Diamond Tile Saw Precision Cuts.

The water-cooled diamond blade on a tile saw makes quick work of square and diagonal cuts, notched corners, inside curves and miters cut in tile. In fact, there’s really no substitute for a diamond tile saw when you have to make fine corner cuts, curves, slivers... or cut stone or other hard tiles. If you've never used a tile saw they may look a little scary at first, however the blade is abrasive rather than toothed. And therefore, they're safer than wood-cutting saws. You’ll still want to take precautions, as you would with any other saw.

The basic technique for using a tile saw goes like this... wait for the stream of water to cover the blade before you start cutting. Watch the line as you cut, and slightly adjust the position of the tile to keep the blade on the line. Move the tile slowly through the blade for the best-quality cut. If you hear the saw slow down, you’re cutting too fast. Harder materials require slower feed rates. When you finish the cut, keep both hands on the tile, and slide the table back and clear of the blade before you reach to switch off the saw.

Basic Saw Safety
1. Plug the saw into a GFCI-protected outlet.
2. Don’t wear jewelry or loose-fitting clothes - tie back apron strings.
3. Wear safety glasses and hearing protection.
4. Use both hands to guide the tile through the blade.
5. Keep your fingers away from the blade.

With a little practice, cutting tile on a wet saw is almost trouble free. For more on the subject, and a simple photo tutorial, check out RDLiving DYI.

Sourcing Granite Slabs.

Before anything happens in the way of fabrication of your granite countertop, you start with choosing and buying a granite slab. Granite slabs for granite countertops are imported from Italy and South America. The granite is cut at the quarry into slabs that are about ten-feet long, six-feet wide and two-inches thick. They are then imported by granite wholesalers, and are sold to granite countertop fabricators, installers and do-it-yourselfers. Thousands of slabs in hundreds of colors are imported weekly... so if you know where to look, you can get a fabulous granite slab for a competitive price. Hundreds of colors and styles of granite slabs are available from which you can select. Ideally, make your selection for your countertop by choosing the actual slab from which it will be fabricated. Avoid relying on samples if you can. Since granite is a natural stone, no two pieces are exactly alike. While a sample may be similar to the slab it represents, the actual slab could be darker or lighter than the sample. And, the variation could be enough to throw a decorating scheme out of whack.

Chances are you will not find or see slabs... or even photos of slabs at your local home improvement store. But, you can find a great selection on the internet. And, if you're close to a wholesaler, you can go there to select the slab you want. If there are no granite wholesalers in your immediate area, the internet is the next best thing.

Chiseling An Edge On Granite.

If you've decided to finish your granite countertop with a chiseled edge, and you're doing a lamination on your granite, do that first. Then, using a china marker, make a grid on the edge of the stone by measuring and marking 1/4" squares. Next, use a thin diamond blade and cut the grid roughly 1/8" into the side edge of the stone.

Now, with a stone chisel and a hammer, you will very deliberately and very carefully chip each square away. Be sure to be extra careful around the corners of the slab as you can lose the corner if you chip off too much stone.

After you have finished putting the chiseled edge on the sides of the slab, you will use a wire wheel attached to a drill or grinder, and buff the chiseled edge to remove the chisel marks.

You should be aware that when granite is chiseled in this way, there may appear to be a color difference between the edges and the granite's surface. For example, when chiseling the granite color commonly known as Tan Brown, the chiseled edges can look a little lighter than the surface area. To even the color difference, Pectro black can be applied to darken it, and bring the edges closer to the surface color. You may also want to add some glow to it. Telux stone lacquer can be applied to give the chiseled edge a warm glow. Pectro and Telux are both Tenax products. Tenax is a company that manufactures a line of stone finishing products that can help you to enhance the beautiful chiseled edge added to your granite countertop.

Natural Colors of Granite.

One of granite's most popular and perhaps best qualities is the enormous variety of colors in which it can be found. Granite is made from molten rock, mixed with a variety of minerals and hardened over time. Its natural formation and age are the reasons for its wide array of colors and patterns... from basic blacks and whites to earthy browns, to greens, and on to elegant blues. The mineral traces embedded into the stone can virtually create hundreds, if not thousands of patterns and color variations. Whatever your kitchen, bathroom or home's decoration is, there's bound to be a granite countertop to complement your home's look and feel. Here are some of the more popular colors.

Earthtones...
Brown, beige, and earth shades are the most common granite countertop colors. Because of their neutral tones, they work in almost any type of kitchen or bathroom, from classic themes to modern ones, and mix well with just about any other colors or color scheme.

Black...
Black granite countertops are the hallmark of sleek class and sophisticated elegance. Black granite offers choices ranging from solid black (also called absolute black) to interesting patterns often comprised of various shades of grays. Black granite is less common than brown granite, and for this reason can be more expensive.

Red...
What is commonly classified as red granite is not exactly red... as say... a fire truck is red. Red granite ranges from light salmon to rusty red to deep maroon and burgundy. It's one of the most expensive granite colors. It's not usually available in a truly solid color, but there can be many beautiful patterns from which to choose... any one of which can make a remarkable addition to your home.

A few words on choosing color and patterns...
When choosing granite colors and patterns for your home, it's best to make your choice based on seeing the whole slab... small sample cuts and especially photographs may be misleading to some extent. The total effect of the granite may be missed by viewing anything less than the full slab.

Why a table saw?

Why use a table saw over a high-speed handheld saw? In a word, accuracy. Automatic accuracy is the benefit you have when large quantities of stone or tile need to be cut. If you do have a large quantity to cut, you want to use the table saw. And here, quantity means not only the number of pieces, but in hours per man per day. If you were going to cut for an hour on a table saw, it would take a couple hours or more with a high-speed handheld saw. On the other hand, if you were only going to cut 10 minutes in a day, you'd probably do it with a high-speed handheld saw.

In actual use, the table saw provides an easy to use cutting tool that can repeat accurate cuts over a large quantity of pieces. When you need to cut straight, it's easier to do so if you have a flat table, and you can slide the stone or tile or brick against the backstop. When you cut multiple pieces in a row, it's a lot easier to grab one, put it in, slide it through, and keep doing that one piece after another in an assembly line method. It's certainly easier than holding onto whatever it is your cutting, and trying to cut it straight with a high-speed handheld saw. It also means better quality and more uniformity in your cuts.

A great new table saw that's small in size but big on results is the Norton Mini Blockbuster. It's price tag is not all that big either. This 14" saw comes with a segmented 14" masonry diamond blade. It's a truly unique saw in that it can be run dry or wet (with optional wet kit of $100). This makes it extra versatile so it can be used for cutting brick, block, tiles (including porcelain and granite tiles) or even paving bricks.

Built with the quality you have come to expect from Norton Clipper, this powerful saw is built like a regular masonry saw with a plunging head and a sliding tray so that it can be used like a chop saw or a brick saw or a tile saw. This saw features all steel uni-body construction with a plastic water pan that drains out the back so you can run it wet you simply placing a 5-gallon bucket under it (included in wet kit).

Granite Countertop Installation And Seaming.

Basic installation of a granite countertop and backsplash along with seaming is a project that can be readily handled by most Do-It-Yourselfers. Starting with the very minimum basics, what follows is a list of the tools and supplies that are required to do the job assuming you are not fabricating anything or polishing any of the granite...
Tools and supplies that are needed for an install and a seam:
1. 100% silicone caulk and caulk gun
2. Level
3. Shims to get the tops of both pieces on a single plane
4. C-clamp(s... possibly needed when doing the seam
5. Polyester resin glue
6. Color for glue
7. A straight edge and razor blades
8. Denatured alcohol
9. Cleaning rags