Graniteguy

Hello, my name is JT. I recycle marble and granite from counter top makers. I have an Ioline Super 88 that cuts sandblast mask. I make home decor, pet memorials, garden stones, scripture plaques and lots of custom work. Below is a recent example. JT

Hi, I wanted to say more about this question. Sandblasting isn't hard, but can be tedious at times. The piece in the picture is about 12X15 inches and took just under three hours to blast. I don't have a big compressor, and that's the main reason for that. The main thing is that most stone has hard and soft spots, so you have to really watch the depth of cut as you proceed. I've been doing this for only about three years, so I don't know a lot yet. I've mostly just learned on my own, keeping the techniques that work for me and discarding the ones that don't . Much of what I've learned about how to cut and finish stone has been learned at the elbow of the kind counter top fabricator where I pick up my rock. I get about 3 tons a month, just from this one guy. I take everything, so I get larger pieces too. If anybody is contemplating this, remember to be a benefit to the one who gives you your scrap. Clean up after yourself and take everything. If you aren't planning to get into granite recycling full time but want to try sandblasting a few pieces, most fabricators will give you scrap for free.

Thank you all for your warm welcome. You can see more of my work on my facebook page, "Repurposed Stone".

I'm very happy with the Ioline. I lucked into this one, which had been rebuilt just before it was retired. It serves my needs nicely. Some folks complain about feed problems, but I haven't had any. I did find that it works best for sandblast resist when it's run at about half speed. The other thing I like about it is that it's made right here in Washington and the support folks are really nice. I drive right past the plant every time I go to pick up the granite scrap I use. If you get a chance and the price is right, I would recommend getting one, especially if you're just starting out. They're well built and in my limited experience, reliable. Since they are a legacy machine, it would be a good idea to buy a second one for parts, too. Good luck and thank you for your kind words about my work.

Thank you all for your kind words. The work is sandblasted. I use silicon carbide grit with a boron carbide nozzle.

Anybody out there having any problems with Anchor 226 recently? The latest roll doesn't allow fine detail to be cut. Fine details ball up, quite unlike previous rolls of the same product. I had a remnant of the last roll I bought, there were no problems, so it is the 226. I even tried a new knife.

If you do logos a lot, you might want to look into Imigaro Z professional. It has a font recognizer in it. It will find the nearest font on your hard drive, or if you don't have it, the software will go on line and find it for you. It also is really speedy in the cleanup of graphics. It also has built in video tutorials, narrated by a guy who sounds like my grandpa. You'll pay for the software package in short order with just the time saved and hair pulled out. JT

I took the roll back to US Cutter in Redmond. As usual, their super customer service kicked in. They checked the roll then handed me a new one. Seems that heat was the culprit. The anchor blast had shipped from Memphis. Heat is a problem there. US Cutter is the easiest company to do business with that I have ever encountered. Hooooya!

Thank you for your kind words. JT