Upcycling a Solid Marble Table
- Thread starter Steliz
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screwpainting
Established Member
Marble is as diverse as wood, either take it to a specialist marble company to have it identified or assess how hard it is yourself. They all cut differently but if yours was designed into a coffee table top and survived okay to date, it is a stable, grain/fault free, hard marble.
I would assess the actual colour for best complimentary wood colours to see if there is anything that would improve its appeal to you via simple colour combination change, wave a paint chart over it, you would be surprised what actually looks good. Soft marble cuts quickly but is fragile, hard marble is slow to cut but far more stable and less prone to random fractures. If you cut the backside first, two thirds of the way through at the actual size you are after, then flip it over and cut the face side a couple of mm larger, you avoid a ragged finish edge as you can grind/polish the remaining third flush with the underside with an appropriate disc/discs.
There are loads of ways to cut stone and marble but the principle of cutting the back to size and the front oversize and grinding back is the bombproof way of avoiding a disappointing finished edge if waste is an issue.
If you want a profile to the front edge you could have a go with any carbide router bit, sometimes you can get away with it, but not often and you have to go slow and be prepared to knacker the bit.
However did the Romans manage without tungsten carbide etc...
I would assess the actual colour for best complimentary wood colours to see if there is anything that would improve its appeal to you via simple colour combination change, wave a paint chart over it, you would be surprised what actually looks good. Soft marble cuts quickly but is fragile, hard marble is slow to cut but far more stable and less prone to random fractures. If you cut the backside first, two thirds of the way through at the actual size you are after, then flip it over and cut the face side a couple of mm larger, you avoid a ragged finish edge as you can grind/polish the remaining third flush with the underside with an appropriate disc/discs.
There are loads of ways to cut stone and marble but the principle of cutting the back to size and the front oversize and grinding back is the bombproof way of avoiding a disappointing finished edge if waste is an issue.
If you want a profile to the front edge you could have a go with any carbide router bit, sometimes you can get away with it, but not often and you have to go slow and be prepared to knacker the bit.
However did the Romans manage without tungsten carbide etc...
novocaine
Established Member
I said it's a pain to cut, I didn't say it was hard (still to hard for woodworking tools).
Ever wonder why you go to a stone masons for a head stone and find loads of broken chunks of the stuff in his rack? he hasn't got a clumsy assistant that's for sure.
Much like wood it can have faults and stresses internally, especially a mottled marble as is being described by the OP. A wet saw helps with limiting the amount of force on the cut and clears the chips away to reduce heat build up, all of which are great ways to overstress and encourage a flaw to do more than a little ping. (wet cutting also keeps the silicates out the air, but have a fag while your doing it to filter it out and you'll be right)
based on the size of the slab, I'd say it's a fairly big chance it's got some flaws in it, you could easierly ruin the entire thing if you hit one dry, you also need to support the cut on both sides for the entire cut.
now, as it's effectively going scrap, no reason not to have a go, the edges can be polished with wet diamond pads (can be got for cheap for grinders), working your way down the grades as you would anything else. mark a line straight across thats about the depth of your grinder head away from where you want the cut, support the slab off the ground as close to where the cut is as possible and every 12 inchs out to the end, clamp a straight piece of wood to your line and run your grinders back edge against it, so you only have to concentrate on keeping it going in a straight line. multiple passes is better than 1 big cut and will be less likely to overheat the blade or crack the slab. if you can get a bit of water on the cut (a spray bottle) then go for it, in moderation as you are using a power tool here (bzzzz). it's going to be messy, so don't wear you wifes best dress and do it outside.
make yourself a sharpening station then a few worktop protectors (not chopping boards, please not chopping boards) as mentioned and maybe take a small chunk and polish it in to a pendent for the wife so she gets something out of it.
Ever wonder why you go to a stone masons for a head stone and find loads of broken chunks of the stuff in his rack? he hasn't got a clumsy assistant that's for sure.
Much like wood it can have faults and stresses internally, especially a mottled marble as is being described by the OP. A wet saw helps with limiting the amount of force on the cut and clears the chips away to reduce heat build up, all of which are great ways to overstress and encourage a flaw to do more than a little ping. (wet cutting also keeps the silicates out the air, but have a fag while your doing it to filter it out and you'll be right)
based on the size of the slab, I'd say it's a fairly big chance it's got some flaws in it, you could easierly ruin the entire thing if you hit one dry, you also need to support the cut on both sides for the entire cut.
now, as it's effectively going scrap, no reason not to have a go, the edges can be polished with wet diamond pads (can be got for cheap for grinders), working your way down the grades as you would anything else. mark a line straight across thats about the depth of your grinder head away from where you want the cut, support the slab off the ground as close to where the cut is as possible and every 12 inchs out to the end, clamp a straight piece of wood to your line and run your grinders back edge against it, so you only have to concentrate on keeping it going in a straight line. multiple passes is better than 1 big cut and will be less likely to overheat the blade or crack the slab. if you can get a bit of water on the cut (a spray bottle) then go for it, in moderation as you are using a power tool here (bzzzz). it's going to be messy, so don't wear you wifes best dress and do it outside.
make yourself a sharpening station then a few worktop protectors (not chopping boards, please not chopping boards) as mentioned and maybe take a small chunk and polish it in to a pendent for the wife so she gets something out of it.
Carefully cut it down into thin strips about half inch thick by about four inches wide. Then set most of them aside. Take two strips. Cut them into even short lengths then epoxy them together so you have 6 blocks about 6 inch square. Take your remains strips and glue them to your blocks.
Hey presto you have the world's first coffee table upcycled into a marble pallet. Sell it as an ironic artwork on Etsy to a rich silly person for a a huge fee.
Job done.
Hey presto you have the world's first coffee table upcycled into a marble pallet. Sell it as an ironic artwork on Etsy to a rich silly person for a a huge fee.
Job done.
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