Members GrimR Posted January 11, 2018 Members Report Posted January 11, 2018 Like a couple of others I wanted a granite slab. On th way back from a music lesson I spied a Kitchen worktop designer who specialised in granite work tops, went in and said what I was after, "yep, come out to the skip" got a piece about 7" x 14' for nothing! They were going to throw it way, loads more in there. But like some of the other ideas above. Quote
Members utah leather Posted January 20, 2018 Members Report Posted January 20, 2018 On 8/11/2010 at 6:37 AM, Thumper said: Good Morning, I'm looking for a more affordable way to get 2 of the 1-1/2" thick slabs of marble or granite for doing my tooling. Right now, all I have is a large piece of corian and it's loud when tooling. My daughter has taken off on leather work now and I need to get her one as well, so now I'm trying to find an affordable way to get 2 piece of stone to tool leather on top of. Tandy get $40 per sq ft for the slabs and I know that St. Louis Leather gets like $20 each for marble slab...but shipping would bring it up to what Tandy is charging. My daughter and I are getting started in this and trying to keep our costs low...so I'm trying to be frugal with what we have and trying to find resources where we can for the items we need. Is there an alternative to the 1-1/2" slabs? What do you use if you don't use a slab to tool/carve on? This fall, we hope to have a dedicated part of my shop for just doing leather work and upholstery. So a work area will be great, but I just gotta get the money together to buy materials to finish the room in my shop for the leather/upholstery part of the shop. I guess I've rambled on long enough. If you can help with advice or pointers, I'd greatly appreciate it. go to the granite stores and ask for a some pieces that they are throwing away, they will give them to you for free instead of having to mess with them. I work gor a granite company in west jordan, Utah and we do this if you go to the front desk and ask about it Quote
Members plinkercases Posted January 20, 2018 Members Report Posted January 20, 2018 I get mine out of the dumpster behind counter top shops...with permission... often they think the use is cool they will give me a nice big square thick left over no charge. I have several and haven't paid a dime for them... the best one came 50 feet from the Tandy shop that wanted stupid bucks for 12x12.... Quote "Oh my God....I beseech thee grant me the grace to remain in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections" Brother Lawrence c.1614-1691 plinkercases.ca
Members Nuttish Posted January 31, 2018 Members Report Posted January 31, 2018 One option for a very thick piece of granite you can whack on that 's also smooth enough to skive on without significantly damaging the tip of your knife is a granite surface plate for a machine shop. The best plate to get them is at an industrial auction. I've gotten nice Starrett and Brown & Sharpe ones for less than $50. You can also find big dinged up ones on eBay that are no longer useful in a machine shop but are suitable for your purposes. They'll cost a fortune to ship, but local pickup makes them worth the trouble. You'll never go back to working on any other surface. Quote
Members Sheilajeanne Posted January 31, 2018 Members Report Posted January 31, 2018 I was not willing to pay what Tandy was asking for their slabs, so I went to Home Depot and bought a 12x12x 3/16" granite floor tile. It works just great for tooling, and if it ever breaks, it's only about $10.00 to replace it! Quote
bikermutt07 Posted February 1, 2018 Report Posted February 1, 2018 About once a year we set a bunch of granite scrap next to the street. You'd be amazed at how many people need granite once it's free. I always call the staff down at Tandy to let them know. Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members JMixx Posted February 14, 2018 Members Report Posted February 14, 2018 Drat! I don't know whether it's a geographic thing, but I just got back from the Lowe's in my area. When I explained what I was looking for, they first looked at me as if I'd grown a second head (I didn't, did I?), and then showed me what they have: marble tiles of about 3" X 5" X 1/2". Back to the drawing board...er, hammering board? Quote Making some progress... "Happiness hoarded is diminished."
bikermutt07 Posted February 14, 2018 Report Posted February 14, 2018 42 minutes ago, JMixx said: Drat! I don't know whether it's a geographic thing, but I just got back from the Lowe's in my area. When I explained what I was looking for, they first looked at me as if I'd grown a second head (I didn't, did I?), and then showed me what they have: marble tiles of about 3" X 5" X 1/2". Back to the drawing board...er, hammering board? Just go to a granite shop. Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members utah leather Posted February 14, 2018 Members Report Posted February 14, 2018 1 hour ago, JMixx said: Drat! I don't know whether it's a geographic thing, but I just got back from the Lowe's in my area. When I explained what I was looking for, they first looked at me as if I'd grown a second head (I didn't, did I?), and then showed me what they have: marble tiles of about 3" X 5" X 1/2". Back to the drawing board...er, hammering board? look up granite shops or retailers and call them Quote
Members JMixx Posted February 14, 2018 Members Report Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) Yeah, I may have to try a number of different places around here before I find what I'm looking for. I figured since Lowe's installs granite countertops, they might have scraps. Oh well--there are several other places I can try. Wish I lived closer to Ark/LA/TX. Thanks, guys! Edited February 14, 2018 by JMixx Quote Making some progress... "Happiness hoarded is diminished."
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