What Is the Best Way to Cut Manufactured Veneer Stone?
Manufactured veneer stone is light-weight and easy to cut. But some cutting methods are better than others. What’s the best way for a do-it-yourselfer to cut this product?
Best Answer
Buy or rent an inexpensive wet tile to cut your veneer stone. This produces the best cuts in veneer stone, with no dust and minimal particle blow-back.
Because
Wet tile saws are not the most versatile tool that a do-it-yourselfer can buy. After you first buy it to cut ceramic tile for a bathroom remodel, it will sit in your basement for the next two years until you’ll find another use for it. This other use: cutting veneer stone. The constant spray of water across the blade and over the stone means that no dust is created and few, if any, particles will fly back at you. Also, because wet tile saws use a sliding work surface, this keeps the material steady across the entire cut.
Qualifiers
Three other methods are worth mentioning.
- Grinder: Hand-held angle grinders equipped with a diamond blade are a favorite tool of many professional stone technicians.
- Score: If you have a chisel, file, and hammer, you can break the veneer fairly cleanly at predictable points. First, create a groove across the surface with a file or similar tool. Then you will need a wide chisel, such as a cold chisel. Remove any debris in the groove. Then place the blade of the chisel in the groove. With your hammer, give the chisel and sharp rap or two. The stone should break down the groove, but don’t expect a perfectly straight line.
- Nibble: A third method seems crude, but it’s actually effective. First secure the stone. Then, with a smaller chisel, slowly chip away at the edges of the stone. Don’t be too ambitious. If you remain patient, you can bring the stone to the preferred size. This method is similar to using a tile nibbler to nibble away at the edges of ceramic tile.
