Cutting and Polishing Limestone

[Dan Clark]

Eric,

In the original thread here:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2713.0, the topic of tile saws and blades came up, and move to cutting and polishing Limestone.

Currently I have a lot of Limestone to cut with my Dewalt D24000 tile saw.  I'm getting some chipout, so I've been looking for a blade.  I have three blades - the original Dewalt blade (not great, but not bad), a Pearl Porcelain blade (very good blade with similar chipout to the Dewalt, but cuts much faster) and a new "Tile and Marble Super Supreme" blade that I got at Master Wholesale. 

The new blade cuts more smoothly now that I have it installed in the correct direction, but there is still some minor chipout.  The problem is smoothing the edges so that they look like the original edges. 

I'm using a 220 grit diamond pad to shape, and then 400, 600 and 800 to bring back the original finish.  It's a pain.

Also, I found that my D24000 has a funny "click" when you move the bed all the way to the back.  It causes a slight "divot" in the side of the tile.  Has anyone else had the problem?  An adjustment issue?

Thanks, 

Dan.

p.s. I'll post pics later this evening.

 

[Dan Clark]

I posted thison April 13, 2008, 08:15 PM:

I'm still trying to get minimal chipout to reduce the number of cuts I need to make.  The shower I'm working on currently will have 16 X 24 limestone tile cut down to 8 X 12.  Then, if I can't match the 1/16" bevel on the production edge, I'll have to trim off the production edge.  Something like 350 cuts and 600 edges to hand bevel.  just for the shower.

Dan.

Response from Dave Ronyak on April 14 at 09:28 AM:

Dan,

I know nothing about this subject, but it sounds like you are or soon will be a solid surface "authority" on FOG, so keep that in mind as you read through the rest of this post!  My experience is limited to cutting tiles with a scoring machine and cutting bricks and stone using an angle grinder equipped with diamond blades and Carborundum FG reinforced wheels before inexpensive diamond blades became commonly available.  Doesn't someone make a router bit you could use (or an abrasive tipped bit) with a cheap (non-Festool) to help you form all those beveled edges?  Or can you do it reasonably uniformly and quickly by hand using an angle grinder and appropriate disk?  Or make yourself a jig to secure/locate the tile and help guide the angle grinder?  I'm thinking of a little cradle for the motor housing that would hold the grinder at the right angle you desire.  The cradle would be arranged to allow sliding motion from your left to your right.  And the tile to be beveled would be held in front of that sliding cradle.  By adjusting the forward/aft position of the tile you could adjust the size of the beveled edge to be produced.

Dave R

Dave,

The good news is that router bits are available that would do exactly what I want.  The bad news is that they are insanely expensive.  Take a look at this:http://www.masterwholesale.com/details/1137645785.html.  If I bought the top three, it would be $1,100 JUST FOR THE BITS! 

Oh, you want a router setup too?  Let's try $1,500 to $2,500 for that!     

Another possiblity would be a profile wheel for my saw.  That will set me back about $400-$600.  Possible, but pricey.

I like your idea about creating a sliding cradle.  I might be able to set it up my grinder on my tile saw somehow.

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Setting it up on your tile saw, if possible, sounds even better!  A problem you may run into is insufficient clearance between the tilted tile you are attempting to bevel and the vertical blade and shroud, etc. of the wet saw machine.  Keeping everything wet while machining will certainly reduce the clouds of dust I was envisioning.  I was envisioning using the slider/grinding device outside and letting the dust fly.  That how and where I cut my bricks and stones. 

Dave R.

 

[Dan Clark]

Dave,

Good point.  I guess it will need to be separate from my tile saw.  I'd probably need slide of about 15" for the longer tiles.  It would have to be flat keep the grinder pad at a fixed angle to the tile.  Interesting challenge.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Dan,

Here's another thought.  Use your wet tile saw.  Imagine sliding the tile to be beveled back and forth at the front nip of the blade, similar to the motion you could do on a grinding wheel to sharpen a chisel or plane iron (except upside down relative to what I normally do when sharpening on a grinding wheel).  Make a tile holder to hold the tile at the desired angle that you can slide back and forth across the blade to cut the top of the edge of the tile presented to the blade.  If you turn this tile and slideable holder jig to be at an angle that is closer to being parallel relative to the plane, you'll reduce the amount of "hollow ground edge" effect and become closer to producing a flat ground bevel.  Turn the jig as much as you can without interfering with the guard or whatever hangs over the outside of the blade.

Dave R.