Buying used is often a great way to pick up equipment, but it may not be ideal for snaring that first waterjet. Not only are such machines scarcer than bridge saws and edgers; you also may not be getting the best solution for your needs.
By K. Schipper
MADISON, Wis. – Any job is only as good as its template, and most natural stone fabricators struggle with finding a method – but now some Midwestern U.S. shops are leaving the job to somebody else.
By Martin Jennings
Growth in the output of natural stone has increased steadily since the late 1960s and this increase can be tracked quite clearly to the advances made in the diamond tooling now used almost exclusively at the quarries and stone yards.
By K. Schipper
While it’s not easy to improve on natural stone, some fabricators are enhancing their work – and doing a little up-selling at the same time – with laser engraving. Whether it’s a portrait of the company founder on the boardroom wall, or leaves etched in a backsplash, the ability to provide that extra detail can set you apart from the competition.
By Regan D. Dickinson
It may be a trite saying – "the only limit is your imagination," or any variation thereof – but laser-etching enthusiasts insist it's true. Whatever the market or market approach, laser etching is fitting the bill for a variety of custom and production applications.
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
It’s an old-timer’s joke, but with bite: With that CNC machine that set you back a few hundred grand and then some, where’s the slot to shove in the template?
By K. Schipper
Diamonds in the stone shop pack plenty of punch. Since the first diamond saw was developed in the 1920s, diamond tooling has expanded into just about every aspect of the fabrication process.
Whether it’s sawing, shaping or polishing, fabricators say they’re utilizing diamond technology successfully – and not just for granite, but even with softer materials such as marble and natural quartz surfaces.
By Regan D. Dickinson Laser etching is a technology where the potential and applications appear limitless – but, for right now, laser-etched stonework is still getting its footing. It’s not a contradiction, either, when...
Computerized production can speed up and smooth out a shop’s workflow – but dealing with the computer itself is another matter. All CNC-based devices allow for entering the dimensions of a job, along with...
By Emerson Schwartzkopf Look at the specifications for a CNC-based production machine, and you’ll see that it can make anything – but will it make sense in your shop? The appeal for a do-everything...