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Perry Holbrook
12-04-2018, 4:58 PM
I need to make a pastry/cutting board for the kitchen. The local stone shop has marble, quartz, and granite scraps on pallets out in the yard @$35 for a pallet load!

I plan to pick up some tomorrow and don't know what I will wind up with but most are 1 inch thick or more and the pallet I have my eye on has several pieces about 30" x 48". I plan to use my tile saw to somehow cut the larger piece into 25" x 25".

I then need to finish all the edges. I plan to use an angle grinder working wet. I hope someone can give me the steps on abrasives and polish.

Thanks,
Perry

Tom M King
12-04-2018, 5:24 PM
Ask the stone shop how much they will polish the edges for. I have one that let's their workers make extra cash by doing small jobs like that. Otherwise, you'll spend real money on getting set up to be able to do a good job.

Jim Becker
12-04-2018, 5:36 PM
I agree with Tom...the best result will come from getting the edges treated with the right gear under water pressure. BTW, you may have difficulty cutting some stone with your tile saw, too.

Good to see you on the 'Creek and I hope all is well in beautiful Ashville!

Tom M King
12-04-2018, 5:47 PM
I expect the tile saw will cut it okay. I keep a cheap, 35 buck Skil circular saw for such cutting with a diamond blade. I use a water hose to keep water running across the cutting path. I've cut granite, quartz, and concrete with that saw, and never expected it to last long, but it's more than paid for itself many times over, and is still running without even any bearing noise.

I've used the back (non polished but nicely cut) of scrap sheets of granite for fireplace hearths, and quartz for things like shower seats, shower shelves, and such things in bathrooms. All cut with that circular saw if the piece was too large to cut on either the 10" tile and brick saw, or the 20" masonry saw, which ends up to be too large more times than not.

I also cut flashing slots the same way with cheap Skil 4-1/2" grinders, but they don't last long. I burned up two going all the way around an 18th Century stone foundation for basement waterproofing. I do those kinds of jobs so seldom that I would rather dispose of such cheap tools than spend real money on something that may, or may not ever be used again.

Perry Holbrook
12-04-2018, 8:58 PM
The shop is too busy to even consider until Jan and this is Christmas for the wife. The circular saw idea sounds good and Amazon has polishing disk kits. Thanks for the ideas.

Tom M King
12-04-2018, 9:41 PM
You don't need to run the hose hard enough for much pressure. We use a full stream from the open end of the hose that will just go a few inches, and then fall down. I have a helper hold the hose so the water runs on the lower part of the blade. You won't be able to see any kind of line, so I just mark the edges, and clamp on a straight edge for a guide.

There are probably kits on ebay for the special little grinders that run water out the center of the wheel, and come with multiple grit wheels. I remember I almost bought one, but then found out about the guys doing the extra work for cash.

Ken Combs
12-05-2018, 12:38 PM
You don't need to run the hose hard enough for much pressure. We use a full stream from the open end of the hose that will just go a few inches, and then fall down. I have a helper hold the hose so the water runs on the lower part of the blade. You won't be able to see any kind of line, so I just mark the edges, and clamp on a straight edge for a guide.

There are probably kits on ebay for the special little grinders that run water out the center of the wheel, and come with multiple grit wheels. I remember I almost bought one, but then found out about the guys doing the extra work for cash.

I bought one of the kits off the bay with the lowspeed grinder with water feed kit. It is variable speed and includes a GFCI and several grits. Just over 100 bucks and works great. A normal grinder is way too fast. The polishing/grinding wheels are a type of plastic with embedded diamond grit. Too fast, or no cooling and it just melts.

As to cutting, I also use a normal saw, straight edge, water feed (just a trickle), diamond blade, and cut backwards so the blade meets the finished face downward. Prevents chipping.

Tom M King
12-05-2018, 3:02 PM
Put tape on the bottom of the saw, so it doesn't scratch. I use clean release exterior painters duct tape, which I keep on hand for all sorts of uses. About anything will work though.

Good tip from Ken on direction!

Steve Tracey
12-06-2018, 7:19 PM
Forget the angle grinder!!!!! Use a belt sander with progressively finer grits, starting at 120, then 180, 220, 320. Then with 400 ore 600 wet-or-dry, a lot of elbow grease and water, polish the edges. If you make a bevel or bullnose, be careful to not scratch the top. Or, if you want a non-polished top finish, you can put a nice 320 finish on it using a random orbit sander, dry.