China black marble source

[Jerry Allen]

I was traveling near LA today and stopped into a few of marble and tile stores to see if they had any black marble. At the last one I met Murray Weiner at Rio Marble & Tile just as the store was closing who told me he could and would get China black for me at $5.50 for a 12"x12". That price applies to any quantity from 1 to 359. 360 lowers the price to $4.95/tile. I will order some and report my findings. We did not discuss shipping. The store has branches in North Hollywood, CA and Las Vegas, NV.
Murray's email: riomt@yahoo.com.
Rio's phone in North Hollywood: (818) 9821500.

[Aaron Koehl]

Just a couple of questions:

- Is it chamfered? How far?
- Is it polished?
- How thick?
- Is it veinless black (I assume it is).

[Jerry Allen]

Just a couple of questions:

- Is it chamfered? How far?
- Is it polished?
- How thick?
- Is it veinless black (I assume it is).

1) Don't know yet. I assume it's 1/16 to zero.
2) Yes, of course, unless you mean the edges.
3) 3/8"+ thick
4) According to them, China black should always be veinless.

I ordered 10 pieces and do not have to take it if I don't like it.
I will have to drive down there next week.
Will report back.

They said they would ship UPS collect and that 10 tiles are about 50 lbs.

[Aaron Koehl]

Thanks for the info.. keep us posted

[Michael Wells]

Hey Jerry, I would be very interested in buying from this guy too! I am in Rainbow Valley, CA.

That is the same price I am paying for per piece Black Granite down here!! I have been getting Veinless Black Indian Marble for $9. a sq. ft. But that is fantastic!

Keep us informed and we'll make it worth that guy's while to carry it!
Michael

[Jerry Allen]

The marble is in but it's snowing here and I probably won't get down to LA for a couple of days. Will report back then.

[Jerry Allen]

I got down to LA (No. Hollywood) today and picked up a box of ten pieces of China black.
As promised, not a vein or even a speck. Very nice stuff! I would have taken more but they wanted to make sure I liked it and so only had the one box today. They stopped stocking it because it is too fragile and scratches too easily for floors and countertops. It only takes a day for them to get it but they will stock it again if they get enough call for it. Apparently I wasn't the only guy who's asked for it for lasering and blasting lately.
It's 3/8" thick with about a .03 or .04 bevel. It's packed in styrofoam with a piece of poly between each one.
Martin is the guy who actually ordered it for me. He's at (818) 9821500.
We discussed shipping. He said they will pack it but you have to call UPS to pick it up and for a pallet (360) you have to call a trucking company.

[Jerry Allen]

First burn on marble I got yesterday. Got some banding, but that is the photo and setup or the laser. It works better than the stuff I got from Laserbits.I used 30% power, 70% speed, 500 DPI (Merc25) and the picture was sampled at 250DPI.I suspect I should have used 250 DPI to plot and forgot to check if Draw was resampling bitmaps. The black leathery looking stuff at the bottom of the photo is a reflection and the light spot at the top is the flash. Not easy to photograph in a room with lights and windows.

[Nick Adams]

Could you supply the "brand" or importer of the marble/Granite?

I know the sotre but being from central IND i wonder if it is possible that someone nearer to me and others can get it from the same supplier.

[Jerry Allen]

No markings.
I have no idea where it came from and I don't know if they will say.
You could call them.

[Mark Sipes]

Do you have an exact address for RIO. I will be in LA next week and would love to get a box to bring home. Was it still selling @ $5.50 a tile (12x12), if so I would consider becoming a distributor for the Northwest. The Photo and Transfer are outstanding.


Thanks, \\Mark

[Nick Adams]

www.google.com
enter in RIO Tile and Marble AND the location. It will pull up the number and address.


Rio Marble and Tile Inc - 3.4 miles NW - 13449 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, 91605 - (818) 982-1500

Rio Marble and Tile - 4.4 miles W - 5247 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, 89146 - (702) 821-1818

Rio Marble & Tile - 4.4 miles W - 5247 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, 89146 - (702) 365-9896


bleh, shipping from thier nevada store is 52.52 per box of 10 tiles. That isnt going to happen!

[Jerry Allen]

Mark, yes, $5.50 and $4.95 for pallet qtys. Address and phone as above.

I did some searching and the best price I could find was $3.75 fob China. The sites I saw were not some place I would order from and I assume the shipping would take a pallet into the $5 range, if not more. I don't know who is the previous distributor before Rio. If I found out I would say. There are a lot of marble tile distributors and importers in the area that RIO is. Most don't have a net presence.

When ordering always avoid checking the residential box at UPS or Fedex. I usually don't and have never been called on it.

There is a place in Virginia called Stone Locator ( http://www.stonelocator.com ) that may be helpful to folks on the east coast.

[Mark Sipes]

I am headed towards LA next week to attend WesTec (Machine/Tool Show). I will call and make sure they have a box on-hand, and hopefully get an indication where they buy the product.

Thnaks Mark

[Jerry Allen]

Have a great time. I used to go to those shows before I retired. Just hate driving into LA anymore.
I am going to order some more boxes myself and will see if I can find out any thing more also. No matter what, I have no complaints at $5.50 ea.

I wonder if anyone out there can shed some light on polishing the edges especially when it's cut.