PORTER-CABLE Tile Saw, Wet Saw with 7-inch Cutting Capacity and On-Board Cutting Guide (PCE980)

This is a great little wet saw that will elevate your tile game. The sliding table was a must-have for me. My last tile saw was an underpowered 4" wet saw, and I've also rented huge 24" wet saws. As a weekend warrior I wanted something in between. This 7" saw has all the power you need.I was able to rip 36" wood look tile planks. Just cut as far as you can, then slide the table back and keep cutting. The only thing is you have to remove one Phillips screw to remove the squaring rail. Then when you reinstall the rail for cutting tile to length, you have to square it again.I think a better system would be an adjustment screw that also had an indexing pin to easily find square again. Sure, it should be adjustable, but you should be able to pop the rail off and on quickly and easily without tools.Also, I didn't see a wrench holder anywhere. The wrench is just kind of floating around, and I'm sure it will get lost the first time I put it away to store.So there is definitely room for improvement from a design standpoint. But this saw strikes a great balance between price and solid quality. I've spent this much to rent a tile saw for a weekend, so I see it as a very good value for a powerful wet saw with sliding table.The table slides very well on nylon wheels, without any perceptible slop. The power switch is ergonomic and easy to use. A nice cord winder, and easy to grip handles round out the package. The blade guard is good, and doesn't get in the way. I didn't try the included blade, but used a Pearl P4 instead. It was hard to tell which side of the tile was cut, and which was a factory edge. Pretty darn good cut quality on wood look porcelain floor tile.Highly recommended, but wish it had a quick indexing pin on the squaring rail so I could go from ripping to crosscuts without tools or adjustment. Also, I really wish it had a wrench holder for the included wrench.

I was debating as to renting a tile saw again for a bathroom project. Part of the challenge for me of renting is the pressure of working faster than I would like to save the expense of going over on time and having to pay for an additional day. [And it seems that there is always some challenge or surprise to slow things up.] I decided to buy, now which saw to go with. After reading reviews, the less expensive options did not make sense to me. Why buy something that is of poor quality or aggravating to work with. I did not want to regret having bought something "cheap".I was impressed when I open the box, the saw is well made and of good design. [One minor detail was an issue, the "c" clip that hold the adjustment screw into the angle guide clamp had to be modified to fit properly to keep it from coming off when tightening the clamp. [Should not have had to deal with this, but not a big issue.] The saw cuts well, and has excellent power. The feed table works very smoothly, and is very accurate. This saw is really a joy to use. It is a bit wet when running, but not bad. [I tend to cut slowly, so water can run off the front edge of a 12" tile while it is still overhanging the drip tray.] The water reservoir is small, and not convenient to clean out, but not major issues in my view.Again, a really nice unit. I'm glad I spent a bit more for this better saw. I now have a quality tool that I will enjoy using on future projects.

I bought this table-style tile saw to cut 1 x 2 ft porcelain tile that wouldn't fit in my other tile saw that cuts with a blade from above. I also like it because it draws water up from the basin below instead of requiring a hookup to a hose. Overall, this is a pretty decent saw, but there are a number of puzzling design flaws that can be improved upon.As other reviewers have noted, the sliding deck is about 1/16 inch higher than the fixed deck which causes rough breaks at the end of each cut, especially when working with larger pieces of tile. I have no idea why the saw was designed this way. To help fix this, I removed the screws securing the fixed deck and used some washers as spacers to prop up the deck to about the same height as the sliding deck.Another major shortcoming of the saw is the lack of a fence on the fixed deck. The sliding deck does not slide back far enough to rip 2 ft tiles, so it would be very helpful to instead run the tile along a fence. This is pretty standard on any table saw, for wood or tile, so I'm scratching my head over why Porter Cable didn't incorporate one into the design, which would have been pretty easy to do. I fashioned something with a piece of wood and some clamps, but the underside of the deck doesn't have a flat even surface for the clamps to press upon, so it was a little wobbly.Also, as another reviewer noted, the handles for carrying the saw protrude slightly above the level of the deck, so they make for an uneven surface if you're cutting large pieces of tile. Again there is no sense in having this part of the design so I can only chalk it up to poor oversight in the engineering process.Finally, there is no height adjustment for the saw blade and there is a fair amount of play in the sliding deck. This may contribute to the amount of chipping you get when cutting porcelain, but from what I've read, it's almost impossible to get chip-free cuts no matter what kind of saw or blade you use. By cutting slowly and using a dressing stone on the blade every few cuts, I managed to keep chipping to a minimum where I could sand almost all of it off the edges with a sanding stone.Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be many other options for cutting large tile without spending thousands of dollars for a professional grade saw. I guess I could rent one, but at the rate I work, it would also cost a fortune. For the price, this saw is a good choice that gets the job done, but I hope Porter Cable would improve upon these design flaws.