw. The saw is a Target saw, but the blade is a Norton blade.

Answer

 

RE:  Norton Premium Continuous Rim Blade for Natural Stone and Tile (UPC # 701846 69446,  Part # YCR102B3 ) suggestion below:

 

First, make sure the head on the saw is cutting straight.  Cut about halfway into a tile and check to see if the cut is the same distance from the edge of the tile.  If the cut is not parallel to the edge of the tile remove the blade and flip it over on the blade shaft of the saw.  Make the same cut and check again.  If the cut is still not parallel to the edge and is now crooked in the opposite direction then the head of the saw needs to be aligned. 

 

A common cause of tile cracking is the result of pushing the blade too fast through the material.  Because tile is very hard and brittle the tile blades are made on very thin steel cores.  The thin width of the blade helps the blade cut quickly and smoothly through the hard material.  However, because the steel is thin, blades used to cut tile will tend to flex when pushed through the material too fast. The flexing almost always will result in a broken piece of tile.  Slow down and let the blade do the work.

 

Try placing something soft under the tile like a thin piece of plywood or soft rubber.  Usually the cracking occurs as you reach the end of the cut.  Using a soft material placed under the tile to absorb the vibration will usually prevent the cracking that occurs toward the end of the cut.

 

If the cracking is occluding immediately at the start of the cut, the blade is probably too hard for the tile.  In some instances a blade designed to cut porcelain is required to cut extremely hard and brittle pieces of tile.  The Slicer blade is more expensive and will cut quickly through porcelain and other hard materials.