New Eager to learn and need a little advice

[warestone331]

on a side note, is that a 24" cabinet? overhang on your template looks a tad heavy for a blank. but ive had a few beers and without the doors and faceframes... yeah

[RonPaul]

on a side note, is that a 24" cabinet? overhang on your template looks a tad heavy for a blank. but ive had a few beers and without the doors and faceframes... yeah

Yes its 24". the overhang is 2-1/4"

[Andy Ross]

So you have 26 1/4" blanks?? Weird. When I did blanks they were 26" and that was big.

Looks like you are doing a legit job for a rookie. Keep it going. I can't wait to see/hear how the sink cutout goes....

[scott m]

Flashbacks.....run Forrest run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RonPaul]

Sorry. My mistake... the cabinet depth is 23-3/4 " ..

I am felling very incourged with this last cut... one of the seams for the corner. Couldn't of got it this straight with out the tips from everybody else here. Used A good straight edge and the 100 grit pad just grinded it untill the paint started to come off similar to what Chris said.




Not a bad fit so far., The color seems off because one stone is still wet.





Ill show my newbie mistakes too. I will be re-backgrinding this failed seam... hahaha This was before i knew about using a straight edge...

[ash20ash]

[Darryl Miller]

Looks good Kyler. One other tip, do not backgrind all the way out to the front edge. Stop an inch or so back so the front of your seam stays tight and does not show the angle of the backgrind.

[Joshua Hopkins]

Looking good.

[ageless]

Another trick I did back in the days was to take a red wax pencil/crayon and paint the whole bottom edge of level. Then rub that red edge back and forth on seam. The red will mark your high spots.

[Terry Roberts]

That is a great tip Rey. Thanks

[Stonecuttter]

Kyler, you are looking GOOD, bro. You obviously have the patience and ability to analyze the advice given to you, then go to work and combine it with what you learn (quickly) in the very next "hands-on" phase of work.
You lucked out HUGELY in finding this forum. These guys have HUNDREDS of years of collective experience and knowledge, and they are what helped ME get going in stone.
I have no doubt your countertops will be well above industry-standard when all's said and done. Keep the pics coming, my friend!

[ash20ash]

Another trick I did back in the days was to take a red wax pencil/crayon and paint the whole bottom edge of level. Then rub that red edge back and forth on seam. The red will mark your high spots.

Wished I would have thought of this a few years ago, great tip

[RonPaul]

Had success with the sink, im most thankful the granite didn't brake...
Cutting the sink was more hard than I thought because my 4.5" and 5" grander blades didn't cut all the way into the 3cm granite.

[RonPaul]

Unsure about the next step...

do I use clear silicone to glue the granite down? when do I use the silicone before or after I do the seams or at the same time I do the seams?

[Ken Lago]

Silicone is the last step on the install.

[Andy Ross]

9. glue seams


18. silicon
19. collect money

A portion of my install procedure

[graniteman]

Make sure everything is on the same plain (don't worry about level) and all your overhangs are the same or close.

Then use wood or composite shims to make the seam perfectly flat, I like to mark the shims with a pencil so I know approximately how far in they need to go in case they fall out.

It looks like you have 2 seems and I would get them both flat so you know it is possible but only use the glue in one at a time. You will want to mix the glue and coloring being very conservative. A tiny drop of color goes a long way. Also don't mix all of the at once, make 3-4 piles so you have enough to skim coat the seam. If you use too much hardener the glue will set too fast and it is junk.

Make sure both sides of the seam are dry and dust free. Separate the pieces about a 1/4 inch and apply the glue to both sides with a shim or tongue depressor (popsicle stick). Slide the pieces back together and try to get them as tight as possible and as flat as possible. Remove excess glue with a razor, I always leave the glue a little higher than the stone and shave it down after the glue has cured.

We always use silicone on the interior/non visible parts of the cabinets and latex caulk on the visible parts. Latex cleans up better, and sticking tops is almost the last thing.

Good Luck. Bad seams can make all your great fab work useless.

[RonPaul]

Here is the first seam. Don't know how it will turn out... Think i used to much color and to few of the hardner(its still tacky to the touch) I don't feel as good about this seam as i do the 2nd seam
1st SEAM




Removed the blue tape like 8-10 min after the glue was applied.


I feel better about this 2nd seam. I didnt use as much color and i could see where i needed to shimm better..
2nd SEAM



There is a big learning curve for me since i never have seen a granite install.

How long do i leave them to dry before i scrape it flush with a razor blade?

[Ken Lago]

You need to cut the excess glue of about 5 minutes after its applied, it must be soft enough to easily cut but still hard enough that it does not pull out of the seam. If you didn't do that ( I suspect you didn't ) then you have to use a painters tool and chisel the excess off razor blade and gods knows what, aint going to be fun.

[Darryl Miller]

I always taped mine no more than 1/8" away from the actual seam on each side. Filled the seam, scrape the excess off down to the tape, remove tape and let it cure. Then scrape it down from there with a razor blade.

[ash20ash]

If you usd poly, it will stay tacky for ever, until you scrape it down. When its hard, you can go to work on it.

You got some work to get that down to flush, but it will turn out good.

[RonPaul]

I was able to scrape most of the stuff off with a razor blade. One seam looks awasome and one looks bad.

1st SEAM
Good thing the drop in sink covers up much of this one. I used too much color or somthing . what a differance in the 2 seams.




2nd SEAM

happy with this seam

[ageless]

Those look better than some I see from people that do them regularly!

[Ken Lago]

Dig out the top layer of the bad seam and refill with a better color, you can fix it so don't settle for less.

[VThartzog]

You can make a couple of colors. Maybe beige and a separate black and dot some black in the new layer all at the same application to camouflage the seam a bit. Just depends on how good your base color is.