Cutting granite with a circular saw

Mcluma · 28 Feb 2012

Last week I asked if it was possible to cut granite with the circular saw, today i tried it
I had already bought a very decent Marcrist diamond cutting disc. I was really surprised how easy and controlled it all went. I kept the dust down by using a wet sponge – not to much tough

Important is to have the slab well supported to avoid any tension whilst cutting.

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr
Constantly watched by my dogs

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr
One done, another 4 to go

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr
The quality of the cut is really good and i only needed to do a very light polishing to get a nice smooth finish
I also made a 600mm wide oak worktop today

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr

And this is it all installed ( my son carried all the pieces of granite up to the second floor)

Untitled by mcluma, on Flickr

Hudson Carpentry · 28 Feb 2012

How does the Jet sander preform? Is it the bench top version? I have been thinking about getting one but hear bad things regarding it sanding at a slight angle due to no support on one end. I have my own idea on how to stop that. Ideally I want the Axi Senior but im getting to crowded with machines so have been considering a bench top version.

What oak is that? It seems very busy.

Eric The Viking · 29 Feb 2012

It looks like a really good result. I'm guessing you made two cuts on the granite

Coupla questions:

How close did the diamond blade come to the rubber edge of the rail? Were you expecting to have to replace the rubber edge, or did it clear it sufficiently well not to cause future problems?

What was the finished edge like? Did you need to stone the edges or just de-arris it (diamond or carborundum?)?

What happened about the stone flour - does it clean up easily or is it a matter of stripping the saw's blade guard to get it all out?

It looks like a really neat thing for an occasional need, and much cheaper and safer to be able to cut on site than give measurements to someone else!

Cheers,

E.

PS: is that the oak top under the popcorn machine? If so it's wasted there as you can't see it !!!

Mcluma · 29 Feb 2012

about the sander

works really well, very happy with it, and no flexing at all, it is a really heavy piece of equipment - i mean really heavy. i'm very happy with it, and i like the open end so, like now i can put wider boards through it,

It takes a bit of learning about how to use the speed, the speed regulation is handy when you get some thicker spots, as you slow it right down you can take bigger bumps out of the wood. and the finish is perfect. i can highly recommend them

I know axi does one with an end support, but its not really needed

About curring the granite, i did it as i didn't want the outlay of somebody comming in and doing the templating, i bought the slap from ebay for Gbp120,- which was 2400 by 600 brand new. i needed two pieces one of 900 and one of 1140, but one of the walls is slightly out by a 10mm

using the guid made it possible to make a perfect cut. there was no cutting in on the rubber, and if it did it would not worry me to much as i have two guides and spare rubber strip at hand.

the guide can easily be washed down and the circular saw itself just needed a good clean. When you cut it keep it wet, not soaking as this machine is not capable of doing a full wet cut. just wet enough to keep the dust down and the blade cooled and to minimize fricting of the stone dust

After the cut i dit a few more runs to slightly polish the granite with the blade, then i took a 3m super fine wet sanding sponge to do a final rub down. but to be honsest it was a very smooth cut, the marcrist blades are worth the money

would i do it again, yes. i had seen it on youtube how other people did it, i have seen the handheld saws with blades, the difference is this is not a super wet cut. but if you go slow and keep it wet it works fine/good