Granite base for working

[badazzelanore]

What do you think about a piece of granite that is 29 ¾” X 23 3/8” and ¾ “ thick for a good solid place to work? I found a pice for 40 bucks. Let me know what you think.

[Luke Hatley]

What do you think about a piece of granite that is 29 ¾” X 23 3/8” and ¾ “ thick for a good solid place to work? I found a pice for 40 bucks. Let me know what you think.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Just make sure that you have a good solid base to set the Granite on.

1-1/4" or 1-1/2" would be better...I M H O

[badazzelanore]

My work bench for now is going to be an old dresser, until I can get the wood to build a acctual bench.

[TTcustom]

It really all about the mass. I have used an old surface plate at my work during lunch hour for stamping. Six or eight inches thick and nothing moves it. It. Is. Awesome! At home I have the common 1-1/2" 12 x 12 granite it is okay and it got better when i made a more solid (read substantial ) workbench. I know that our local Habitat for Humanity chapter has a ReUse store that sells donated items that we can't use on our homes. They had some Granite sink cutouts for $35. I thought that might make a nice larger work area with the right supporting structure. From my experience I had using the surface plate it is all about having zero reaction when you hit the stamp.

I guess I should have stuck to my short answer and say that I agree with Luke. Sorry for the lengthy reply.

[hidepounder]

I'm with TT and Luke....I think you need more thickness for a good stamping block.

Bobby

[Double U Leather]

Here's something else you may want to think about. I went to a headstone maker here in town and asked what they did with the misspelled or mistake pieces. The guy said they usually just toss them. I found an old military grave marker that was 18" x 30" x 4" that was rectangular in the scrap pile. I told the guy what I wanted it for, and he just gave it to me. I had to kinda rebuild my bench to make it work, but it's now sweet. The slab is recessed to be level with the bench, and braced with a 4 x 4. It's solid, big, and works like a dream. Just a route you may want to look at if it's feasible for you.

[swinewerx]

I just got a slab, it is very heavy, black 24"width+18"height+3"thick it even has a serial number. I am puzzled as to where it came from, after all, it was donated to me by an unknown person who just dropped it off. It sure beats the tandy marble/granite slab. I just got to build my dream wotk bench/table that will make me even pass out.....sooon

[Luke Hatley]

DONT ASK ,BE GLAD YOU GOT A THICK ONE, AND HAPPY TOOLING FOR A VERY LONG

[Art]

It is most probably a surface plate, used for machinery setups. At least mine is. Even grade C is way flatter than you'll ever need for leatherwork, however, even grade "B" surface plates are relatively cheap, except the shipping.

Art

I just got a slab, it is very heavy, black 24"width+18"height+3"thick it even has a serial number. I am puzzled as to where it came from, after all, it was donated to me by an unknown person who just dropped it off. It sure beats the tandy marble/granite slab. I just got to build my dream wotk bench/table that will make me even pass out.....sooon

[weaselrunner]

look around for counter shops that handle granite or marble. there is one across from me at work and they usually have busted scraps in their yard in various thicknesses and sizes.

[RandyScott]

Check this link for surface plates on sale through Nov 30th to see what $40 can buy:

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INLMPI?PMPANO=0515608&PMKBNO=2038&PMPAGE=16&PMCTLG=01

A 12"x18"x3" weighs about 85 pounds and sale priced at $24.95 + S&H.

Or the next step up:

A 18"x24"x3" weighs about 180 pounds and sale priced at $44.95 + S&H.

I presume shipping cost will be ZIP code dependent.

I bought their 9"x12"x2", weighs about 30 pounds, a couple of years ago. I think total cost including shipping (it too was on sale!)was about $25. I works just fine for my purposes.

And by the way, I did pickup a sink cutout. It is still sitting in the garage. I just did not want to mess with a masonry blade (to square it up), a respirator (rock dust), goggles (rock splinters/shards), ear muffs (I have enought hearing problems as it is!) or the dust and listening to my wife complain about the mess and the noise.

Your mileage may vary...

[Jimbob]

What do you think about a piece of granite that is 29 ¾” X 23 3/8” and ¾ “ thick for a good solid place to work? I found a pice for 40 bucks. Let me know what you think.

Where are u located???

I have a 4 inch thick slab for free...but u need to pick up!!!

Let me know....I am in SW VA

Greetings

[leatherjunkie]

i agree with what everyone has said.

that and 3/4" thick is too thin. should at least get 2" thick.

i was able to pickup a counter top that was cut wrong from a friend that installed granite counter tops.

only catch in getting it was his wallet had to be the first project the granite slab was used for.

so i traded a wallet for my granite slab that measures 2" thick by 30" long by 20" wide.

its great for doing belts and other large projects

[oldtimer]

I started out with a 1" granite slab. Then I made a wooden frame out of 2"x 4", same size as the slab, put the slab into the frame, bottom side up and then filled it with concrete and reinforcement iron bars. That way I got a 4 inch stone with a granite top. Important: The mould must be level !

