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Cutting/Finishing Granite

Firestarter21
Firestarter21 Posts: 309
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Sorry to be posting back to back with new topics tonight, but has anyone had much experience cutting or finishing granite? I found a 6'-7' piece that looks nice and is very cheap. I am wondering if the cost of getting a circle cut into it is going to kill me though. I am pretty sure there is a Tungsten bit/blade involved in working with granite. I think one or more of the edges still has a clean cut, but has never had any polish/finishing touches to make it look nice. I am not that interested in trying to get a beveled edge on it, just a uniform finish from top to side. So, any ideas of cost of getting the circle cut and or info on working with granite if anyone has experience.
Thanks all.

Comments

  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    For the trouble, cost and risk of screwing up your piece of granite, I'd find someone who has the right machinery and expertise in your town and let them do it.
  • I didn't mention I am supposed to be getting this piece of granite for under 50 dollars. Not a whole lot at risk here. I am just interested if I get this piece for so cheap will I be paying hundreds for my cut? the circle is the only cut that I would really want. Open to anyone's thoughts and experience.
  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    I do know that most granite places will give you a small piece of granite for free, based on their scraps.

    You just have to pay for the cutting and finishing.

    Therefore, I am not sure that $50 is that great of a deal.

    Greg
  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    I am NO EXPERT on granite. But I cut quite a bit this spring when I was finishing my outdoor kitchen countertops. I used a old diamond blade in the wet tile saw and I couldn't tell the difference between my cuts and the factory cuts, even the bevels. I wouldn't have risked it before this spring, which is why I bought granite tiles, but I would do it different now.

    If you have cut tile before, you will be fine. Purchase some cheap granite tiles and practice on them, and go for it. If money is no object then hire someone. If you can build your own table, I'm betting you can do this. Just make sure that the entire granite piece is always supported from underneath, and check for hairline cracks! Again, I'm no expert. HTH.
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    I just remember touring the shop that cut and finished the granite for our kitchen, and the machinery there definitely had the look of equipment designed to handle high-torque, high-accuracy jobs. I can't even imagine trying to cut a circular hole by hand in it, much less rout the sawn edge into something non-lethal.

    Doesn't cost anything to get a quote from a shop or two.
  • I appreciate it. We put down about 300 sq ft of tile 2 years ago and I got quite familiar with the wet tile saw. My main concern is getting inside the circle without cutting a through the side to enter the circle for my egg. It seems like I will have to drill a 1/2 inch hole and work my way out, that is how I have cut the wood surface for a old table/experiment. I didn't know how similar 1" granite would be to cutting ceramic or travertine tiles. I do appreciate the advice though, money is a object, I am almost done with school so all my projects are done on tight budgets and cheap alternatives. I think I will get this granite for about 20 bucks, besides the cutting it, my concern is picking it up with only 2 guys.
    Here is a picture of the piece.
    granite.jpg
    Thanks,
  • I plan on calling a few places tomorrow. I am always interested to see the responses on the forum, people on here seem well rounded and come from all walks of life. Thanks for the moral support :laugh:
  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    I think you'll be fine. Shoot me an E with your number and I'd be happy to tell you how I'd attempt it.
  • WileECoyote
    WileECoyote Posts: 516
    I did a bunch of research on options to cut tile for my table. I ended up calling a local floor tile store and asked if they would be willing to cut the tile for me. Their installer agreed to meet me behind the store at 6:00 am the next morning before he went out on jobs for the day. He setup his wet saw and cut a perfect circle which spanned four 16x16 tiles. He made many small straight cuts and to make tines like a fork, then many cross cuts to cut off the tines, then some fine trim cuts to smoothen it out, and finally he cleaned up the last small ridges with a tile nipper by hand. Took him about 90 minutes counting setup and cleanup. I paid him $40 for his effort. He might have done it for free or taken a lot less since he never asked for money but he had to setup just for me and it was 40 degrees that morning so he spent an hour with his hands in ice cold water on my behalf so $40 was the least I could do. In the end this was cheaper than buying or renting a saw, saved a lot of time, and if I had done it myself then I might have ruined a few tiles so it was money well spent.
  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    Barrett,

    BTW, I was thinking about this.

    You are going to cover it, correct? The granite will definitely absorb standing water.

    Greg
  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    I agree that if you can get a pro to to do it, you are better off. You walked into a deal and kind person to boot. If you can get it done for less than 70 bucks, I say do it. I'd be suprised if he found a deal like yours. He said he'd have 20.00 in materials. So he buys a saw blade or borrows one. After the job, blade goes to ebay.Haha.
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    When we remodeled our kitchen, I asked them to cut me a 30x48 (rough guess) piece of granite with a hole in it to use as the top for my cart that holds my small Egg. I didn't have them finish any edges, just cut the rectangle and the circle. They charged $170 for the granite and the cutting. Of course, they might have given me a good price since we had ordered two big slabs for the kitchen, but the lady didn't say anything about discount. FWIW....
    The Naked Whiz
  • Knauf
    Knauf Posts: 337
    As a former granite sales rep I have a question...What is the hole for? Sink? If you use a drop in sink you don't need to finish the cut edges as the sink will hide the rough cut. If you are using an under mount sink you will need to polish the edges that are revealed and that requires a wet polisher with mnumerous steps from coarse to fine with special granite polishing pads. Pretty easy as most of my former customers had unskilled laborers they taught to do it but you can really make a bad looking edge too without a lot of practice. I think you could get a granite fabricator in your area to do it for around $100 for a sink cut out. Thay are all in a server slow period with the economy the way it is so they should be willing to negotiate.