Using a router to profile granite edge?

[Bill Space]

Hi,

This may be an off the wall question, not sure...

I remember seeing a video where Jack Forsberg used a router to cut cast iron. Never would have thought to do that myself...but he got an excellent result!

So now I need to profile the edge of a couple small pieces of bathroom counter top, to duplicate the edge of the main piece. I can buy a carbide bit to accomplish this in wood, but wonder, if I took small passes, if I could accomplish the same thing with either granite or man-made material, using that same carbide bit.

So....... Anyone tried it and succeeded, or failed?

No need to tell me I am crazy for even considering such a thing. Already know that...

Bill

[David Hawxhurst]

typically granite shaping/profiling is done with water to cool the granite and tool. not sure what speed the tool they use is but its a reasonable guess that the tooling is carbide. water for cooling also adds in the reduction of dust. i would do more research on granite tools and techniques before i would try something like that. i personally would just have a shop do it.

for man made materials are you talking about about solid surface counter tops? i.e. corian then yes you can use a regular router and bits to profile the edges.

[Tom M King]

It will cost less to get a granite fabrication place to do it than to buy the tooling needed. I've had edges run on recycled pieces, and it wasn't too bad.

[Ole Anderson]

Diamond is typically used on stone, correct?

[Bruce Page]

This question comes up on the CNC forums once in awhile. The consensus is always to take the piece to a commercial stone cutting shop, or you'll end up sending hot carbide shrapnel flying around the shop.

[Bill Space]

Great input so far!

I keep returning to Jack Forsberg in my mind though...but I am not sure how cast iron compares to granite. When I said man-made I was referring to Quartz, which I think is a man-made material when counter tops are the subject.

I only only need to do this for less than six lineal inches. Would be nice to hear from someone who did it, either successfully or with catastrophic results :eek: I don't think such a small amount would be cost-effective having a specialty shop do it for me.

The second option is to use wood transition pieces. In any event I suppose I should make those pieces in advance should I decide to try using the router bit on the stone material itself. :)


Bill

[Erik Loza]

Diamond is typically used on stone, correct?

One of my colleagues came from the granite/stone industry and told me it's all diamond, with water spray.

Erik

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

After a quick search, you can buy diamond roundover bits that fit an angle grinder on Amazon for around $75-$125.

You can also buy a water cooling adapter for the angle grinder.

[Jim Becker]

If it were soapstone, not a problem. But granite requires very special tooling. Get a pro to edge it for you. Faster and likely much less expensive. And safer.

[mreza Salav]

Great input so far!

I keep returning to Jack Forsberg in my mind though...but I am not sure how cast iron compares to granite. When I said man-made I was referring to Quartz, which I think is a man-made material when counter tops are the subject.

I only only need to do this for less than six lineal inches. Would be nice to hear from someone who did it, either successfully or with catastrophic results :eek: I don't think such a small amount would be cost-effective having a specialty shop do it for me.

The second option is to use wood transition pieces. In any event I suppose I should make those pieces in advance should I decide to try using the router bit on the stone material itself. :)


Bill

Cast Iron is a LOT softer than stone (and granite in particular).
I have worked with marble in my woodworking shop (only creating a very small micro-bevel on the edge of some marble tiles on my edge sander) but I'd never even attempt to use any woodworking cutting tool on granite.

[Jamie Buxton]

Fairly often I see countertop guys cutting the hole for a drop-in sink, using an angle grinder without water. I think they're using just a cheap masonry wheel. Usually one guy cuts, and another guy holds a shop vac to pick up the dust. So that would argue that one could grind a roundover on 6" worth of granite for a couple bucks worth of abrasive wheel. Wouldn't hurt to try. Dunno about polishing the roundover to the sheen of the top of the slab.

[Joe Jensen]

water to cool the stone and cutter or you will chip and crack the stone. The sink cutouts for drop in sinks are VERY roughly done and it's done with a diamond wheel in the angle grinder and again water.

[Jerry Miner]

I never considered using a router on granite, but I searched the web a little for "diamond router bits" and found this (among other things):

333844

$16.24 from Walmart (http://www.walmart.com/ip/46551516?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227034230844&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=55652207258&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=86828564738&veh=sem)

[Bill Space]

Interesting Jerry!

Overnight I concluded it would be wise to give up on this idea, but a diamond bit like you found could be the solution.

If I do end up trying something I will be sure to report back. At this point not sure what I will finally end up doing...

Bill

[roger wiegand]

The granite fabricators I've watched work use ordinary routers to profile their edges (with a water spray and diamond cutters), so no reason it won't work for you. A bit that will hold up to any amount of work may cost a tad more than $16.24 from the WallyMart.

