Ceramic - Pottery Dictionary

by Susan Mussi

TILE (3) Cutting round pieces.

ca: RAJOLA (3) Retallant peces rodones.

es: AZULEJO (3) Recortando piezas redondas.

Cutting round curves; with the electric tile cutter make enough space for the tile to be flat and moved at any angle, always work with the face of the tile upwards. With a lead pencil, draw the outline of the circle on the tile. Start cutting off a small section from a corner, the first one can be done in one piece but when the part to be cut becomes long, cut the corners off in small pieces. After the first corner is cut off, do the same with the other three.

Once the space to be removed is narrow, start at the top of the curve and file it down gradually making it rounder to complete the curve of the drawn line. Finish all four corners then lay it flat and hold it against the disk, and as it turns you turn the tile and file off the edge all the way round, continuing until it is smooth. Hold the top edge against the disk and do the same, rounding it off slightly.

The next section; Tile (4) Cutting corners.