Best Way To Split A Terra Cotta Pot?

[RandomWiktor]

Hey -
I'm going to be using a halved terra cotta pot in my goldfish tank to offer some hiding spaces as my males have been fighting. I bought a 12" diameter pot today, and would like to cut it fairly neatly in half, or into 1/3 and 2/3, so I can make one good sized cave without having the whole massive pot in the tank. However, I'm worried about shattering it, so I was wondering, what method do you guys use when splitting pots in half? I've seen many tanks using them, so I hope someone here can help.
Is there a type of saw you used? Did you score it using a chisel/drill then split it? Did you just buy a few pots, break 'em, and hope for one good chunk out of it? Any advice would be great. I'm thinking of scoring it, personally, but I'm a little afriad I'll crack it anyways.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

do you have access to a dremmel? i generally use the disc-sanding attachment to outline the cut at least halfway through the thickness. i then use a flat-head screwdriver as a chisel/wedge (i know, so bad for the screwdriver) and tap it along the outline with a hammer. this is pretty effective at driving a crack through the rest of the thickness and the peice pretty much falls out after a bit.

just be sure to make your initial grooves quite deep for a clean break.

(alternatively, you could just buy several pots and break them with a screwdriver and hammer. you can sand off the rough edges with pretty much anything hard: a metal file, a brick, a concrete curb, etc. probably most the pots won't break 100% the way you want, but the shards are remarkably useful as hiding spots in other tanks.)

 

[RandomWiktor]

Aye, I do have a dremmel. I don't have that particular attachment ATM; my grandfather borrowed it and never gave it back. I've been too lazy to purchase one, but if that's the tool to get the job done, I finally have some incentive. And I have a chisel so I won't have to murder any screwdrivers. Thanks for the tip!

 

[novamadcars]

will a grinding attachment for the dremel not go straight through the pot? as i was finking of trying it

 

[guppy_man]

all i done was, just tap the pot down my garden wall, not too hard though, but eventually if you do this for about 10 mins, the outer layer starts to chisel away then if you start tapping the pot harder on the wall it should just split, i have done this twice but the first time i hit it too hard, and well you get the idea, broken pot on the floor lol. just give it a try, you never know what the outcome may be

 

[Lord Zogat]

Has anyone tried a stick of dynamite, that would cut it in half for sure.

I would go with the dremel as well. They are a slick tool.