Machine of the Month: July 2010
The new Tomahawk Stone Splitter from Braxton-Bragg offers an economical concept in “green” fabrication by using leftover slab pieces to create beautiful stone products. The new machine, designed to utilize the scrap stone found in every fabricator’s workshop, splits measured sections of leftover stone slab material. These precision pieces can be stacked, laid or clad with mortar - creating a chiseled wall - or laid out flat to produce innovative flooring and paving.
According to market research, 85% of stone that is excavated from the earth for countertops gets thrown away during all the various processing phases, from quarrying the stone to the final fabrication. This is a conservative estimate, based on conventional quarrying techniques, Braxton-Bragg reports, adding that with a loss of approximately 30% due to wasted stone during countertop fabrication, the average fabricator loses around $5,000 worth of stone per month, which is like throwing money into landfills.
By creating additional revenue for fabricators, return on investment can be achieved within the first quarter of use, making the Tomahawk a solid investment for any size shop, according to Braxton-Bragg. Using the Tomahawk Stone Splitter on waste stone opens a whole new market for designers utilizing natural stone applications. The possibilities using the resulting end product are only limited by the fabricator’s, designer’s, architect’s or builder’s imagination.
The Tomahawk has a high capacity, as it cuts stone for tile up to 100 square feet per hour, splits stone up to 30 square feet per hour. It also completes up to 200 square feet per hour of linear tiles. It is moderately priced, making it suitable for the small fabrication shop.
Since no dies are needed, initial investment costs can be kept low, creating less overhead per project. A simple blade change allows the fabricator to obtain different edge finishes, making the Tomahawk very versatile. The machine uses interchangeable straight or scalloped blades to split stones, which produce sizes from 4 x ½ to 10 x 1 inches, depending on material density and grain. This configuration produces 14 different-sized stone products. The Tomahawk cobbles straight on the straight blade configuration to produce an extra 14 sizes, from 4 x 2 inches to 10 x 10 inches. Altogether, almost 150 different shapes, sizes and finishes can be produced from the Tomahawk in conjunction with a stone tumbler or vibrator.
It features a lightweight, wheeled design of only 300 pounds, allowing one person to move the unit and has handles that fold and stow away when not in use, making the Tomahawk easily portable. The machine uses 120-volt electricity to power the 3,000-psi hydraulics. Since the Splitter is only 5 feet long x 5 feet tall x 22 inches wide, shops of all sizes can accommodate this small footprint.
The Tomahawk is available exclusively through Braxton-Bragg. For additional information, contact the sales reps at Braxton-Bragg at 1-800-575-4401.