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

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    116

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

    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?
    Last edited by Kyle Costlow; 03-25-2008 at 4:48 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,685
    Angle grinder with a diamond blade designed for stone work.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Sothern Cali, CA
    Posts
    29
    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...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Indianapolis, IN
    Posts
    116
    Thanks guys, we'll try that.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    6,983
    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.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    SE South Dakota
    Posts
    1,538
    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
    Epilog TT 35W, 2 LMI SE225CV's
    CorelDraw 4 through 11
    CarveWright
    paper and pencils

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Monroe, MI
    Posts
    11,896
    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.


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    1.5 hrs north of San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    842
    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.

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