Simaflex snail-lock edge grinding wheel on an edge polishing machine, wet, on the edge of a marble slab
Edge grinding · drip grooves · profiles

Edge grinding, drip groove and profile wheels: the edge of marble and granite

Three wheels for the three operations on the edge: grinding the edge with the snail-lock edge wheel, cutting the drip groove with the cylindrical wheel, shaping the profile with the ogee or half bullnose profile wheel. In silicon carbide, for edge polishers, bridge saws and radial-arm machines.

what they do

The edge is worked in three steps, with three wheels.

When the piece comes off the saw, the edge is rough. First it is ground: the edge wheel brings it flat and clean, wet or dry. Then, if the top goes under a window or over a sink, it needs a drip groove: the channel under the edge that makes water drip off instead of running back to the wall. Finally the profile, the shape you see on the arris of a window sill or a kitchen worktop: the ogee, the half bullnose, or a drawing of your own.

The three wheels on this page do these three things. They are all silicon carbide, and we shape them to order when the catalogue size is not enough.

Simaflex profile wheel on the spindle of a bridge saw, shaping the edge of a marble slab with water
profile wheel on the bridge saw spindle, with water
operation 1 · grinding

Edge grinding wheels with snail-lock fitting

For wet and dry coarse grinding and honing of marble, stone, granite and porcelain stoneware, with a snail-lock quick-change fitting. We fit them on automatic edge polishers and on hand machines: the quick-change fitting swaps without a spanner, so moving from one grit to the next costs one movement, not a stoppage.

Five sizes: one cup and four cylindrical.

SizeShapeUse
130x45x55cupwet and dry coarse grinding and honing of marble, stone, granite and porcelain stoneware; snail-lock fitting
130x30x58cylindricalwet and dry coarse grinding and honing of marble, stone, granite and porcelain stoneware; snail-lock fitting
100x30x50cylindricalas above, for smaller edge polishers
100x35x30cylindricalas above, with a taller shoulder
100x38x30cylindricalas above, with a taller shoulder

Silicon carbide grit from C16 to C400, in several hardness grades.

Simaflex 130x30x58 cylindrical edge grinding wheels with snail-lock fitting
cylindrical edge wheel 130x30x58 · snail-lock
Simaflex 130x45x55 silicon carbide cup-type edge grinding wheel with snail-lock fitting
cup-type edge wheel 130x45x55
operation 2 · grooving

Cylindrical wheels for drip grooves and channels

For grooves and drip edges on natural and engineered stone, in silicon carbide grit. The cylindrical wheel works under the edge of the top, on the bridge saw, and cuts the channel that catches the water. Every wheel can be shaped on request to suit the job: the radius of the channel, its position, its width.

DiameterBoreWidth
Ø 300 · 350 · 400from 20 mm to 60 mm, to orderfrom 2 mm to 150 mm
Ø 150 · 200 · 250from 20 mm to 60 mmfrom 2 mm to 150 mm

We machine the bore to the size of your spindle.

Simaflex Ø 300 silicon carbide cylindrical wheel for drip grooves, with the centre bore and the product label
drip groove wheel Ø 300 · Simaflex catalogue
Simaflex cylindrical wheels for drip grooves, diameter 150-200-250, with the original label
Ø 150 · 200 · 250
operation 3 · profiling

Profile wheels for marble, stone and onyx

Shaped cylindrical abrasive wheels for profiling marble, stone and onyx, for bridge saws or radial-arm machines. They can be used vertically or horizontally; we recommend the maximum flow of water. Silicon carbide grit.

Two standard profiles from the catalogue, the others made to drawing.

Ogee (becco di civetta)

The profile with the rounded top arris and the lower part stepping back, the classic edge of marble window sills and tops. Standard profile wheels for marble and stone, horizontal and vertical.

DiameterRadii available
Ø 300 · 350 · 40010, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 mm

Half bullnose (mezzo toro)

The full semicircular edge, used where the arris has to be soft over the whole thickness of the piece. Standard profile wheels for marble and stone, horizontal and vertical.

DiameterRadii available
Ø 300 · 350 · 40025, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 mm

Other profiles made to drawing

Wheels with different profiles can be made to order, to drawing. To order, give us the thickness of the stone and the letter that matches the profile: from those two figures we make the wheel. How to send us a profile ›

Simaflex Ø 350 silicon carbide ogee profile wheel, seen from the side, with the radius of the profile in view
ogee
Simaflex silicon carbide half bullnose profile wheels for marble and stone
half bullnose
Simaflex profile chart, letters A to V, for profile wheels made to drawing: ogee, half bullnose, drip grooves and others R half bullnose · R 25-50 ogee · R 10-50
profile chart A-V · the letter of the profile + the thickness of the stone: from these two figures we make the wheel.
Macro of the silicon carbide grit: the sequence of passes at increasing grit
wet and dry

Coarse grinding and honing: which wheel for which pass.

in short
How is the edge of a marble top ground?

In passes of increasing grit: first the coarse grit removes the saw marks, then the finer grits close the surface up to polishing. On the edge polisher you use the snail-lock edge wheel, wet or dry; for shaped edges the profile wheel works on the bridge saw with water.

Dry, the wheel runs hotter and the dust has to be extracted; wet, the water cools the piece and carries away the swarf, and the wheel lasts longer. Our edge wheels work both ways; profile wheels want water, plenty of it. For coarse grinding and honing with the angle grinder there is the semi-flexible disc. If in doubt about the starting grit, call us with the material and the machine.

the profile you are after

The profile you are after is not one of these two?

Edge wheels, drip groove wheels and profile wheels are all shaped on request. Send us the drawing of the profile with the thickness of the stone, or a sample of the edge you want to obtain, and we tell you if and how we can make it.