Polishing The Mountain - A Look at Stone Fabrication

Hope you enjoy this interview with TC of Copperstate Stone. He explains these different
counter options so well. Knife Sharpening skills here: • Master the Art of Shar...
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Thank you, be safe, and be grateful

[@robertmcausland4916]

Loved this guy! He clearly knows his craft and respects his workers and business. Wish the best for his future success.

[@philkipnis740]

This guy is fantastic, please bring him back the information he is sharing is incredible. It's kind of a younger version of your dad in the way he explains things, incredibly interesting.

[@generalesdeath8180]

This is what I do for a living! I'm the product manager at a stone cutting factory. I unload the slabs from the truck when it comes in, bring them from the yard to be photoed and labeled so that the guys in the office can pick out where on the slabs they want to overlay the countertop files to be cut on automated saws, do some QC, etc. So cool to see my job on EC! God bless from Florida the last bastion of freedom.

[@WayneSmith-yf3fg]

Really enlightening regarding hardness of the different types of counters. Glad I watched to the end as I heard about the settling process. 50 years ago I worked for National Starch Company on a process to "flocculate" Bauxite to settle out solids for the copper industry. That process is basically what they are doing here by injecting that chemical into the slurry. Keep up the good work!

[@CamMacMastermusic]

Very interesting to see ! I got called to weld the keepers back on the edge of the cutting table at a local place here in NH. Now I see why they broke off in the first place !

[@m4anow]

I was so worried about the stone sliding down and breaking on those keepers😂 I was just thinking do they have some type of cladding on them to protect the stone, they must. Turns out from your comment, the keepers need the protecting🤣

[@chetbiddlecom6016]

I put one of the manmade quartz's countertop products in my house when it was built in 2006 and could not be happier. I have actually demonstrated its durability by hitting it with a hammer and also cutting on it. Great stuff and cleanup is with soap and water.

[@cwright0489]

I learn a lot from essential craftsman! It's like I got my pawpaw back!

[@m4anow]

It's like the paw paw I never had

[@theprojectproject01]

Scott is everybody's Pop-pop now.

[@blakehorton8110]

Yhea , this guy is definitely really good at explaining or getting his thoughts out and also love all the details he adds in so you really understand fully his ideas and thoughts, he would have made a good teacher

[@slpeteyAZ]

TC put countertops in my home 5 years ago. Cool video.

[@chriswest1996]

Quartzite, the natural stone, is quartz sandstone metamorphosed. Heat and pressure and time close the porosity up and bind the mineral grains tightly; quartzite is very tough rock. Whack a big chunk of quartzite with a sledge and you might bounce it back into your face, if the hammer doesn't break.

[@gstewartt]

There’s a massive problem in our industry right now with stones being mislabeled as quartzite. People need to really educate themself before looking at quartzites.

[@MrRustyjackson]

Was hoping they mentioned the different grades of granite, are there types of granite and quartzite? Great video. Very informative. Now I know why my little quartzite 32" Taj Mahal vanity top was so expensive! Now I feel better!

[@lheigert]

Very interesting, wish I had this information when buying my countertops.

[@brucemartinez5343]

Great Topic, thanks for lending a lot of clarity of different stone product , Just like any source of workmanship it is tough to fine an excellent frabracator who cove all types of product,. again a great show.

[@chemech]

The vendor who set up the water treatment system did a really good job... I might quibble about the cycling of the pump to get sludge out of the sump and into the "funnel tank", but it might also just be a slightly off description of that step of the operation.

[@grizzlyrider9649]

I’ve seen some countertop shop use a water jet table to cut the stone also. Little different process same result.

[@DnaKGames]

Love the interview, only thoughts would be to work on the audio a bit, I had to turn down my volume to avoid a headache!

[@grizzlyrider9649]

Grate video!! My wife and I went to France four years ago and fell in love with all the marble and I’m pretty sure they weren’t stealing it 500 years ago 🤣. We did it in our house in the bathrooms. It looks so good having a real stone in the house

[@tropifiori]

In my relatives houses in Italy everyone has marble and stone. They come here snd are amazed to see wooden floors.

