Marble Top Work Bench

[Newfman]

I have a 3'x4' x1" piece of Marble athat I have hauled 3000 miles, knowing that "someday" I may actually use it. So, I was wondering if it would be an appropriate size for a work top for leather carving and stamping. If so, do you have any suggestions on how you have set your table up, and is there anything you wish you'd have done differently.

I was thinking I would build a solid woood bench, and cover it with dura-rock and then install my marble top. Just like a kitchen counter. This marble weighs I believe, close to 200 pounds. I was also thinking about putting the table on industrial urethane casters that lock. Just for ease of movement. I am pretty sure that I would not have any 'bounce' and that it would be very solid.

Lastly, does your table tilt at all? If so, is it fixed at a tilt, or tilt-able, or is flat the only way to go?

I think while I am learning the saddle making process, i can learn to carve and stamp on some scraps. I'm sure I can order leather scraps from somwhere. (?)

Thanks for your input.

Dennis

[terrahyd]

HI Dennis;

Having such a large work area may be just the ticket for large projects;;;put a good support system under it;so it will take the test of time..I have a large work stone also and it has suede split's under it to soften the noise;; works for me ...good luck ...Doc...

PS flat works best, hammer---forhead----get the picture??

Edited February 14, 2010 by terrahyd

[Newfman]

LOL, totally get the forehed thing! So, suede as a liner...and i would have thought grout! Ok, I can understand how that works as well. Being an ex timberframer, i tend to build everything...um...heavy. I guess tapping a mallet on a small tool aginst leather...yeah, i was over thinking things a bit. I can see how being able to lift off the marble could be an advantage, though i dread moving it again for anything. I like the suede leather pad/insulator idea though. I could work later at night, should i have an obsessive moment, and maybe not keep the wife awake.

I had built a plywood and foam lined shipping case for it, (the marble) and it is presently a partition wall down in the goat barn ...yeah, they haven't a clue. I did, however, build it so i can slide the partition out, should i ever use it. What can I say, the marble was free....I think it has cost a fortune to carry it around though. Penny wise....

[gtwister09]

Dennis,

Here's some past information in these links associated with workbenches and marble tops/concrete tops. There are some more but these are ones that I quickly searched on.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Regards,

Ben

P.S. Mine has industrial casters and doesn't bounce. They lock as well. Also have additional weight of 2X4's turned on edge and marble bedded. No tilt on mine (its flat) but I did create a slight rolled edge to keep tools from rolling off onto the floor. My vote...no tilt but it's your bench. Customize it for yourself. I would change some things now but it fit our needs 10 years ago.

[AndyKnight]

LOL, totally get the forehed thing! So, suede as a liner...and i would have thought grout! Ok, I can understand how that works as well. Being an ex timberframer, i tend to build everything...um...heavy. I guess tapping a mallet on a small tool aginst leather...yeah, i was over thinking things a bit. I can see how being able to lift off the marble could be an advantage, though i dread moving it again for anything. I like the suede leather pad/insulator idea though. I could work later at night, should i have an obsessive moment, and maybe not keep the wife awake.

I had built a plywood and foam lined shipping case for it, (the marble) and it is presently a partition wall down in the goat barn ...yeah, they haven't a clue. I did, however, build it so i can slide the partition out, should i ever use it. What can I say, the marble was free....I think it has cost a fortune to carry it around though. Penny wise....

Marble or granite.

Marble is quite fragile altghough both at 1"thick will be prone to crack unless laminated to perfectly to a substrate that has zero flex. .. I have seen 2layers laminated together with epoxy to stand up well and give the advantages of a thicker stone . Maybe cutting in half and doubling is something to consider. .3'x2' would make a very usable size. for glassing and skiving. I use 4" thick granite and for heavier saddle stamping I wouldn't trade it ,

I would tend to go with solid legs. Again if you are stamping wallets it not an issue. A large basket stamp or flower center on 16 oz leather requires a good whack!

I have also seen stamping rocks beaded in a thin layer of sand . Have fun

Edited February 15, 2010 by AndyKnight

[gtwister09]

Dennis,

Andy is so correct about marble versus granite. Here are some links for you to check out extolling the virtues of granite over marble. Ours is a salvaged piece of Baltic Brown granite.

Link 1

Link 2

In going around and talking with a lot of older toolers and saddlemakers I have seen many of the larger ones bedded in sand (some swear it takes out some of the ringing due to the dampening effect of the sand). Some of them even have setups with heating elements (nursery or heating pads) added on the bottom of their stones (these have an outside edge where they are generally bolted onto like a surface plate in a machine shop). Some have heat tape around the outside edge of their surface plates. Most of them have a tooling stone that butts up against or is in the middle of other tables/worksurfaces so that they can keep long items from hanging over the edge.

Read the 5 links and they should give you some ideas on designs and material selection.

Regards,

Ben

[Newfman]

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize that I would be striking the tools hard enough to crack marble through leather! After all these years of keeping this marble safe, i would hate to crack it like that. I would have thought it could hold up if properly mounted and supported. Live and learn. I will keep thinking about it.

The links are excellent. I will consider everything. Maybe just get a block from the local monument maker and try it out. Could be that i suck at carving and stamping so much, that jumping in to a full work bench project is a waste of time and money. I may be the guy that only was able to make rough-out saddles.