# cuting marble on a table saw?



## charles (May 11, 2002)

I bought a table with 1/2" thick marble top at Goodwill. The top is polished on one side and the edges are beveled. I want to cut it in pieces to use as window sill. Is there a way to cut this with a special blade on my table saw?

Dimensions of sills will be about 48 inches long by 15 inches wide. To make on sill though I'll just need one 49 inch cut and one 15 each cut - the edges will make the other sides of the rectangle


-- also posted on the homesteading forum


----------



## Hogsubie (May 11, 2004)

You really need a tile saw for cutting any kind of stone. These have special blades (can be put on a table saw but I don't recommend it) and they also include a water system that flows/sprays at the cut point. This both lubricates the blade and cools the stone so it doesn't crack due to heat or binding. If you only want a few cuts, take your table top to a local flooring company that specializes in stone and tile. They should be able to cut your marble for you at a very reasonable price. You could rent a tile saw for a day but that would probably cost you more than taking it somewhere. Plus you run the risk of damaging the marble due to inexperience.


----------



## Bret F (May 4, 2004)

I work with a man who moolights at a company that cuts marble. They use a CNC router with a bit that has diamond coating, with a spray mister at the cut point. So you may be able to use a hand router with a straight edge. He does say however, that their router bearings go out constantly.


----------



## oz in SC (May 13, 2002)

I asked Mrs oz(in the ceramic tile/stoneworking business) about this.

A wet saw(like used to cut tile) 'MIGHT' cut it BUT if there is a place that cuts stone countertops they could do it quickly and easily and for little money.

You might also find some other pieces of stone you could use at the stone shop,I worked for a short time at a stone shop and there are PILES of leftover stone from doing jobs.

Good luck.


----------



## Ed K (Oct 24, 2003)

charles said:


> I bought a table with 1/2" thick marble top at Goodwill. The top is polished on one side and the edges are beveled. I want to cut it in pieces to use as window sill. Is there a way to cut this with a special blade on my table saw?
> 
> Dimensions of sills will be about 48 inches long by 15 inches wide. To make on sill though I'll just need one 49 inch cut and one 15 each cut - the edges will make the other sides of the rectangle
> 
> ...



I used to work in the stone business installing marble in mausoleums. The big or pretty cuts were made at the factory but we often had to cut or trim pieces in the field. We used a diamond blade on a makita 4" grinder. A friend can drizzle a little water on the blade ahead of your cut to keep it cool. Marble is pretty soft so you can swand your edges with successively finer sandpaper to smoth the edges of the cut made with the diamond blade. It's primative but it worked pretty well. We never tried it with a circular saw and a larger blade but I assume that larger blade would be more expensive anyway.

Good Luck


----------



## TennOC (Aug 30, 2004)

hope this helps----http://lapidary-rock-saw-blade.com/thin.html


----------