[Jim German]

I think you'd be fine using a spray bottle with a diamond bit in a regular router.

You could get a good bit from someplace like here. (http://www.diamondtoolstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_69&products_id=485)

Coruse you could probably have a pro do it for cheaper, but then I'm the type of guy to do it myself anyway.

[Jim Becker]

'Not sure I'd want to be using water alongside of an electric woodworking router... ;)

[Cody Jensen]

People use water with circular saws (not concrete saws, but makeshift concrete saws using a standard circ saw). I wouldn't think that water from the router bit would come anywhere close to the motor, but with any water+electrical combo, common sense is required.

[Peter Kelly]

'Not sure I'd want to be using water alongside of an electric woodworking router... ;)Not sure I'd use a good router on something as abrasive as granite dust either.

[Erik Christensen]

I have cut profiles in soapstone using a regular router and carbide bit. when it comes to harder stuff like granite or cast concrete you need water cooled diamond tooling - one of the reasons why it is expensive to profile stone is the tooling cost - my 3/4" diamond round-over bit costs ~ $150 and will cut 1-200' of profile before it is worn out.

[Erik Loza]

I sold an MM16 to a gentleman once, whose business was cutting soapstone for arts and crafts. He told me that he used a water sprayers on his bandsaws. I asked him how he prevented everything from rusting. His reply was, "I don't".

Erik

[Tom M King]

I bought some Quartz countertop stuff from a recycling place-Community Forklift in Maryland. One piece is a seat in a shower that's four feet long. The second piece is also four feet long and needed the long edges finished on two long sides and one end. The third piece is 5 feet long and a little shelf behind the sink that needed one edge finished. I carried it to a fabricator. The owner said he didn't have time to think about it, but carry it around back, and just pay his helpers to do it. Those guys, wearing rubber aprons and boots did it in about ten minutes using tools that ran a lot of water through them. I asked then how much and Jose said, 25 bucks. I gave them fifty, and was glad to get it done. I had looked at the tooling to do it myself.

I did cut it to size myself beforehand using the water hose, diamond blade, and cheap circular saw method.

[Yonak Hawkins]

Even if you successfully profiled it, polishing it could be even more of a challenge.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Guess someone else had the same idea.

333897

From The Family Handyman e-newsletter today

[Bill ThompsonNM]

I picked up an MK wet tile saw a few years back. When I needed some profiling I found out they make sort of diamond shaping disks for the mk saws.
Worked great, even came out a good polish on the 30 feet of tiles I profiled. You could pick up or rent an edge shaper and rent a tile saw for a couple of hours. They're made to run water over the cutting surface without spraying water on the motor....

Hard to imagine that cutting with the Family Handyman method is going to be good for a router.. Diamonds and granite whirling through that motor and bearings...

[John Blazy]

My main business is glass laminating, and I have to say that diamonds are mans best friend. If I were to do this, I would see no problem with the diamond bit in a common router method with manual water spray like suggested above by most of you. The big difference is that I would use a variable speed router, and run RPMS down to about 8000, not 20000 like standard routers.

I also have a slew of diamond polishing pads, and the best source is www.hisglassworks.com (http://www.hisglassworks.com). I was used to the 150.00 flexible diamond pads from 3M (which get dull rather quickly), until I started buying some of the $20.00 pads from there, and they hold up a long time.

You can actually sand glass and granite rather well with silicon carbide discs. They are usually black, and they last quite a while on glass, so I imagine that they will work on granite as well, for only a few feet of polishing til they get too dull.

The best trick I have learned for glass polishing (granite included) is the use of structured abrasives like 3M Trizact discs (1000 grit +/-). They are made from silicon carbide, and last almost as long as diamond, yet they CUT really fast for final smoothing before cerium polishing due to the grooves in the abrasive layer. Norton also makes their version - I use both.

[Jerry Olexa]

When we installed new granite countertops in our kitchen, the installer (boss) offered me several options for decorative edges..When asked, he told me he uses routers to rout the edges.(and he did).We did not discuss bits. HTH

[keith micinski]

The router isn't the issue, the bits are. Stone and countertops are not cut with carbide they are cut with diamond abrasives. I used to buy granite off of Craigslist until I figured out but the time I bought the granite and needed any work done to it other then straight cuts it was cheaper and easier to just go to the granite shop and just buy the stone from them and have them do it. Even if you got a diamond round over bit for a 7 inch grinder, at a 100 bucks a pop, you then also have to by a diamond abrasive disk kit to polish the edge because the bit won't leave the edge clean enough for a bathroom vanity without polishing.