[@mattsnyder4754]

Another thought on the crock pot/quartz thing. In addition to being a longer heat, the crock pot is also going to be constantly cycling it’s heating element to maintain the temperature. So you’re basically just putting the rock through 8 hours of heat cycling

[@alec4672]

I feel like a wood cutting board under the crock pot would be your best option if you have quartz

[@davidmatke248]

Keep up the good work!

[@opieshomeshop]

The pyramid builders probably had similar saws.

[@williamhart8974]

You left out "Copper" in the intro... that won't sit well with the Electricians and Plumbers! 😄 Keep up the good work!

[@PhotonFlightTeam]

Rock on EC!

[@chemech]

Marble is highly compressed limestone (calcium carbonate), and is thus vulnerable to attack by even weak acids. Quartz is an igneous rock where the sand grains got melted (sintered) together. Synthetic quartz for the building trade is made by gluing quartz / quartzite grains together using resins. Granite is a large family of igneous rocks that are primarily quartz / quartzite, with other minerals - primarily feldspars, but you'll find features of mica and iron compounds, that can give various colors to the stone. Some grades of granite have a lot of feldspar(s), and will weather when exposed to moisture and acids. In much of the Southwest, we have naturally occurring granite mountains where the stone is kind of brown, and the feldspar content is really, really high. This rock weathers at the drop of a hat, and the surface will flake off (spall), producing decomposed granite... completely unsuited for countertops. There are plenty of deposits of high quality granite which are well suited for producing high quality counter tops.

[@9HighFlyer9]

Quartzite is a metamorphic rock wherein grains of sand have been fused together.

[@jeffmansfield914]

4:19 WOW!! It used to take 3 guys to do what that saw can do! Awesome! It’s super cool how you can buy a machine that put 3 people out of work AND allows you to make even more money for yourself! Good job, T.C.!

[@thegodemperorofmankind7yea704]

You want to go back to a world pre industrial revolution?

[@jeffmansfield914]

@@thegodemperorofmankind7yea704 There’s a balance. I mean, those guys can use power tools and be decently efficient. Technology is increasingly becoming able to replace most jobs, and at some point we’ll have to make the choice to not use that technology because we’re creating so much income disparity. A person can own a company, employ 30 people who can take care of their families, and still make a healthy chunk of money for themselves. OR... That person can buy a few machines, employ 5 people (screw the other 25), and make tons of extra money for themselves. It’s worth considering that the better choice might be taking less for ourselves so that others in our community can have something.

[@thegodemperorofmankind7yea704]

@@jeffmansfield914 Sorry mate but progress can’t be halted that easily, and in this scenario there’s also loads of people employed in the manufacturing and maintenance of these machines, so those jobs mean something too

[@derekofbaltimore]

@@jeffmansfield914 the long transition period when jobs dwindle as automation takes over will (does) suck but at the end of that transition capitalism will be out (since there will be no customers) and then ,perhaps, job for income will no longer matter

[@nathanaelszafranski3952]

In my experience sharpie on many smooth surfaces can be removed with a dry erase marker. We literally scribbled out the graffiti on an enameled wall with a dry erase pen and immediately wiped it off a second later.

[@gtbkts]

Thanks for the awesome content!

[@WoLpH]

Since quartz dust can be very bad for your health and they're not wearing any types of masks, can I assume that the water makes safe? Or is there so much dust extraction that it's not an issue?

[@mattsnyder4754]

The water is the key there. Wet dust doesn’t really go airborne. Aside from the stuff that’s splashing around, there’s likely not much in the air

[@RichardKinch]

The PPE appears to be substandard. The water doesn't make it safe, and actually creates the illusion of safety. The airborne water fine mist and aerosol flying off into the ambient air is still carrying the entrained dust into lungs. Breathing wet dust doesn't feel noxious like breathing dry dust, but it is still hazardous because submicron silica is still being inhaled.

[@robertduffy5805]

great interview!

[@eastafricanadventurestj7196]

My dad is TC and is a stone mason in uk

[@tropifiori]

When Grandfather was a boy ( pre WW1) he helped to mine marble. They hammered drills into rock, and then they’d fill the holes with black powder. The holes would get plugged with wooden plugs that had a hole for a fuse. They would put an iron net over the whole business and run for cover.Grandfather lit the fuses because he could run faster than the old men. Now they use lasers snd computers.

