FERM Power Tile Cutter - Tile Cutting Machine - Wet Electric Tile Cutter - 600W - Water Cooling System - Parallel Guide - 0 - 45°- With 180mm Diamond Blade

Absolute super wet cutter. Duncurin is doing his best to weed and tidy the local church grounds. In addition to the monster weeds, most of the edging stones have, over the many years, been trodden down and shattered. These are Victorian and are made up of fired blue/black clay. I managed to find a small number on an internet auction site but further supplies are expensive and often a long way away.I struck upon the idea of trying to repair as many of the shattered edging stones as I could. The only problem was the rolled top edge which is about 44mm in diameter at its widest point. The actual ‘body’ of the edging stone is thinner about 15 mm. I therefore chose this FERM machine as it will cut to the perpendicular to a depth of 34mm. I was hoping that after my pass through with the cutter then the extra bit on the rolled edge that was not cut through could be sorted with a hacksaw. Unfortunately this is really difficult and the fired clay is impervious to my hacksaw blade. I then had no alternative but to do what I was hoping to avoid – turn the edging stone over and cut from the other side.Well, I must say even for a terrified, weedy chap like me as I cling on to that edging stone – it cuts beautifully and precisely – so precise that even upon turning the edging stone over and cutting from the other side a nice smooth and perpendicular edge is left with no steps or ‘burs’.One or two things help with this. The fence is of aluminium and though not substantial it does hold up quite well as I run the thick edging stone along it and it doesn’t move or buckle. It is also precise and the fence allows me to guide the edging stone through the cutting blade getting a nice clean cut that is perpendicular and clean even when I turn it over and cut again. The motor is fairly quiet and also fairly powerful. As the blade attempts to go through the thickest part ie the rolled top edge then it can get stuck. In this instance I either switch the red switch off pretty smartish or if it is not completely stuck I withdraw the edging stone slowly and as the blade speeds up again I slowly feed it back in.Its important to let the blade take its time – do not try to force or hurry it especially when cutting something this thick.The unit comes with eye and ear protection. I tend to use my own but to be fair the goggles aren’t and though as I have a morbid fear of looking at the blade as it cuts I put my glasses on too as an extra layer of protection.The blade guard is a bit flimsy but actually works well and although water goes everywhere it’s quite easy to avoid the worst of it by using the blade guard and standing to one side a little. I found a polycarbonate visor especially useful as it not only protects your eyes but you can even stop your face from being sprayed as you dare to look at the blade.I also used my own RCD device as there is water everywhere and I am not sure if the big boxy plug as fitted handles this but I thought better to have two than none!Lastly the water reservoir which of course should always be kept at the optimum level is easy to use and most crucially forms a trough which can be removed once finished and then all the crud from the cutting easily cleaned out. The blade protector remains free from debris and crud and does not need removing after use and can be left in situ.I am now planning to take my edging stones with the nice clean perpendicular edges and glue them together with masonry glue and although they will be odd shapes they should be much easier to refit and hopefully form a tidy border.I’m not sure if the Amazon site is accepting pics at present but if it is I will post a couple. In conclusion though an excellent machine ideal for the job I had in mind which it got on without protest and represents excellent value for money !

This product works well once set up.On the positive side - Low vibration (even lower, once I made a screw-down jig to dampen the machine).The supplied Ferm blade worked well and was still working acceptably after 40 cuts of 25cm square tiles.Easy responsive controls, accurate clean cut on porcelain tiles - I used a multitool grinder disc and sander to clean up sharp edges. I bought 10% extra tiles and didn't use any of the excess - so the machine proved very effective.On the negative side - I was disappointed that the blade protector wasn't better made and easier to use. I ended up using it unguarded.The alignment rulers were out of alignment and some of the attachments are flimsy.The water trough could be better designed to show water levels. I added masking tape for reference.The unit uses a lot of water and is best used outside as there was quite a splash/spray.Overall good experience once I learned to live with the niggles I had.A little more detail by FERM on the design of this product and it would be a great machine. Be prepared to improvise

With the spray guard removed this cutter actually does ok as an entry level lapidary saw. The free blade doesn't last long at all ( 5 cuts on fist sized jasper pieces ) but it's easily replaced with something a bit more durable and the small reservoir is simple to swap for something with a little more volume. A good choice for someone wanting to get into lapidary work on a budget.

I’m actually really embarrassed to write this review as I generally love a good power tool but this one I sent back before even trying.Firstly, the assembly instructions are absolute rubbish. I looked everywhere online for a video or even a photo of how to mount the riving knife as it didn’t feel right at all. The leaflet says to place the foot under the table, place the small plate under the foot, which leaves you with a foot attached to a plate. Re-read several times, gave up and had a cup of tea. Re-read again. Head-scratcher, extremely awkward to get screws in, doesn’t feel right, refer to leaflet again, search online again, scratch head more. Table, foot, plate... it literally may as well be your actual foot on a dining plate under the dining table for all the help these instructions were. There is no photograph or video of this machine viewed from the left. Anywhere. Since that’s where the feet, table, shoes, socks, unicorns and pink marshmallows need to be fitted I lost confidence very quickly.Anyway, the riving knife was attached eventually and at that point I realised that it didn’t matter how many feet were screwed onto various plates under the table - the whole guide and guard bit are very flimsy.I should make it clear that this was not my first electric tile cutter. I’ve had two before this one which were sturdy and also simple to put together. (Incidentally, neither broke. They were loaned out and forgotten about). Without having any way to check whether this cutter was assembled correctly I was not prepared to risk life and limb on a wobbly machine and didn’t even get to the stage of trying to fit the blade.To summarise, I’ve foolishly used many very sharp and noisy tools in my life with wanton abandon and very little regard to my own safety. I won’t use this one though.

This is potentially a very good cutter which is let down by an almost impossible to use disc guard IMHO!Once I modified the guard to hold it steady instead of flopping around it has proved to be a very good tool however it has to be bolted/screwed to a bench before use which makes it impossible to empty the water tray.