Steel City new Tops

I really like the idea. Machinists have been using granite as a reference surface for years. That's what they use to check the tools they use to check the cast iron tops. At 2" thick, it'd add a nice amount of mass. The only downsides I see offhand is that it might be more difficult to drill into for attaching things like power feeders, and magnetic accessories like featherboards would not be workable.

But as a bonus, I wouldn't have to worry about rust when I store all my wet bowl blanks on the TS. :p
 
they might be on to something? only time will tell. first impressions are that it`s very hard to change industry, but hobbiests will try most new ideas.
 
Sounds like a pretty good idea. Definatly adds stability and accuracy.

Vaugh's right..... my Magna-Switch feather boards would be useless on granite. :doh:

....Gets me thinking.....can you use Johnson's Paste Wax on Granite?
 
Sounds like a pretty good idea. Definatly adds stability and accuracy.

Vaugh's right..... my Magna-Switch feather boards would be useless on granite. :doh:

....Gets me thinking.....can you use Johnson's Paste Wax on Granite?

you can wax darn near anything;)
 
I really like the idea of using it on the BS tables. I wonder if that means they wouldn't need to have an insert pin to level the two table halves ??
 
....Gets me thinking.....can you use Johnson's Paste Wax on Granite?

I use Johnson's Paste Wax on my granite plate.
It looks simply mar….velous! :D
They make a cleaning paste specifically for granite that we use in out metrology lab. It makes the granite shine like a mirror. I see a whole new level of anal on the horizon.

I think Steel City might shake things up with this one.
 
I think SC might be on to something. But, I wonder how the tops will stand up to abuse. Granite's hard...but I've chipped granite counter tops by dropping metal objects on them.

Time will tell...
- Marty -
 
Its an interesting idea to be sure, but if I ever buy a new saw its going to be one that won't cut a finger off... til then I like them old and cheep.

Since its quarried in China, there doesn't seem to be much price difference 'tween rock and iron. And it is thick enough that it might not break - aside from the inevitable spot where your neighbor/BIL/child drops an old claw hammer on it and chips it. Awful top heavy though, be a real badboy to move without a lift. On the whole, I think they'll do ok with it, less gimmicky than their gold top coating, and the benifits of stone probably outweigh :)D :D :D ) the drawbacks.
 
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It is very interesting but, few companies dare to think outside the box these days. If you go further down in that same link you can see Oneway's effort to think outside the box which I promise will change the turning world forever. Trying to think of the possible issues that might come up with granite is challenging. If you live in the deep south or anywhere else where the temperature varies and there is high humidity and you have a shop without AC, then that granite is gonna sweat. And, since it's thicker and not as heat conductive as iron, it will sweat longer. Since not all of the saw is granite I would think there is a fair possibility of all that moisture effecting the areas where steel meets rock. Additionally, I bet that where the steel connects to the stone there is a small galvanic charge. I don't know what impact that might have. Contractor saws tend to be top heavy by design, and it seems that 200lbs of stone would just make them more so.

I'll wait to see the saw live but, since I have my dream saw I don't expect to be in the market anytime soon...
 
Well, I think it is a great idea :clap:

Kudos to SC for thinking outside of the box.

The other thing is that there are a LOT of kinds of granite. The kind used for countertops is often picked for the grain/color etc, not for the strength and or durability.

Here in Japan, we have this kind of Korean food, it is rice and a bunch of veggies etc, all put in this stone bowl, and the heated up HOT.

I've seen these bowls used for YEARS at restaurants, I've even seen them dropped on a hard tile floor, and they did not break.

stone_bowl2.jpg

I saw a show here on TV where they went to China (from Japan for a stone bowl for Korean food....:rolleyes:) to make these bowls, the are turned on a lathe :eek: and only the right stone will do, while turning them, the old guy running the lathe would listen to the sound, some times, he would stop the lathe and toss the bowl away. When asked, he said it was no good, to prove the point the tapped the bowl with a steel hammer and the bowl would break apart, the bowls that passed the sound test, they were HIT with the steel hammer and it rang, but did not shatter.......... :dunno:

SC seems to be getting a good rep, so I hope they have thought this one through, could be very interesting! :D
 
There is a company in my town that manufactures counter tops for laboratory's. It is called Fisher Scientific. They used to let people take scrap for personal use. I had some. The stuff is stone-like, very heavy and strong. If the granite tops are successful, this company might find a whole new market for their product.
 
This is being discussed all over the internet. Even on OWWM. I think they may be on to something. But I wouldn't buy one as soon as it comes out. Have to prove it to me, not going go be the guinea pig. Let someone else work out the bugs first. Could be that problems start showing up down the road. Vibration cracks for example? Who knows what might go wrong. But I hope it works out for them. SC is one of the few imports that I actually like. What little I have seen of them impressed me.

I think the bottom line is it is cheaper and/or easier to manufacturer. If it wasn't, they wouldn't do it. granite (can be) way more precise than is needed for woodworking. Plus it is a great marketing ploy, by all the talk I am seeing they will sell a lot of them. I don't see a down real down side to it. But I am not going to be buying one either.
 
I sweat when I work. Doesn't matter if there's snow outside and I'm in my unheated shop - I'll start to sweat. Usually the timing works out so that I get a drop in my eye right when the moving sharp thing is closest to my soft fragile fingers, but that is another story. My jointer bed has a few little (cleaned up but still visible) rust spots from where I've sweat on it and didn't notice it afterward to wipe it down. This sounds interesting - if I ever buy a TS I'll have to keep these guys in mind. I wonder how hard it is to mill a spot for a router in the granite top? :rofl:

Regarding the sweat stained jointer, thankfully I managed to leave a small green maple offcut there overnight the other day and now have a very large black spot that distracts the eye from the 2 or 3 sweat stains. :doh: :doh: :huh:
 
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