/ Knut

[David]

The Enco site seems to be dead

Dave

[RandyScott]

The Enco site seems to be dead

Dave

I just checked... seems to be alive and well for me...

[1911Joe]

look around for counter shops that handle granite or marble.

X2

I did this and the owner told me I could dig through his scrap bin and whatever I found I could have. I wound up getting a cutout for a large oval sink, about 30"x20".

[Hawgman]

Here's something else you may want to think about. I went to a headstone maker here in town and asked what they did with the misspelled or mistake pieces. The guy said they usually just toss them. I found an old military grave marker that was 18" x 30" x 4" that was rectangular in the scrap pile. I told the guy what I wanted it for, and he just gave it to me. I had to kinda rebuild my bench to make it work, but it's now sweet. The slab is recessed to be level with the bench, and braced with a 4 x 4. It's solid, big, and works like a dream. Just a route you may want to look at if it's feasible for you.

This is what I did also. Most Grave stone places have old Military markers that are not used. The Government furnishes every Vet with a marker and most families do not use them so they are sometimes just laying around taking up space. If you ask for them you can probably get one for free or for pennies. Mine is 30" x 18" x 6" and built into my table and It works great. I also have a 2" sink cutout that I use when I go to Tim Kleffners shop for training and It works good for that on his sturdy table. I agree with the others - The thicker the better and make your table as strong as you can.

[Mongo]

I agree that you need a thicker piece.

www.use-enco.com is where I got mine with free shipping. Check with them for specials on shipping.

I got my first stone at a memorial shop. They gave me a nice section of granite for free. It was scrap and they were going to throw it out. Go ask at a couple of places; they can only say no and they might say yes.

[hivemind]

This is what I did also. Most Grave stone places have old Military markers that are not used. The Government furnishes every Vet with a marker and most families do not use them so they are sometimes just laying around taking up space. If you ask for them you can probably get one for free or for pennies. Mine is 30" x 18" x 6" and built into my table and It works great. I also have a 2" sink cutout that I use when I go to Tim Kleffners shop for training and It works good for that on his sturdy table. I agree with the others - The thicker the better and make your table as strong as you can.

I agree that you need a thicker piece.http://www.use-enco.com' rel="external nofollow">

I got my first stone at a memorial shop. They gave me a nice section of granite for free. It was scrap and they were going to throw it out. Go ask at a couple of places; they can only say no and they might say yes.

I'll throw a third vote here for this. My stone is also an unused military headstone, in my case mine was rejected for a cosmetic blemish in the stone. My sister's an undertaker who's dating a guy who owns a memorial business, so she asked him nice and he cut it down to a 14"x14"x4" block for me. It's gotta weigh 60 pounds, and sits directly above the 4x4 leg of my workbench.

Edited January 1, 2010 by hivemind

[billymac814]

I know this thread is old, but I just went on that Enco site to look at those slabs, they are 12X18X3 on sale for 25 dollars, the shipping was going to be 37 dollars though which killed that for me, I just searched online and found a promo code (PFSAUG) that gave me free shipping. It seems they have the same code every month PFS+MONTH so if you read this in November it should be PFSNOV. Seems like a pretty good deal, thought I'd share.

While I'm on the topic and you've decided your too cheap to spend 25 dollars on a slab, you can do my original thing that has worked just fine to this point. Go to lowes or home depot and get a granite floor tile, It's way to thin right- then walk back to the garden section and get a concrete paver the same size and get some adhesive like liquid nail and glue them together, I you can quit there and be done with it, or you can get a piece of rubber or felt to glue to the bottom so you don't scratch up you table. It works fine and is about 2" thick, It's not quite big enough for me at 12X12 but if it wasnt for this Enco deal I'd just keep using it.

I also went to a grave stone place and got a piece, they gave me one after searching a while, it's from a horse I think (HOPE) and it's ok, but the back isn't polished and it's no bigger than my 12x12, I almost didn't take it, but I felt dumb saying it wasn't good enough after he looked for so long for one and he didn't charge me for it. It's also 5" thick so it's to high, If it were bigger I'd build it into my table, but I don't want to go through the hassle for a 12x12 piece.

Thought I'd share, since I wouldn't have found it if it werent for this.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I see granite slabs on CL for free fairly often. Only 3/4"? laminate 2 together, now it is 1.5" thick, or do the concrete thing that was mentioned above. I am a machinist, so I have some surface plates that i use for layout. My big plate is 36" x 60" x 10", and flatness is within .00025" over the entire surface.

[Stewart]

I ficked up mine fram aGranit company that had sut offs-Got to choose the

colors that I liked for Free going back and see if i can get one for a cutting board.

Be sure to tip the worker who lets you scanavge-- return trips are nice.

Joe

[almac]

i lucked out yesterday.

i picked up a piece of marble about 10"x24" for free at a local stone shop.