How would you cut a marble or granite work-top to take a sink?
I can guess as far as marking it out conventionally and imagine with 1/2" over-hang, I won't need to worry too much about a polished finish.
So would a drill do the monkey business? Or won't peanuts cover it?
I don't like the idea of spending money if it is a DIYer.
I would use a diamond core drill at the "corners" to give a radius corner, then use a continuous rim diamond disk either in an angle grinder or in a circular saw if you want very accurate edges.
Can I have a pint of whatever you are drinking?
Been waiting for a real reason to say ANGLE GRINDER.
Whenever I've seen stone being cut, which includes a very impressive 8ft diameter circular saw cutting slate in Wales, it has always been accompanied by the use of copious amounts of water.
Marble is quite soft. You can cut that with diy tools if it isn't too thick. 20mm white marble I have cut with a small grinder no problem. Granite is very hard. It is cut with diamond tools cooled with water. You will only manage small cuts with a conventional angle grinder and a good disk. I wouldn't count on getting any accuracy either. Cuts in marble you can clean up with carborundum, wet and dry paper and a lot of patience. Cuts in granite not.
Tim W
Firstly I would avoid marble. It will be dissolved by anything acidic, vinegar, fruit juice etc. Also it is likely to be very weak where you reduce the width for the sink cutout.
Granite can be cut with a diamond blade in a 4.5 or 5 inch angle grinder. I would mark out on masking tape so you can see the line. Straight cuts are easy enough. Best done outside due to dust but then your problem will be to get it back in place without breaking it. That last bit I think will be more of a problem than the cutout.
mark
Make a plywood template that has a hole in it the same as the hole you need to cut, plus 5mm all round. Fasten this to the stone. It will mean you can't possibly slip and make a bollocks of it. Drill holes at the corners of the desired holes. Cut the hole with a stone wheel in an angle grinder. The holes are markers in case you have to cut from the underneath. It could be worth renting a big angle grinder, although they're only £45.
Bill
4:1 coffee (cheapo from Lidl or Aldi) to cocoa (the real thing not that mal ted sugary stuff they pass off at three times the price) add a good pinch o f salt to kill the acid in the cocao.
The point is that I don't want to get an expensive diamond cutter. I might look see if a cheap abrasive disc will fit in one of my circular saws. If I can find the tungsten tipped core drill I used to have some years back I w ill give that a go. Probably want a thick backing board though.
I can see me trying to glue two or three large bits together with Araldite.
Throw it off the top of your house straight into a skip. That should cut it up nicely.
Its a long time since I did anything with marble, but its weak stuff. If yo u must use it for this job, I'd cut the strips that run in front of & behin d the sink as 2 separate pieces. Otherwise you're just being optimistic. Al so you'll need to seal it well to cope with kitchen acids.
NT
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