So I helped a buddy clean out his granite shop and became thje proud owner of about 60 pieces of cutoffs from counter tops, vanities, you name it. Most pieces are around 20″ x 26″ with some being longer or shorter, etc. Most are rectangles. All are different colors.
Any ideas what to do with them (I have tools to work them…cut, polish, etc) besides a ton of small end tables. Thought about a mosaic floor but the differeing colors might be too much.
Maybe I should have just let them go into the dumpster but I figured they might have some worth for a project.
Any and all thoughts are appreciated!
Replies
Sounds like we'll be seeing alot of granite cuttingboards on Ebay soon. I know they're not great for that due to porousity, but they are good for kneading dough on.
My aunt gave us a piece of marble that was made for just that. I guess the cold stone is supposed to make the kneading process go better.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
Hmmm, I like that cutting boarddough board idea! Too bad shipping would cost more than the granite itself!
Maybe thats what all the relatives will get as gifts this year?
Look into it. Shipping might not be that bad.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
2 months ago a 100 lb. rock cost me $125.00 to send to LA. Took 5 days. Don't ask........
I wasnt suggesting 100# cutting boards. How about rolling pins?
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
Sounds like a pretty big make up present for your lady friend.....
I have seen cool bookends and house numbers.
I have built several end tables and inlaid a granite piece.
Instead of glass shelving you could make granite shelving.
Surround for fireplaces and tops for mantle.
Coasters and cup holders.
Cut handles into a slab that could be used for a lap desk while sitting in a recliner
Cut a piece a 1/2" bigger diameter than an outdoor sink and put a rubber gasket underneath for winterizing.
Pot holders for dining tables.
Lazy susans.
ANDYSZ2
WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Some pictures from todays trip to Vinalhaven - an Island famous for it's granite.
Some friends are wire sawing some of the big chunks left from long ago.
One picture shows a sawn boulder to make walkway stones.
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I haven't bee n to Vinalhaven in years, but I suspect that huge granite column by the side of the road down from the ferry is still there. It was about 40 feet long and about 3-4 feet square, so probably pretty heavy. I never did get the story behind it.
Yes it's still laying there .
A rejected piece from Sands Quarry I think .
You know about the columns for the Cathedral of St . John the Divine don't you.
Just a nice gift, with carvings
A local bar has a floor made from similar granite pieces. Clever idea, except it looks truly awful.
Would these be usefull as a "surface plate " for sandpaper sharpening?
That was my first thought!
But I'm not confident that use would deplete his inventory.
JimNever underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Saw a walkway that was done with broken pieces. Mosaic style. Actually looked pretty good.
I've seen a flooring/terazzo company take a whole slab of marbel and bust it and then put it back together with grout joints.
Local hab.4hum. store has small rippings of granite in crates that they sell. seen a few people going through them.
my friend put in a polished granite walkway.
it is treacherous to walk on in the rain, and worse in the snow.
maybe upsidedown?
Polish them up and sell them as turntable (record player) isolation stands on ebay or Audiogon.
What's a record player??
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
It is hot and hip among the younger generation, believe it or not vinyl is making a small come back. Note small.Wallyo
I have two, that are 3-inches smaller both ways than my oven.
They make great pizza stones, and help keep the temp stable when I bake bread.
I was talking to a builder the other day who said she just finished a house where she went to the granite place and got the off cuts and used them for bathroom vanities, and a work area in the laundry room. They would probably need to be at least 22" x 30" for that though. Also, many of those vessel sinks have granite tops - that would be really easy to work...
I was thinking vanities too ... but they're always at least 22" (since cabs are 21" deep).
Jeff
Use in exterior applications, out on a deck, patio etc., as end tables on top of wood, flue pipe, use your creativity. It started out outside.
i inlaid a cutoff into a concrete countertop... just to see... i cast it inplace... turned out nice...
@18" you can use them as a backsplash.... @ 9" or 6" and however long... you can use em as a back splash lay em like subway tile... how long can be random as can color... use em like tile... if you can cut em...
P:)
Pizza stones, trophy bases, coasters,
Pet headstones.
All ya gotta do is figure out a way to carve departed Fido's name in the granite, and you can sell them so the owner can mark the pooch's burial site in the backyard.
Don't laugh. I've seen it.
Thats not a bad idea. They just sandblast the writing in them. Hmmm?
Sandblasted or etched lettering on tombstones is the cheap version; top-quality stones have the letters cut into them as deeply as a half inch.
I've got no idea what kind of tooling that requires, tho.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Well, a family member has sandblasted them for 20 years in their biz and they look good to me. Thats what they do at the granite quarry I have been to so not sure what other way there is? Maybe its a laser or some hi end cutter?
