Free is always good

[Chipperi]

I have been collecting stuff to get started for a long time...I have never seriously gotten into leather work but I really want to. Today I stopped at a local custom kitchen place, to see about getting a scrap piece of marble, granite, or quartz. The guy said "I have to pay to get that stuff hauled away. There are a bunch of pallets at the back of the yard, drive back there and take what you want."  12 x 24  1-1/4" thick....I am just going to put a couple of 12x12 stick on linoleum tiles on the bottom to protect the table.

[alpha2]

I've been planning on doing just that for a while. I just keep plugging away with my little thing from Tandy. Problem is, I don't have any place to store something that big, and the little one just sits on the side of my desk, always ready to go.

You scored a nice piece, and for the right price!

[DJole]

Heh! I got a nice piece of polished granite countertop (13X9X1") the same way! It has a projecting bit where it was broken, but I can use that kind of like an anvil horn. 
Yours is all nice and smooth and square...but mine was free just like yours!
I'm still holding out for some lovely white marble..

[Sheilajeanne]

I bought a marble tile from Home Depot for $10. It's only about 5 mm thick, but if it breaks, replacing it will still only cost me a fraction of what Tandy charges for a quartz slab!

[LumpenDoodle2]

Well done on getting your hand on that piece, and what a good price!

To me, the bigger the piece of granite you can practically manage, the better.    

[Sceaden]

Absolutely check out a counter top place. Most of you probably have one within driving distance and they're happy to give you some nice pieces. 

[Rockoboy]

I was given a couple of floor tiles around 15 - 18mm thick for free. When I asked a tile retailer about cementing them back to back (to increase the thickness and reduce the risk of breakage) he gave me half a bag of tile adhesive for the best price!

My slab is tough as nails because its got grain running several different directions like a sheet of plywood ... and it cost me nothing!

[Clintock]

Did the same thing here. A monument and countertop company rents a building from the family so I went in and asked did they have anything. Literally piles of cutouts for sinks in different dimensions. Almost any color. I picked a few pieces. They're just over a 1 1/8" thick. The biggest piece was 2' x 3'. Smaller two are average sink size. 

[Brianm77]

You guys can take a regular 4.5" angle grinder and beaten up the edges a little.  I would go slow so you don't chip it and blow the dust away with a shop fan. 

[cowboycolonel]

Same story here, but I went to a monument and grave marker place and got a piece about 2 inches thick, 18 X 30".  It will stand up to uneven surfaces and hard use (had it about 10 years).  I don't move it, of course, but teh price was right.  Have gad several pieces that were thinner and they just don't seem to last too long.

[Sceaden]

Oh, I went to a hardware store/ag shop and picked up 1/2" Closed Cell Foam and that is a great base for my 1" hunk of marble. The stone is thick enough that the foam doesn't affect tooling but it really cuts down on the sound. 

[CaptQuirk]

52 minutes ago, Sceaden said:

Oh, I went to a hardware store/ag shop and picked up 1/2" Closed Cell Foam and that is a great base for my 1" hunk of marble. The stone is thick enough that the foam doesn't affect tooling but it really cuts down on the sound. 

I just used a piece of cardboard for under my free granite slab. I figured, why start spending money on free stuff?