[@joshualeonardo9815]

This was an awesome episode

[@joels7605]

Another excellent video, sir.

[@bat116]

Great information.

[@adnacraigo6590]

Very interesting.

[@mackfisher4487]

Curiosity, has anyone come up with a use for the heavy slurry expelled from the final tank? It seems like it might be a good attitude for concrete.

[@Corsonmcnash]

Was hoping they would touch on this too

[@greatgaloo602]

A stone shop local to where I work just left it in the basement of the building they moved out of. A full cattle trough of stone dust, plus a few inches all over the floor in the basement. The remediation quotes for that were laughable

[@EarthMurph]

Tumble it

[@EarthMurph]

Polish for lenses

[@clutch5sp989]

Finally...we have our remodel kitchen to the point needing countertops. It's exciting....getting to this milestone in our project. Why are the cabinets we purchased 35" high? Maybe the countertops these days are 1" thick with no sub-top?

[@tomkeppler1717]

Great content

[@terrysullivan1992]

Quartzite is very hard but not the last mineral before diamond, but it is harder than steel.

[@EdKeenan]

I wonder what was on Alvaro's shirt? haha

[@NSResponder]

I'm curious what that stone slurry would do in a a concrete mix. Could it replace some of the sand?

[@theprojectproject01]

Gosh, I'd think so? If you think about it, sand is just really tiny gravel.

[@RichardKinch]

Yes, marble dust is used as a concrete or plaster ingredient. It's also the ingredient in synthetic stone using resin binder.

[@joshualeonardo9815]

Building science 🤘🏽

[@eformance]

I take it that Nathan is remodeling the kitchen in his AZ house?

[@Bearclaw_Jake]

At one time I did granite work. Learned a lot and enjoyed it. Just an underpaid job unfortunately.

[@dtbndtbn]

An episode for true Poles

[@lheigert]

What sealant is best

[@tomkeppler1717]

One thing I wanted to know was what do they d ok with the solids at the end of there filtration system ? Is it recycled into something or just thrown away ?

[@wolfcommander6009]

Was that a famous Bore cut in the intro?

[@CrimeVid]

Just drop a glass on that and then see how much you like it !

[@nathanaelszafranski3952]

Is there a commercial application for the sludge waste?

[@firesurfer]

I have two marble slabs in my driveway. What sort of backer should I use? What about glue? Epoxy or contractors glue? I know I have to fix the splits with epoxy, is there a type I need to use?

[@bngr_bngr]

Is breathing in the dust dangerous?

[@RichardKinch]

Yes, wet or dry, very hazardous over the long term.

[@imtiyanger7385]

👍

[@derekofbaltimore]

The guy in the interview said "your pros and cons may be different from mine..." Is he crazy?! This is the home building industry.everybody knows that there is only one way to do things!

[@cwright0489]

What is the hardest stone to make a kitchen from? Can anyone put them from softest to hardest?

[@russellstarr9111]

Did you not watch the video? They covered that.

[@RichardKinch]

Quartz is the hardest mineral. Granite is a fusion of quartz, mica, and feldspar, a bit softer. Marble is just crystallized chalk and very soft. None of it is very practical for a work surface. It's a silly style.

[@austincummins7712]

I am going to be a smartass and recommend diamond. You need pure diamond countertops, Robert. Or if you prefer the metallic, industrial aesthetic, then you need tungsten carbide countertops. 😎

[@attre3]

23:44 Soapstone

[@farmfitnesspham4913]

What about moon stones or mar stone

[@mattpeterson7074]

Can stone be cut with water jets?

[@mattk6101]

Sure beats the cardboard templates we use to use. Lol

[@lorenacontreras4542]

Wow👍

[@PlasmaJeti]

Hey what video of yours has the old rancher talking about his dog that beat him back with his group of cattle that made me cry? Lol. I’ve got 3,200 acres to go 7 weeks behind and my Aussie shepherd hasn’t left my side. Like she’s trying to help me get everything done

[@anthonyromano8565]

Seems like a lot of energy going into what is essentially a work surface. Is this really the direction we want to go.

[@m4anow]

It's what people gather around. It's part of an owner's expression in the most central room of a home. And it needs to be functional and durable or that most central room will be a source of consternation instead of cohesion and community.

