How Do You Cut Granite?

Granite is the perfect choice for an elegant, durable countertop. While the best idea is to leave it to the experts to form that exceptional fit you expect of your countertop, it’s good to understand the steps it takes to cut granite. If you’ve never investigated granite cutting before, you’ve come to the right place.

Use a Professional

Professional granite cutting services will make the process much easier and less stressful for you. Using a reputable stone fabricator for your granite cutting needs is critical to ensure you receive the very best possible results for your investment. Baca Systems has been providing cutting-edge industrial stone automation for over 30 years. Baca Systems offers top-of-the-line, high-tech stone fabrication equipment like the Robo SawJet.

A professional granite cutting service will answer the question of “how do you cut granite?” for you. They have the experience and knowledge to help you through the entire process. Measuring for a countertop is far more complex than you may realize. That 90° corner might not be a full 90°. The wall is bound to have some flex to it as well. Particularly in an older home. A professional team will find these differences and account for them perfectly.

Steps to Cutting Granite Countertops

Now let’s look at how to cut granite. There are several ways to tackle this process, and for small jobs like cutting a small tile or an edge of a countertop, these generally work well. For a large countertop, there are several things to keep in mind:

  1. Work with a professional to ensure the proper fit. Even stone cutters work with specialists to measure countertops. The walls aren’t as straight as they look. A straight cut will rarely line up perfectly with the wall.
  2. Cutting granite is a messy business. Prepare the workspace to ensure dust and debris don’t cover your entire home.
  3. Remember to use safety equipment.
  4. Granite can be cut dry, though it makes a bigger mess than cutting wet. You can generally rent equipment.

Assuming you want to proceed to cut a large section and are still wondering how to cut granite, let’s go through the steps:

  1. Set up a stable workplace and clamp the granite to it firmly.
  2. Measure the cut line. Remeasure. Mark the cut line with blue painters’ tape to avoid chipping. Measure again and mark the tape with the final cut line.
  3. If you’re using a circular saw, tape the saw’s shoe up to keep it from scratching the granite.
  4. Whatever your chosen tool, keep it moving. Don’t force it. The smoother you go, the less the stone is likely to chip. No rule says you have to make the entire cut in one pass.
  5. It’s common to do a back-cut from the end of the slab toward the cut about 2 inches. This keeps the granite from splintering when you finish cutting through.
  6. An angle grinder with 50-grit to 3000-grit pads will remove the saw marks and clean up the cut edge.
  7. Repeat the process for the sink. Cut entry holes with a drill.

Features of a Robo SawJet

The Robo SawJet is a programmable Saw and Abrasive WaterJet cutting system that defines affordability and reliability. With the Robo SawJet, traditional granite cutting technology has been combined with the evolving world of lean industrial machine technology. Combining the two allows for enhanced programming software that reduces the need for labor and overall floor space. A smaller footprint and less labor mean being able to save more money throughout the cutting process. Material waste is lowered, as is cutting time.

After the purchase, resources are available for you with everything from troubleshooting to upgrading software, both remotely and in person if necessary. Baca Systems constantly strives to improve and upgrade systems and bring their clients along to ensure the latest and greatest functionality with software.

BACA Systems for Cutting Granite

Answering the question “how do you cut granite?” is more nuanced than just taking a circular saw and cutting along a premeasured line. The expert team at Baca Systems strives to make granite cutting as streamlined and user-friendly as possible and constantly integrate solutions that will move the industry forward for years to come.

Keep Baca Systems in mind for industrial stone fabrication. With more than 30 years of pushing the envelope of what’s possible within the industry, they offer what you need now and what’s next.