What do I need to cut marble?(without a wetsaw)

[Kyle Costlow]

My uncle needs to cut down a thin piece of marble, what (short of a wetsaw) can we use to do this? Its about 1/2 inch thick and the cut needs be about and inch and a half long. I have a miter saw, circular saw, jig saw, and hand saws, what could work?

[Jim Becker]

Angle grinder with a diamond blade designed for stone work.

[George Bowen]

Angle grinder and 4" dry diamond blade. Or circular saw and a 6" or so dry diamond blade. Smaller blade is easier to manage with small cuts, circular saw make s a better straight line.

Wear goggles and a serious respirator (not jus the little paper ones) as it will make a lot of dust.

Use masking tape to mark the lines on so you can see them, if you have an extra set of hands have someone hold a shopvac up to it which helps to see and less mess.

Edit: Jim's too fast...

[Kyle Costlow]

Thanks guys, we'll try that.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I've cut small pieces of marble with both a hacksaw and also a file.
The borg also sells a jig saw blade made for ceramic tile and/or marble that will work.
Marble is one of the softer easier to work stones you can find - that along with the natural beauty of it is why the ancients used so much of it.

[Bruce Volden]

I've cut it with my Roto Zip, there is a bit for this material. It was slow going as the marble was 5/8 ths thick. WEAR proper dust mask!!!!

Bruce

[Matt Meiser]

I did some tricky ceramic tile cuts with my angle grinder this past summer. It works great, but wear a dust mask, and don't rush it.

[Wayne Cannon]

I used both a RotoZip and an inexpensive 4" tile saw (two separate jobs) with dry diamond blades to cut 36" arcs across marble tiles to face above fireplaces.

The 3" (?) RotoZip blade is quite thin, while the tile saw blade is thicker and segmented. The tile saw looks like a miniature Skil saw. Both worked surprisingly well (I made relief cuts about every 3/4" to allow the flat blade to make the arc'ed cut -- much like using a grinder at times).

Definitely generates a LOT of dust. Contractors borrowed the small tile saw and used it's "wet" option for trimming basalt for a stone-faced retaining wall when their saw died in the middle of the job. The "wet" option is definitely preferable from a dust standpoint, but the slurry is almost like concrete when it dries.