Ceramic tile is an example of a planar, rigid, brittle material used as a functional and decorative building material. Other types of generally planar rigid, brittle articles used as building materials include glass and glass-like materials, granite and artificial rock-like materials, and other materials such as concrete or other settable materials. These materials are generally manufactured as sheets or evenly sized squares or shapes that can be applied to a prepared structure to create a hard, decorative surface such as a floor or counter. An issue which applies to all such materials is a need to cut the shape or sheet to fit a particular area or shape on the prepared structure.
The need to fixture tile for cutting with a power saw has been recognized. U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,244 B2, issued Jan. 21, 2003 to inventor Wy Peron Lee, discloses a table with guides for holding tile to be cut with straight cuts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,913, issued on Nov. 10, 1998 to inventor William R. Arends, discloses an improved table for cutting tile that permits tiles to be cut along straight lines at angles which may not be parallel to one of the sides of the tile. Neither of these discloses a means for cutting tile with curved cuts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,126, issued on Dec. 6, 1977 to inventor Ronald F. Schlangen, discloses a band saw arrangement for sawing tile with a circular silicon carbide blade. While this arrangement is capable of making curved cuts, the size and shape of the cut is determined by freehand control of the article on the saw. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,127, issued on Nov. 28, 2000 to inventors Michael D. Fuhrman and Dana E. Fuhrman, discloses a router attached to a table with linear motion capable of making straight cuts or freehand curves.