Any Suppliers of Black Granite

Hello,
We use Laser Sketch for their black granite however they have been having supply issues for several months now. Unfortunately they have been out of stock on many of the sizes, especially on larger sizes such as 18x24". I was wondering if anyone has a alternate supplier for black granite (Small grain) that is similar to the MB Granite LS sells. Doesn't need to be exact but does need to have a small grain size as we do photo engraving on them. Laser bits sells almost the exact same but they do not carry anything larger than a 12x12" size. Any ideas??

Cheers!
Mike

Home Depot has 12x12 tiles that have a fairly small grain. If you use silver rub-n-buff it will come out really nice, almost as nice as black marble. Unlike the sources you mentioned, the tiles are pretty cheap, just a few $ each.

Have you checked with the countertop suppliers in your area?

Buy 24" x 24" floor tile and have someone with a tile saw cut them down. I have used larger tile like that in several furniture projects, fortunately I have a large rail type tiles saw that I can cut 39" in length.

Thanks for the replies. I haven't checked in a few years but the local black granite always have a lot of flecks in it at least in my area (Fresno). I'm told that the granite that LS uses is Mongolian black that is brought into China then exported. It would be nice to find a another supplier in the US of the same material. I would settle for something similar but it is proven difficult to locate.
LS says that China has stopped all exporting of granite. Can anyone confirm this? Sounds a little out there but then again I don't really keep up with the news.

I am curious too, I use these tile a lot.
I just did a google search for Mongolian black tile, seems all the vendors are in china

seems reasonable all vendors are in China since everything south of Mongolia IS China ;)

I love their website, a total time wrap! That being said as a 1995 site it's impossible to navigate, so I cannot see what you're referring to ;) Maybe you can send me a link to my AOL account next time you dial-up to the BBS to help me find it? :D

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Originally Posted by mike wallis

Hello,
We use Laser Sketch for their black granite however they have been having supply issues for several months now. Unfortunately they have been out of stock on many of the sizes, especially on larger sizes such as 18x24". I was wondering if anyone has a alternate supplier for black granite (Small grain) that is similar to the MB Granite LS sells. Doesn't need to be exact but does need to have a small grain size as we do photo engraving on them. Laser bits sells almost the exact same but they do not carry anything larger than a 12x12" size. Any ideas??

Cheers!
Mike

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A quick search online showed Apex Granite Outlet with a phone number and local pick up for Fresno.
They sell counter top slabs of Absolute Black - you could view what they have and find out if they will cut to size and polish the cut edges.
If the counter top product is too thick, inquire about granite shower surround panels.

I find if you mask the granite, and use a rattle can lacquer on the edges, it looks almost as good as polished. I used to use a lot of LS granite, but with the Canadian buck in the basement again, it's too expensive to bring across the border. If you pick through the HD granite tiles you can find some with a pretty fine fleck that even works well with photographs, and can be cut to size on a cheap wet tile saw