Granite Top Table Saw

[wft3]

FYI - Could granite tops be the new wave for replacing Cast iron?

See the link below:

http://www.toologics.com/Features/AW...070720231.html

[Knottscott]

As with most reasonable material choices, there are pros and cons to each. Anyone know if granite is less expensive than CI? The granite won't rust, but I'm not sure how well it'll hold up. Time will tell, but I assume Steel City did some testing and concluded that it's durable enough. Sometimes we "field testers" are a bit more aggressive than the "lab rats" though, but on the other hand, I acquired a 3/4" granite surface that bullnosed at the edges to 6/4" that I've used as a tool bench for a couple of years now, and it's still flawless. I think I'd miss the shiny silver surface of my CI top after I spruce it up.

[SARGE..g-47]

Works great on my 8" Steel City jointer. Dead flat fence with no chance of stress that could be a problem down the road.. polished and slick as a babies b*tt.. and so far not one sign of "rust". ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

I've hit it pretty hard with the ends of long hard-wood stock while manuevering it around in the shop. I am convinced it would take a direct hit from a concentrated point such as a ball peen hammer to chip it. I have worked with granite before as Georgia is a major source in the U.S. So far only about 2000 linear feet have been processed on my jointer, but that number goes up from week to week.

Dustmight... Granite runs about $50 a sq. ft. in standard 3 mil (around 1"). The Steel City TS top.. jointer.. and BS table is 1 1/2" thick and you want see a major significance in the price over cast iron as the manufacturing plant that makes the machines is next door to a quarry in China that has one of the finest grades of granite available in the world. And of course the labor rate to quarry and refine it in China is nil compared to here. So...