[@cutl00senc]

Agree….the modern day fascination with kitchens versus 100yrs ago is, imo, rather funny. Today, we’ve essentially turned our living rooms, or parlors, into kitchens. Heck, I’m old enough to remember when people shooed others out of the kitchen so they could cook without being distracted. I guess popping something in the microwave isn’t that difficult for the modern housewife….lol. My house has a galley kitchen and it’s very efficient and utilitarian. I can cook a nice meal in it while my wife entertains our guests in a better area of the house….with sofas and chairs!

[@asdqwe4468]

@@cutl00senc Yeah the modern kitchen fashion is kinda odd. To be honest I don't know why people want stone tops. It's not nice to put anything down. Glass, porcelain or steel on stone? Not so pleasant. Then I even hear people saying they cut on it. The mind boggles. In my opinion there's nothing better than a solid wood working surface. Feels good, ages nicely, it's forgiving and easy to fit the kitchen. I don't cut directly on the counter top. Just use a cutting board for that. A wooden one, not one of plastic or glass (what the heck). And by the way, not wanting things to age or show signs of use is insane. While there's nothing wrong with a nice looking kitchen I think the kitchen is a bit like a workshop. It got to be functional. Food from a fancy kitchen doesn't taste better than from a simple kitchen.

[@RichardKinch]

It's a silly fashion. Formica is out of style, but the synthetic stone is really just a resin product like Formica.

[@pamelah6431]

I have no idea why someone would bother complaining about what other people value or want in their homes.

[@yohanathandowns9057]

See I'm not sure at what point it's no longer a craft. Come and push a few buttons and send data to a computer, where the computer does ALL the work but load the slab. Computer knows more, people know less. I used a guy in Lexington ky who came and templates with wood and got every contour correct and perfect. Truly inspiring to watch, I guess this was disappointing in comparison, but no less a first quality product.

[@arieteeuw237]

Leica Power 😉

[@charlesballiet7074]

wonder if that sludge is recyclable into more budget countertops, its already pregrinded particles of countertop just needs binder.

[@charlesballiet7074]

ide just take ceramic its hard and sealed and replaceable and cheap

[@IsmailNuzaifKokky]

.

[@cliffahrens1557]

Clearly clueless customers crack quartz counter with crock!

[@EarthMurph]

Classy Cliff

[@zekeabercrombie3583]

Non-essential craftsmen. I watched this done on a job. Measured by computer, cut by cnc, installed by minimum wage labor, in an expensive cardboard and duct tape house made to last just a few years.

[@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28]

Must be a grueling job working in a rain suit in the Arizona heat all day. Probably getting paid peanuts with no benefits as well, while the owner continues to look for ways to mechanize the process and to make laborers obsolete, and increases his profit margins. Not knocking this guy in particular, because it's a problem in all industries, but it's sad seeing hard working folks being replaced by machines for the sole purpose of making the owner rich.

[@JohnWilliams-cu4cc]

Obviously you have never owned a business, or employed anyone. This is a small business man, trying to make a living, all while employing and providing for the families of 4-5 other people. There is a ton of costs involved with being an employer. If you can lower your outlay in labor burden (insurances, taxes, HR, management, etc), you will, by default, be lowering the cost of your product to your prospective clientele. If you have such a heavy cost to do business, you will have to charge your customer a higher price, thereby eliminating a margin of potential future purchasers of your product.

[@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28]

