Description
The Hasal Precision Stone Chopping Machine is a professional cutting system for making precision cuts in marble mosaic tile and hard porcelain. The machine’s upper blade is lowered by a screw mechanism that requires much less effort than handheld cutting tools, and cuts are made smoothly and efficiently. The cutting bed is graduated with guidelines and an adjustable stop for cutting pieces with exact measurement. The maximum thickness the machine can cut is 12mm (1/2 inch).
The cutting blades that come with the machine work very well for most all types of marble and stone, but the tungsten carbide blades (sold separately) are probably a good investment if you will be cutting a lot of basalt or hard porcelain. Replacement blades are available from us (sold separately), including special blades for cutting glass. The upper and lower blades are identical and interchangeable.
The machine is a benchtop device that works best when you bolt it to a work surface, but a small piece of plywood or board can be used instead to make a mobile unit that can easily transported from site to site. A common C-clamp can also be used if you want to quickly move the machine between different work tables.
Cosmetic Scratch Damage
The manufacturer shipped these units without wrapping the steel knobs that screw on the end of the crank handles, and so the knobs were allowed to bang and rub against the screw housing. The result is that the screw housing received some superficial scratches and gouges, and the black paint on the knobs was scratched a little too.
This superficial “damage” makes these brand new units look used, but the advantage is that the price is discounted, and the screw motion and cutting action are still smooth as silk!
Hasal Precision Stone Chopping Machine
- maximum thickness that can be cut: 12mm (1/2 inch)
- screw mechanism for smooth, efficient cuts.
- comes with 2 replaceable blades.
- upper and lower blades are identical and interchangeable.
- 2 mounting holes in base for bolting to work surface
- weight: 8 lbs 4 oz
- box dimensions are 8.5 x 7.5 x 4 inches
- width of turning handles after attaching knobs: 9.5 inches
- height of machine:
Safety and Cutting Tile
The smooth, efficient cuts made by this machine are MUCH safer than those made by handheld nippers, which snap when they cut and send pieces flying all the time. With these machines, you shouldn’t have pieces flying at all, or at least very rarely. That being said, you should still observe the basic safety rules for using a compressive cutting tools:
- Always wear safety glasses with side shields when cutting.
- Make sure that you don’t cut tile around people who are not wearing safety glasses. Flying chips could potentially hit their eyes as easily as yours.
- Be aware that cutting tile of any type can produce sharp edges.
- Crumbs from cutting can be extremely sharp. Never sweep off a work surface with your bare hand. Use a vacuum or counter brush.
How To Make Mosaics
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
