granite

[Mark Plotkin]

I am working on a project with granite tiles. I started with 12 x 12 which I had cut to 6 x 6. they now have two edges that are rough and two with a slight bevel. I need to clean up the rough sides. I don't care if i have to grind or sand and lose the black, but then I would also need to make the bevel edges match. Any suggestions?

thanks!

[Tom Bull]

We have been working with a granite counter top company that can put finished edges on glass for us, so I suppose they could do that on your tile, but I doubt it would be cheap. Could you simply cut the bevels off and lose some size but have matching edges?
Also we have a glass edger at work that could probably do a 45 deg. polished edge on a thin tile (1/2 in or less), maybe you could find a glass shop willing to try it on an edger, but can see them balking at running a rock over a $600.00 wheel.

[Mike Ross]

Hey Mark,

If sanding works you are welcome to come out and use my edgesander. Be good to see you again,

Mike Ross

[Mark Plotkin]

thanks Mike, I ran each one on my bench grinder and at least cleaned up the sharp edges. I did a test tile for the client to see what he thinks. if I do need to edge i will come on out.

take care.

[Todd Schwartz]

Mark , be careful when cutting or grinding stone. At the bare minimum wear a good dust mask if doing only one or two over time, better yet do it underwater if you find yourself doing more than the occasional one. The silica in the stone will get into your lungs and do great damage over time.

Todd

[Nolan Taylor]

depending upon how much time/effort/money/asthetics your 6x6 tile project requires, here is a fairly reasonable method to achieve easy and pleasing results

I suspect the two factory edges remaining on your cut tile are a rounding bevel rather than a sharp bevel.

an easy and relatively inexpensive solution is eBay ..... search for granite polishing pads ..... there are a lot of listings.
I've used expensive pads ($30 each grit) and I've used cheap (<$5 each grit).

for ME, and I'm only a part time granite guy (retired and dabble, sometimes for actual pay ...gggg) the cheap ones are dang near as good as the high priced.

the best advice I can give is to make sure and go through ALL the multiple grits .... very much like you would on fine wood... BUT all the way out to at least 1500 grit.
this way you'll be matching the high gloss of the remainder of the tile and it'll look very professional ... PLUS be much easier to make the grout line the same as the factory edge.

also ---- wet is a LOT less dusty than dry ...... the dust is NOT good for your lungs either.
for wet ---- try outside ... you won't be creating enough run off to make a mess and use a variable speed grinder/sander with a GFI cord.

a very low dribble of water from a garden hose is sufficient or even a spray bottle liberally used ...... three hands , should you have that many are really needed, so someone to apply the water is handy ....

by the time you've done a couple of tiles, you'lll be an expert

good luck

[Mark Plotkin]

Nolan,

thank you, went to ebay the whole set is $40 plus shipping and I am doing a $900 job with the tiles. This was just what I needed (I think)

I will let you know how they come out!

[Pete Thomas]

To bevel the cut edge of the granite you cut, use a grindstone. There are available at tile stores for under $10, I picked one up at a Color Tile store. I had the same issue when I cut down 12x12" pieces. The grindstone is circular and has a coarse and a fine side. It works by rubbing the stone a 45 deg angle on the edge and works quickly.

-pete

[Mark Plotkin]

Pete,

do you use the grind stone manualy or on a machine?

thanks,

[Nolan Taylor]

Pete is correct ... grindstone will work for the inital rough bevel when using a small grinder.

I've done it both ways ... stone and diamond pads.

For me the pads are easier to work for the very small bevel needed to match the factory edge.

The 60 grit pad will whack the edge to match pretty quickly, nearly as fast as the stone and MUCH easier FOR ME to control.

As I said originally, I'm just a dabbler and I'm not perhaps as coversant with all methods equally.

I'd guess that it would take me less than a couple of minutes per tile with the 60grit to pretty well make all edges look the same..... then a couple of minutes with each of the next three grits and little more than ten minutes per tile total to have a factory looking tile.

AGAIN .... I'm not knocking Pete's suggestion.... just FOR ME it wouldn't gain me any time and would most likely cost me at least a tile beveled too far to use out of every five. ...... gggg

If you do any of the grinding/polishing dry ... USE a mask..... a GOOD mask. I've found a auto paint quality mask (around half a hundred) to be a needed investment in my health. Of course I use the mask for more than granite grinding/pollishing.

I still prefer wet .... pads last waaaaaaaaay longer and I get a better job.
Make sure you have a GFI cord .... I've not found it necessary to use any special sander/grinder, or even a saw.... just as long as I have a GFI in the line.

To give you an idea of the equipment I use ------ Milwaukee variable speed 7in sander/grinder and a Makita worm drive 7 1/4in saw with a diamond blade (marked for use with granite).

I'm working on my own kitchen curently for countertops.
Bought three slabs ---- roughly 4 1/2 ft by 10 ft
cut the normal countertops to 25" by various lengths .... 48" up to 110" and cut the island top to 50" by 112"
I'm using 2cm material .... much perfered the 3cm stuff but the headofthehousehold liked the looks of the eased edge on the thinner top better.

That made choosing a lot easier ... I just said "yes, ma'm" However, I did thank her profusely when it came to handling that island chunk ..... dang, that was one heavy pup. That was the only hired labor I had to use ---- six guys (who said they had ALL they wanted) to move it from the driveway where I cut it into the kitchen.

I used the Makita hypoid and only wore down a single blade .... paid a tad over 20bucks on eBay for it. Am doing the eased edge style and haven't even made a showing on wear for the pads.

btw ... the cheap pads should last long enough to do more than two hundred ft sq without any difficulty

[Barbara Sample]

I used to cut the marble also, and then I would sand them with many different sanding pads until it was smooth, I also did the bevel, but it's not easy.
It does work though. I also did a bevel on all four side, but did not polish the rest and used black magic marker to color it. It looks pretty good.
Barbara

[Kevin Warren]

Hi Mark; What color tiles are you cutting. Laserable Black 6" is available pre-cut. Best Regards: Kevin

[Pete Thomas]

Mark, the grind stone is used manually.