Kevin M. Padden
AZ School of Rock & KM Padden Consulting

I have been in pursuit of the perfect seam for many years now. Ever since I installed my very first granite slab countertop in 1985 (Juparana Classico – after 27 years, I still remember the stone!) I have been endeavoring to produce a seam that is professionally acceptable to an end user.

When I first started doing installations – the only thing I had available to me was pure GE Silicone for my seams. We used to “arris” or put a micro bevel on the adjacent edges of the seams, and fill the gap (sometimes up to an eighth of an inch!) with clear silicone. Man, I look back on those days and think, “We have really come a long way in our industry when it comes to seaming technology.”

Over the years, different products and tools have been introduced to provide a tighter and flatter seam, but few tools or devices have existed to offer an installer the ability to reliably draw the seam tight–through the use of a dedicated mechanical device.

Omni Cubed came out with the VCA Seam Setter a few years ago, and I have one, but I have always “wished” that it was heavier and “beefier” with more height elevation adjustment points.

Well, the folks at Omni Cubed have gotten the message and introduced their version of their VCA on “steroids” – the Stealth Seamer. This system is what I have been looking for in a seaming tool and I could not be happier with the improvements that they have made to the new Stealth Seaming system.

First of all, the Stealth Seamer has four fine adjustment height alignment set screws that allows the system to provide a finite degree of controlling lippage on either side of the seam. This is critical when you are adjusting each side of your seam, and many other “also rans” do not offer this kind and amount of leveling control. After all, your customers will feel the difference no matter how tight you can get your seams; if they are not level, you will be in for a long day of repairing the situation, ie: surface grinding and polishing the seam. Why go through all of this if you really don’t have to?

Additionally, the Stealth Seamer now has bigger 8˝ suction cups (the original VCA system had 6˝ cups) that, when used with the optional electric vacuum pump, provide constant vacuum to keep the cups stuck down to the stone when you need it most: while your glue is setting up in the seam.

The Stealth Seamer has an available vacuum suction pump that maintains a constant level of vacuum to keep the suction cups down tight. The system also comes with manual pumps (as standard equipment) if you are on a job that does not have power. However, I would strongly recommend that you purchase the pump – this is well worth the extra money, as using the pump is also doable with a 9 volt battery (if you are in a pinch).Depending on the jobsite conditions, you’ll either have power available or not, so having the manual pumps, the 110 volt vacuum pump or the 9 volt power pack, you will be able to maintain constant vacuum for your system.

The Stealth Seaming system comes packaged in a rugged carrying case that won’t fall apart on you after a few months. There are dense cell foam spacers that keep everything from tumbling around inside the case, and this can help you during day to day operations or even when you may need to “check” the system when traveling on a commercial airliner.

I have been waiting for this new Stealth Seamer to be available with its improvements over the original VCA, and I have to say, in my opinion, the folks at Omni Cubed have hit a home run! The Stealth Seamer is now my tool of choice to pull seams tight and control lippage down to zero!

I have been using the Stealth Seamer for the last three months, and as for me, I now can’t do any seams without it!

If you do not have a seam setting system in use yet, and you are currently contemplating purchasing one of the many systems that are available from Braxton-Bragg, I would make my decision to buy a Stealth Seamer by Omni Cubed. Using this system will make your seams look first class!

Until Next Month–Best Regards & Happy Fabricating!

Setting perfect seams using the Omni Cubed Stealth Seamer is just one of the hands-on topics taught by AZ School of Rock, LLC. For more information on the Stealth Seamer, contact Kevin at 480-309-9422 or online at www.azschoolofrock.com.