This is a reprint from an article I wrote for Stone Business Magazine

Simple Things I Have Learned

“Mark, There is more than one way to skin at cat” My grandfather used to tell me that on a regular basis. I will tell you, the following article is along those lines. The following tips are simple things we have figured out over the years that have made slab fabrication easier for our shop.

RODDING

We rod every under-mount sink we process. Back in the day, we would put a tuck-point blade on a grinder, cut a 1/4” groove in the back of the slab and drop in a long chunk of all-thread. This is a common effective and slow technique.

Four years ago we started rodding with fish tape. What is fish tape? It is that stuff electricians use to pull wire through conduit.

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When we rod with fish tape we cut 2 slots in the front and 2 slots in the back. We cut the fish tape to the correct size, fill the slot with flowing epoxy, insert the strips of fish tape and wait for it to cure. (if we are in a hurry, we use express epoxy which cures in minutes instead of hours)

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There are many advantages to fish tape.

- It is much less expensive than all-thread. $50 for around 250’ lf

- It comes in 250’ rolls making it easy to store.

- You can bend it around the 45 degree sink bump outs that are so common these days.

- It can be cut to any length you need..we even use it on veins that scare us. We cut the stuff into 4” strips and make frankenstein stiches across the veins.

- It is twice as fast to rod with fish tape

This method works. We have had very little breakage since switching to this system.

LIFTING AND MOVING 3CM SLAB

“ARGH! That island weighs over 900lbs!”

In our industry the most common injury is probably back related. We have come up with some simple ways to move heavy stone with out winding up in the chiropractors office.

We started using trailers to take big finished kitchens to the job site. The use of the trailer keeps the large component close to the ground. Who wants to lift a 900lbs island off the back of a box van or a pick up?

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We get on guy on each end of the component with standard lifters and slide the part halfway off the trailer. We then get a guy on each side with those hoopty drywall lifters. Yes, those silly looking things work great!

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We then transfer the component to a dolly and roll it into the house. We use the same tools to go up stairs.

DUST FREE FABRICATION

OSHA, EPA, silicosis, the mess, and an unprofessional looking operation are the main reasons to consider going dust free. Check the prices on dust collection equipment, if that does not motivate you, OSHA will.

We went dust-free when we moved to our new shop a year ago. All my guys moaned and whined. I would catch them dragging pieces outside so they could make some dust.

It took awhile to get everyone “on the bus”. We have found workarounds on everything.

When we polish marble we use dry paper…we simply run it wet and then do final buff with felt and rouge. It works great!

Grinding back or heavy stock removal can also be done wet. We purchased a large center waterfeed angle grinder, it grinds through stone like a hot knife through butter.

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We modified all of our electric angle grinders. They now have water attachments. We run them off GFIs and use electrical tape to seal the connection. No one has ever been shocked.

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There are other benefits you will quickly notice after you go wet.

- Tooling and tools last much longer

- Things go faster wet

- The time to decontaminate the shop is cut in half.

- Everything looks much more professional with out a layer of dust on it.

- OSHA is happier

RESINATED SLABS

We are finding that we (and our customers) really like resinated slabs. It is all we pruchase for our in-house inventory. The major drawback is that occasionaly the resin process darkens the surface of the stone leaving a you with a finished edge that does not match the color of the surface.

This problem is solved by using a good color enhancing sealer. We like Tenax Ager and Aquamix Enrich and Seal. These are not your “normal” enhancers. If you put a little in the bottom of a glass and come back after the solvent evaporates and you will find a hard “acrylic” looking product. This stuff soaks into the stone and stays there.

Most of the time we polish the stone, dry and warm it, apply the sealer, wait a few minutes, wipe off and the problem is solved.

On some stones (Succuro and the like) we stop polishing at 800 grit and execute the sealing process. Wait a couple of hours and continue polishing.

WRITING ON STONE

I have seen many methods of tracing templates and writing on stone. Tape and pencil, grease pen, and paint markers. We like to use a Pentle Presto white out pen.

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It leaves a clean white line that is easy to see and is very consistent. To remove the lines we use a razor blade. If there is a shadow we use a little acetone.

This technique has some drawbacks. It can stain certain limestones and others so use care and test the stone before you write with it. You will quickly learn which stones to avoid using this method on (resort to tape and pencil)

PROTECTING THE SLAB

Having visited many shops I have noticed a dozen different ways to protect the face of the slab when it is flipped. Carpet, wood, formica, foam rubber etc.

The most effective thing we have found is Pasco Pan Liner. It comes in 5’ and 6’ high 100’ long rolls. Our tiles guys use it to build shower pans.

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Simply roll the stuff out on the table, hose off and lay your piece. It slides easily and does a great job protecting the slab from small scratches. Nothing sticks to the the pasco and it lasts forever.

We make custom shapes and roll them up and put them away when we are done.

If you have any specific questions about methods and techniques go to www.stoneadvice.com, log into the forum and ask your question. If you have a great idea and would like to share it with others, let me know and I will help get the word out. I will try to respond to questions and suggestions in timely manner.

Check back next month and we will have another article to help you fabricate like a pro!

STONE HILL BRAZILIAN GRANITE

Stone Hill Import and Export is Headquartered in Vitoria, Espirito Santo Brasil the heartbeat of Brazilian Granite. Our port of Vitoria is one of the largest in the world in terms of tonnage. Espirito Santo supplies over 60% of all granite produced in Brasil. Brasil is one of the world leaders in granite production.