Are you struggling with chipped tile edges when you’re cutting tiles? It’s not uncommon.
What’s the cause? Are you doing something wrong? Perhaps it’s the equipment?
Here are 5 possible reasons for chipped tile cuts and what you can do to smooth things out.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

1. Smoothing the cut
First things first, have you tried simply smoothing or sanding the cut?
You’d be amazed at the quality of cuts you can make when you know you can sand the edges after cutting them.
I recommend diamond hand pads for this purpose. They work way better than a brick, block, back of a tile, and whatever other shortcuts I’ve heard over the years.
You can pick one up at your favorite online retailer or some box stores. 100-200 grit works well for smoothing chipped edges.
2. Sometimes, it’s the tile
Not all tiles are made the same. Further, it seems like the cheaper tiles with cheaper glazes chip the worst.
Assuming you aren’t willing to change tiles, about the only thing you can do is cut as carefully as you can and smooth the tile chips after the fact.
3. Good cutting technique reduces tile chips
You might examine your cutting technique. In general, you want to:
- wait for the saw to reach its full RPMs (full speed)
- wait for water
- secure the tile firmly to the table
- go slow and steady
By going slowly, I’m mainly making the case not to go fast and force the tile into the blade. There’s a pace that should be respected when pushing the tile into the blade.
For water, you want to make sure the water is spraying both sides of the blade liberally.
Finally, ensure the cutting surface is clean, and the tile isn’t rocking back and forth on debris from cutting.
Also, if the tile sits on a rubber mat, make sure it’s securely fastened with no loose ends. (I’m talking specifically to the Target and Felker crowd)
4. The Diamond Blade
The diamond blade on a saw is a very likely culprit when the edge of the tile is chipping. For example, your blade might be:
- Old
- Bent
- Cheap
- Wrong kind
- Worn unevenly
- Installed backwards
- Not tightened down properly
- Needs to be dressed
I won’t go into detail on each of those items, but look through the list and make sure that they don’t apply to your situation.
We do need to talk about dressing the blade.
Dressing a diamond blade
A diamond blade can get clogged from the clay on the tile. This can cause it not to cut as well as before, even though you still see plenty of diamonds on the blade.
This is a case where dressing the blade may help.
How to Dress a Diamond Blade
First of all, you need something to dress the blade with. This can be a special dressing stone or simply a chunk of concrete block. Once you have your material:
1. Unplug the water
You want the water turned off for this step
2. Turn the saw on and make a few cuts into the stone
You want the diamond part of the blade to contact the stone on all sides
When you are done, plug the water back in, and hopefully, the blade will cut normally again.
5. How to check the alignment of your tile saw
Sometimes, your tile is chipping when you cut because your saw is out of alignment. If this is the case, there are two main things you want to check.
Squaring up your Saw
It’s time to see if your saw is cutting straight. With the saw turned off, place a framing square on the rolling cart. The other end of the square should be touching one side of the blade.
Push the cart with the square through and check if a gap develops between the square and the blade. Flip the square over and check both sides of the blade.
If the saw isn’t cutting square, then you will need to adjust the rails on which the rolling cart rides. This procedure will vary depending on which saw you are adjusting.
Wobbly cart
Pull the rolling cart towards you as far as it will go and shake it back and forth. Sometimes, the rolling cart can have too much play. Note: most saws that have a cart that extends out past the stand will have some play. This includes the DeWalt.
Cheaper box store saws are notorious for this. About the only thing that you can do is try to push the cart through the saw in the same repeatable way over and over again.
A cutting technique that can reduce chipped tile edges
Finally, a workaround is to change your cutting technique. Try scoring the tile with the first pass, then plunge the blade all the way down for the second.
This technique is demonstrated in this video.
No More Tile Chips
Hopefully, one or more of these techniques will help reduce the amount of tile chips that you get on your cuts.
Let me know your feedback in the comments.
FAQ for Tile Saw is Cutting Crooked and Chipping Tiles
This is caused by the blade or something in the cutting process (for example, water spraying on one side and not another).
Change the blade and/or use the cutting technique that I show in the video above.
FYI, if you are using the saw for mitering or wearing one side of the blade more than the other, this will be the result. You might think about dedicating one blade for miters and another blade for your straight cuts.
The answer is going to be different depending on which tile saw you own. Consult the owner’s manual to see how to adjust your particular saw.
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