Flooring Tile - Recomendation for tile saw to cut 18" tile

Don't know if this question should belong in the 'tools' forum, but here goes :-)

I'm planning on laying some 18" marble tile. Diagonal cuts will likely comprise most of the cuts based on the pattern I want.

What is the best wet saw that will work for this? Looks like the biggest MK / QEP saws are good for 16" diagonal cuts, and I haven't seen any 'portable' wet saws that'll do anything bigger .

Home Depot sells a 1hp 7" blade Plasplug unit that 'appears' capable of doing "any size tile" since the blade cuts from the table, not from an overhanging arm. The only concern I have with is whether it's something that is easy to manuever and align big tile

Is a handheld wet saw better for the big stuff?

I'm a DIY homeowner and don't do this for a living. But I do plan on doing other desperately needed tile /remodeling work around the house so I'm looking to buy something decent that'll work for smaller tile as well.

thanks!

You may be able to rent a wet saw capable of cutting these big format tile.The problem with htis big tile or any marbvle for that matter is the delicate nature of the beast and to be handled carefully or they may break.Some are more fragile than others and may not take the rough ride of a hand held saw,the chatter from the blade etc.Call a rental center first and see what they say about a bigger wet saw.Felker makes one ,i know:cool:

I bought the Plasplug saw from Home Depot after seeing a demo. in the store. It looked like it was cutting like butter. I needed it to use on 18" porcelain tile. The cutting was slow and the cuts were rough. A replacement Plasplug blade was even worse. I asked the guy at Home Depot about it and he said it was because porcelain it sooo hard. The demo was with ceramic tile which is much softer. I don't know where marble falls into the hardness spectrum, I'm just a DIYer. I can't recommend that saw for porcelain or anything harder. Hope this helps.

how did you manage diagonal cuts? I don't think that plasplug comes with anything other than a rip fence.

I have the little 4" version of the same plasplug box that I used for some 12" ceramic tile on an earlier project. The thing makes a wet, watery mess and slips all over the place unless I had a towel under it. I can almost forsee the same with the 7" plasplug box.

looks like the only Felker that can cut the big pieces is a rail saw. 4-digit$$. Ouch...and it's huge :-(

has anyone successfully rigged some sort of jig that sits on the table to handle bigger pieces than rated capacity? Compromising depth of cut is fine...

I only made straight cuts on 18" tile. The saw is supposed to come with a small jig. Mine did not, but the guy at Home Depot gave me one. It is very small, about 3" on each side. I don't know how stable the tile would be. With that size tile, there was considerable friction from sliding the tile across the metal table. That would add to the difficulty of using a small jig. And yes, don't forget the watery mess!