Edited 4/26/2009 9:34 am ET by Oak River Mike
I don't spend a lotta time in cemetaries these days (if I can help it) but when I was a kid, we went at least one Sunday every month to drive my grandmother to the cemetary where my grandfather and uncle are buried (Grandma flunked her driving test seven times--the last three using the WWII surplus Jeep Dad bought on his way outta the Army.) So we three kids saw (and played on) a lotta gravestones while Grandma and Dad were busy trimming the bushes, planting chrysthanthemums, and thinking of son and husband, father and brother....
Grandma's buried there herself now--she died in '92 just a couple of days short of 100--and last fall my son and I happened to be visiting NY and staying literally right across the street from the cemetary. I hadn't been back to NYC since we buried her there in '92, so naturally we took a morning off touristing to visit her grave. My son bought a nice chrysthanthemum for her out of his own pocket money--he'd never known her, of course; he was born in '98--and we planted it together, then took a few photos to send to the rest of the family.
Anyway, here's a close-up of part of the stone.
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Those letters are cut deep in the stone, as you can see (especially visible in the big lettering for the family name). That stone was first erected for my uncle, in 1944. No lasers then, of course....
I honestly have no idea of how it's done, but however they do it, it seems to me it's gotta be a portable process because when subsequent family members die, their names have to be added to the stone right in the cemetary.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Yeah you are right as they do add things later....maybe some kind of diamond bit grinder in a stencil template?
I grew up near Barre, VT and all the Granite carving I saw in the shops was done by air chisel and hand work. When I was working in TX we had a stone yard fabricate a mantle with a pretty complex design, lots of different lines/coves/half rounds, running straight across the top piece. It was done with a string, chalk, and air chisel. I was 18 at the time and it pretty well blew my mind, since I didn't have the first clue about how to make it out of wood with lots of tools!
"... top-quality stones have the letters cut into them as deeply as a half inch.I've got no idea what kind of tooling that requires, tho."Careful! You may have provoked another Fein MultiMaster thread here. :)BruceT
Funny, I was thinking the same thing.
Actually heading out tomorrow to the granite guys that just did the last kitchen I did.
Givin' me a scrap or sink cutout to finish off the backfill of the hole I had to dig in Feb.
I'm thinking of starting with the stencil/sandblaster for text.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
We're working on a house that's getting a patio made of granite recycled from cutouts, scraps, etc. Rough side up, it's pretty neat. Earthstone, I think it's called.http://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Do they have a polish at all? I know the polished surface makes them slippery but would think at least a satin finish would be nice to bring out the patterns.
No polish, but it does get sealed. I haven't seen that yet, I'll try to remember the camera tomorrow.http://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Sealing might be the trick to bringing out the color. Yes, would like to see some pics.
Maybe I should have just let them go into the dumpster .......<<<<
Now, you know you'd never be able to sleep at night if you did that.
Natural Gas is Clean, Abundant and Domestic. We import almost 70% of our oil from foreign countries yet natural gas is an abundant and domestic natural resource. Natural gas is available on almost every street in America through a network of 1.5 million miles of distribution pipelines across the country. Natural gas as a transportation fuel is a sure way to break our dependence on foreign oil and keep billions of American dollars working here every day.
EXACTLY!
boat anchor ... door stop ... ballast ...
winter traction weight for rear wheel drive car ...
larger format paperweight.
shape some hand holds into them and create the next exercise craze!
kettle bells caught on ... anything's possible!
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Send them to Ponytl. He's got a niche in the warehouse that is calling for some stuff.
Double stick tape your IRS payments to them and send em in.
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I got a piece of marble one time and used it as a small work table on the side of a brick built in grill in the back yard.
Why not make fancy bed trays out of them? Use some nice wood for the sides/legs and then make the top out of the granite? This would be great for seniors, those who like to eat in bed and be pampered or even use them in your lap while watching the tube...
headstones for pets......??? address stones for driveways .... signs...
sand blast etch the words numbers etc on the surface.
Here's that walkway. Still not sealed, they wait til they're dry. Earthstone is the maker... their website has some other patterns I like a lot better.http://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Very cool! Thanks
very cool and especially interesting that it is an engineered pattern instead of random shapes. it goes together very nicely.
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I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
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If used as walk stones they can be heat treated with a torch to make them coarser and slip resistant. Saw it done of this old house don't know if it can be done to all types.
Also shower seats, Had a friend that got some pieces from a friend. They had to store the left over from an office building for five years after that they gave it away.
I got a chunk that was a good match to my tile so I did a shower seat out of my piece.
Roofing. Cut it up into 12" x 24" pieces and put it on like slate.