Concrete Counter Tops

[f350ca]

Will definetly get some photos of the grind.
There's a fair bit of time and labour involved but very little material cost.
The rebar, mesh, portland mix, stone, dye and white portland for this set was about $300. You couldn't buy the sheets arborite for that.

Greg

 

[f350ca]

Not a lot of progress today.
Machined a 2 inch pipe for the grinder head to index sideways on.



Greg

 

[schor]

Great project thread. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rick Leslie]

I almost passed this one up. Glad I didn't. My wife is a home DIY-aholic! I've been HGTVed to death. But the concrete counter tops are great! They seem to be in style now and lots of high end homes are getting them on the TV shows.

Would there be any disadvantage to tying the steel instead of welding? I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[f350ca]

I almost passed this one up. Glad I didn't. My wife is a home DIY-aholic! I've been HGTVed to death. But the concrete counter tops are great! They seem to be in style now and lots of high end homes are getting them on the TV shows.

Would there be any disadvantage to tying the steel instead of welding? I can't wait to see the finished product.

Tying the rebar should be fine, think thats whats done in most buildings. Quicker for me to tack it than tie it.

Greg

 

[Cheeseking]

Very cool. Im thinking concrete slab would be perfect application for a yr round outside patio table

 

[DMS]

I recall an episode of "Dirty Jobs" where they visited a place that did concrete surfaces, fountains, tubs, etc. Some were for bathrooms, etc, but others were intended for outdoor use. It was an interesting episode at least partially because the place is only about an hour and a half from me in Half Moon Bay.

 

[f350ca]

A little progress today.
Setting up to weld the pivot that the grinding head will move up and down and sideways on, needed to be square and level. The welding table was a gift from a friend, cast iron top with steel legs and swivel casters, guessing it weighs in the neighbourhood of 300 pounds. Great for setups like this.



Boring the pivot to fit the pipe we machined yesterday, gave it 5 thou clearance.



A mock up of how the diamond wheel will be mounted, the shaft and bearing housing is liberated from a tile saw (no need to reinvent the wheel). I'll machine a sleeve to fit over the bearing housing to give a fine height adjustment. A 2 hp electric motor will mount behind the pivot to balance the weight so I get some feel of the grinding pressure.
Takes the full of a 2 hp motor to spin that wheel at 5000 rpm, tried a 3/4 hp one before, it would stall as soon as the wheel touched the concrete.



All for today
Greg

 

[valleyboy101]

Greg, Hi from Perth,

That is a beautiful job on the band saw. Just the machine for Calabogie, being traditional lumber country and all. Did you make or buy the 2 band saw wheels?
Michael

 

[f350ca]

Hi Mike or should I say howdy neighbour.
Thanks on the mill,
Had been thinking I needed a mill for some time, its in my blood I guess, my grandfather had a water powered one that used a stroke saw at Camel Chute on the Madawaska river then a steam powered one here in Calabogie. Long story short before I moved back from Alberta I tracked down two 24 inch triple groove sheave wheels off old oil well pump jacks, they sat in inventory for a few years till I got to that project. I run a belt in one of the grooves as a tire for the band to run on. The drive belt off the engine rides in one of then other grooves.
Most off the mill was scrounged or as I like to put it recycled. The little diesel was a heater unit on a trailer for perishables in a former life. A lot of the steel came from the scrap pile at our local dump the list goes on. About all I bought was the channel for the rails, bearings, chain, sprockets and such.
It can saw 30 inch wide boards 16 feet long. Have quarter sawed ash logs 36 inches in dia, had to slab the cant to get it down to where I could saw through the middle to make the initial cuts.