@@JohnWilliams-cu4cc it's just business until it's your job that's getting replaced by a machine. It's all fun and games when it's you benefiting at the expense of someone else's ability to pay their bills. Reminds me of the when the government said only "essential business" could remain open, while "non essential" businesses must stay home. All businesses are essential, especially if that business is the one that pays your bills and feeds your family. There's nothing inherently wrong with increasing productivity, lowering overhead expenses, etc. The problem is, those increased profit margins never seem to benefit anyone besides the owner. I've seen it happen throughout my entire life, as I've worked in small businesses like this my entire life. The owner buys a new machine or robot, which increases productivity and profits by let's say for instance, 70 percent, and that money goes directly in the owners pocket, while the remaining employees who weren't replaced by a robot, get the privilege of not being unemployed. The owner just increased his profit margins 70 percent, and the employees that often have to do more work because there are less people working, get nothing at all. Not a bonus, a pay raise, better benefits, etc. NOTHING! And if you dare bring that up, the owner will fire you and replace you because you aren't a "team player". Every small business I've ever worked with, it's the exact same. The owner drives brand new vehicles, owns several houses, cars, boats, atv's, small planes, etc. The owner wears expensive clothing, watches, jewelry, etc. The owner increases profits by whatever percentage, and instead of being content, they go out and spend that profit on material possessions, and then next year it's the same thing. Wash. Rinse. Repeat, over and over... The problem is greed. The money is never enough. It's always more, more, more... The business owner tells employees they should "live within their means", yet the business owner never does. The goalposts always move for the business owner from the aspect of what "living within their means" actually is, but the employees should be content with making the same amount they made before the increased productivity and profit margins. It's disgusting, pathetic behavior, and it's permeated throughout. Increased profit margins should mean that the entire company benefits, not just the owner. Yes, the owner should benefit the most since they have the most to lose, but they wouldn't have a business without the employees doing the actual grunt work. I suppose not all small business owners are like this, but I've yet to come across one that isn't, so they certainly aren't the norm. If I'm a business owner making a million dollars a year profit, and then I increase my profits margin by 70 percent, I'm giving my employees a healthy raise, because I need happy employees to remain successful. Most owners would rather keep all the money for themselves, and then wonder why the employees resent working there, why they stop working so hard, and why they start showing up late or calling out of work more. 🤔 The last place I worked would always threaten employees with shutting the doors for good, as if they were teetering on the verge of bankruptcy while the 3 owners all drive brand new 95k dollar trucks, and all have huge houses, cars, lake houses, airplanes, etc. I've seen enough of how small business owners operate to realize it's all about greed, and that's the bottom line, for 95 percent of these businesses, and probably closer to 99 percent to be honest.

[@russellstarr9111]

@@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28 Let's all mow our grass with scythes. Screw progress! LOL

[@theprojectproject01]

None of you guys are saying the exploitation (to whatever degree it's present) isn't happening. You're just excusing and justifying it.

[@MrRustyjackson]

@@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28 So you watched the video and this was your take away? The guy is a greedy manipulative life sucking business owner? Sounds like you live a sad unhappy existence and you like the Marx/Stalin/Putin methodology. Wonder what you do for fun.

[@sctforbesify]

Those polishers are breathing in dangerous amounts of silica

[@Watchdog_McCoy_5.7x28]

They should be thankful they even have a job, and haven't been replaced by a machine already! -The Owner (probably)

[@daviddorge1559]

To bad you didn’t show footage of them installing it. You know the part where they cut out the drywall so it would fit proper. They used lasers and cut drywall Feel sorry for the people who have this house and want to Reno the kitchen. Patch holes

[@toddavis8603]

Earth, stone, timber-----gifts from God! Saint James 1:17☆☆☆☆

[@mikegrizzle6864]

Nobody mentioned radiation go to Granite can have radiation

[@jake3333333333333333]

It’s such a small amount it’s not even worth worrying about. When I work in nuclear power plants, the government agency that overlooks them says a person get get 5,000 milirem of radiation a year and have no negative side effects of it. Like 5,000 is the limit of what a person can be exposed to a year. A granite countertop might give off 0.5 milirem of radiation per hour if you, so you would have to stand by that counter top for 10,000 hours a year to reach that max limit of 5,000 milirem of radiation. Now with radiation the further away you get from the source, you go down in exposure by a lot. So you would have to be basically touching that granite for the 10,000 hours, if you were standing next to it you would be exposed to less than the 0.5 milirem of radiation.

[@meltingteeth7807]

Heads up, you completely botched the blur job five minutes in. Can see his shirt while he's turning the forklift.

[@Californians_go_home]

I can read your comment without my glasses

[@suspicionofdeceit]

Wonder why they are trying to hide it in the first place? Such a bizarre world.

[@azpcox]

Even weirder is it’s in the description on the video. Maybe to hide the phone number?

[@suspicionofdeceit]

azpcox The mystery deepens.

[@floorsbyfolts]

kinda low energy guy dontya think

[@adaml5851]

👎