In the arrangement of apartments and houses, the use of stone has long become a classic of the genre. However, the processing of this material, unlike wood, is impossible without the use of special tools and equipment.
Manipulation requires patience, physical effort and knowledge of the basics of processing technology. The surface of a natural variety of stone is quite hard. If you use modern equipment for processing and know the technological secrets, then you can cope with the task quite simply.
Processing depth
When processing stone, you can give the surface a certain texture, which can be achieved by grinding and multi-step processing. To date, four options for the design of the treated surface are known, among them it is worth highlighting:
- chopped;
- pinned;
- coarse grinding;
- polished or matte;
- polished.
The first one looks like a natural chip, which is formed when the array is split. Stone slabs with such a plane are more often used for finishing basement parts and creating fences.
Stone processingmay involve the creation of a coarse grinding surface, which has an even geometric shape, combined with a rough base. When using rough grinding, the material goes to the manufacture of building blocks, paving stones, the construction of fences and fences, as well as the formation of steps of porches and curbs.
Stone processing may involve the creation of a matte or polished surface, which can be achieved by polishing without removing the mirror. The stone is smooth but not shiny. It is used in finishing and facing works.
The polished surface is used for monuments, sculptures and facade elements. If you resort to manual processing, then the implementation of the idea can be delayed for several weeks and months of monotonous hard work. It would be better to use a power tool and available materials.
You can make a rough countertop or simple paving stones yourself if you are familiar with the features of the breed and its structure. The easiest to process are:
- calcite;
- silicates;
- sandstones.
Their low hardness makes it easy to give the material the desired geometric shape. But such rocks are rarely further processed, they are usually polished in a semi-rough way. Cladding for a fence or basement of a building is easier to make from calcined sandstone, which is quite common and is also called shepherd stone.
The material got its name for its ability to split into even, identical tiles,whose size is several tens of centimeters. Tiles can be sanded with river sand to smooth out irregularities. This allows you to use the resulting products for laying the yard of the house or ennobling the basement.
Methods and techniques of processing
The stone processing has remained unchanged for many years. The standard set of technological methods provides for the tattooing and disassembly of the array, layers, boulders and large boulders into light and small parts that can be carried and then processed. This stage is difficult, and competent processing can reduce the cost of cutting and eliminate splitting along off-design trajectories.
Processing of natural stone at the next stage involves leveling the surface and flattening the plane. The process uses stone-cutting hand tools or special machines. Wet or rough sanding is done with homemade sanding boards or heavy cast iron plates, the former of which are made from bog oak or soft stone.
After completing this operation, a finished product with a closed or unpolished surface is obtained. Stone processing at home may involve polishing with further grinding as an artistic treatment. At this stage, you can get a mirror and see the pattern, as well as the pattern on the surface.
Power tools can be used for do-it-yourself processing, but sawing and grinding work is done under a hood, as the resulting dust can hitrespiratory system. In support of this, it should also be said that the crumb will accumulate on brushes, gears and open gearboxes. The processing of artificial stone is carried out according to the same principle.
Sawing and tattooing
The most common way to divide an array into smaller layers is tattooing. For further processing, defect-free and flat layers are used, the thickness of which reaches 10 cm. In order to obtain such a piece, holes are drilled in the array, arranged in series. Their depth should be equal to the thickness of the chipped piece. Then, with a hammer and a hardened chisel, it is necessary to break through the cut line.
The material will crack after a while. Additionally, you can use a diamond tool. Chipped layers are cut with cast-iron disks, which have a diamond coating. Using a grinder with a cutting diamond disc, the material should be cut along the splitting line to a depth of 20 mm.
The slab is laid on two supports of oak timber so that the groove is above the far support. A pine plank is laid on the cut, and then the separation line should be hit with a hammer. When choosing a tool for working stone, you may prefer a construction hammer with a victorious soldering. It allows you to split the stone into separate blocks, from which paving stones or cladding are made.
Sanding methods
After the array has been divided into blocks andslabs, you can carry out the artistic processing of stone. It provides rough polishing. In order to make the surface flat, remove bumps and protrusions, the stone is rubbed with a cast-iron plate, on which an abrasive material is applied in a thin layer.
Methodology
First you need to apply a layer of coarse sand moistened with water. A cast-iron slab is laid on top, which will grind the sandy layer on the base. In order to make the laborious process of grinding and peeling more productive, you can use a homemade stone processing machine, which is a heavy steel table. A rotating cast-iron circle with a diameter of 70 cm is installed on it. The surface must be periodically moistened with water and abrasive, then the processed slab or paving blocks are laid face down.
Choice of abrasive and peeling
For quartzites, limestones, marble-like materials and sandstones, bas alt or fine granite dust can act as an abrasive during roughing. When you have to work with heavy and hard rocks, you should grind them with a special tool. In industrial processing, crushed iron shot is used to peel granite. This depth of processing will be sufficient for paving stones, slabs of steps and paving slabs. Fine lapping is required for facade trim elements.
Final stage
Fine grinding is carried out using grinding powders with different grain sizes. More often these are calibrated powders of sintered silicon carbide or aluminum oxide. Processing is carried out by electric grinders, which are equipped with nozzles made of plastic or thick rubber. An abrasive material is applied to the surface. The nozzles rotate at high speed, which requires uniform and measured pressing of the angle grinder to the surface. Otherwise, the plane may be pressed through, and local overheating will also occur.
In conclusion
Fine sanding is accompanied by the formation of a large amount of dust, so the surface must be regularly moistened with water. Open areas of the face and hands should be covered with gloves and a mask. In order to give the leveled surface a shine, use felt cloth wheels with polishing pastes.
