I just built a custom audio rack that uses granite shelves. They are 3/4-inch thick pieces that were custom cut by a local stone company using their computer numerical controlled water jet machine. The shelves cost $100 each (five total) and are 19-inches wide by 26-inches long with a curved front.
Perhaps if you look in your Yellow Pages under "stone" you can find a like business in your area. The people I work with also have "drops" which are scrap to them that they sell really cheap. I buy the drops and make tables with them - average cost for a 30 x 30 inch piece is about $15. I use a dry diamond blade in a standard circular saw to cut them.
With any stone, you need to look carefully to see whether there are cracks in it. I got one piece of scrap that had to be fixed because of a crack so that it would not break. This is not difficult to do. You can use a marine epoxy - not automotive (like Bondo brand). Auto epoxy is polyester based and too thick.
You turn the rock over to expose the back side and apply the epoxy along the the crack with a brush feeding it into the crack. The epoxy will work its way through the crack and come out on the front side (place the rock on a piece of wax paper or you will glue it to the surface it is sitting on).
Wait overnight, turn the rock over and scrape the epoxy off the front side. This is easy to do if rock is polished. The piece I fixed has been used as a table top and used outdoors on a patio for the past 4 years. The epoxy I used was MAS brand, it's like West Systems or System 3. You can also get small cans of "marine" epoxy at Home Depot.
Perhaps if you look in your Yellow Pages under "stone" you can find a like business in your area. The people I work with also have "drops" which are scrap to them that they sell really cheap. I buy the drops and make tables with them - average cost for a 30 x 30 inch piece is about $15. I use a dry diamond blade in a standard circular saw to cut them.
With any stone, you need to look carefully to see whether there are cracks in it. I got one piece of scrap that had to be fixed because of a crack so that it would not break. This is not difficult to do. You can use a marine epoxy - not automotive (like Bondo brand). Auto epoxy is polyester based and too thick.
You turn the rock over to expose the back side and apply the epoxy along the the crack with a brush feeding it into the crack. The epoxy will work its way through the crack and come out on the front side (place the rock on a piece of wax paper or you will glue it to the surface it is sitting on).
Wait overnight, turn the rock over and scrape the epoxy off the front side. This is easy to do if rock is polished. The piece I fixed has been used as a table top and used outdoors on a patio for the past 4 years. The epoxy I used was MAS brand, it's like West Systems or System 3. You can also get small cans of "marine" epoxy at Home Depot.