TECHNIQUES AND MATTERS NEED ATTENTION FOR MARBLE CUTTING

　　Slab marble can be used in numerous places such as bathroom shower walls, kitchen countertops and bookshelves, as well as stair treads and thresholds. Marble is one of many natural stones that make up slab material, and just like all other slabs, it needs to be cut to fit your specific installation. While large-scale cutting should be left to professionals with commercial slab equipment, the average do-it-yourselfer can cut smaller marble slabs for specific installation requirements.

　　Measure the area where you will be making the cut. Protect the edge of the marble where you will be cutting the slab. Cover the area with a few layers of masking tape. Place your cutting marks on top of the masking tape, using the measuring tape.

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　　Move the slab to a cutting area outside. Prepare a flat work surface by placing a piece of plywood across two sawhorses. Alternatively, for smaller pieces such as a vanity countertop, you can cut on the grass as long as it is a level area.

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　　Set the depth of the saw according to the thickness of your marble slab. Move all of your saw-related equipment near the slab, such as the water source (if it has a separate reservoir and a hose attached, which most do) and hoses. Clamp the slab in place.

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　　Turn on the saw and cut through the marble along the mark on the tape. Hold the saw firmly with both hands and push the blade slowly along the cut until you are through the piece.

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　　Trim any curved edges or cutouts with an angle grinder and a dry-use stone blade. Hold the grinder with both hands, sink the blade into the slab and slowly pull the blade around the area where you need to widen the cutout. Move the blade to contour to the line.

　　Tips
　　You can sand down the edges of your cuts with an angle grinder that uses polishing pads which come in varying degrees of grits. Kits are sold with an angle grinder plus eight to 12 pads that go from rough-grit to smooth-grit, or you can buy individual pads/discs for your angle grinder. Rougher grits are for major imperfections, while smooth grits are for polishing. You must make multiple passes from rough to smooth to polish marble. Bear in mind that you can scratch the face of marble, so limit your polishing to the edges where you made the cuts.

　　A tile wet saw can be used to cut marble, but only if the slabs are small enough to fit into a wet saw tile tray. Most residential-use tile saws (rented at your local home improvement store) can only cut up to a 24-inch tile, which means your slab size is limited to 24 inches in width. Commercial rail saws are sometimes available for rental or purchase, or if you have a friend who owns one, the principle is the same in that the slab is placed on the tray and then the blade passes through the stone.

　　Warnings
　　Wear safety gear when operating power tools.

　　Do not attempt to make any cuts that require you to cut off more than 2 inches of marble, initial cutouts for sinks or full-length seam cuts. These should be measured and cut by professionals. Attempting to make these types of cuts without professional equipment may result in cracking and breaking the slab.