Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos by Bob Murrell

As restoration and maintenance professionals, we will need a variety of accessories and adapters to complete our projects efficiently. We must have a full complement of pad drivers for our hand tools and floor machines in order to utilize the various diamond abrasives and polishing pads, as well as the occasional unique adapters that will enable us to take advantage of certain tooling for specialty procedures. I will attempt to cover as many of these accessories as I can in this article to help you build your adapter collection.

First, let’s cover the basic components needed for grinding, honing and polishing with your hand tool and floor machine. Velcro-backed (or hook & loop) drivers are what we use to run matching Velcro-backed diamonds. Whether resins or metals, many diamond abrasives are Velcro-backed. These normally come in 3, 4, 5, and 7-inch sizes for the hand tools, and anything from 10, 13, 17, 20 or even 22-inch for floor machines. Of course, the planetary floor machines typically run three each of 8-inch or larger Velcro drivers, although some smaller units run 4-inch, or 100mm.

Above, left: 5/8 x 11 core bit adapter for drill, and rubber water retaining dam Above, right: Flanged adapter for blades and zip wheels. Bottom left: quad adapter.

These drivers are consumables and will need to be periodically replaced when they become worn. In some cases, the Velcro on the floor machine drivers can be replaced. There are both flexible and more rigid Velcro drivers for your hand tool, and they each have a place. Typically, the more rigid the pad driver, the smoother and clearer the finish that can be achieved. However, there are some situations where a more flexible Velcro driver is more appropriate:  doing edges of a countertop, or for that matter, doing curved or detailed pieces, and working on lippage with a hand tool.

The same thinking is true for a floor machine. The more rigid the driver, the flatter and therefore more clear or reflective the surface will become. The term is monolithic. However, because we are typically working on floors that are comprised of 12 x12 inch 3/8-inch thick tiles, or some other sized tiles, the floor will have lippage. 

For an example, a 100 square foot marble floor comprised of 100 each 12 x 12 inch tiles is more accurately 100 one square-foot individual floors, each slightly askew from the next. So in this case, some give in the drive plate would be an asset. This slight give will allow the diamond discs to reach low areas better, and also help ride over the high areas, too. We can accomplish this flexibility using a Velcro drive plate with foam and rubber spacers (for each diamond disc), or as some do, the use of a buffing pad with the diamond discs affixed to it.

The amount of flexibility required for a specific application will vary and should be determined during the test area submission. 100 percent lippage removal is not always necessarily required ,but darker stones will tend to show picture framing more so than lighter stones.  

When polishing, a pad driver is preferred for running natural pads like the FP-Elite, white pads, black pads for stripping, and PLP diamond impregnated pads. These harpoon-like spiked drivers are available in 7 inch for hand tools, and larger sizes for floor machines. They hold on to the pad better than Velcro. However, in a pinch, the Velcro drivers will work for running pads if you don’t have a true pad driver. 

Pad drivers are definitely helpful when running pads on a hand tool. This is because of the higher RPM of the tool. Also, when doing vertical surfaces like showers, a true pad driver makes the job much easier.

Above, left: 3, 4, 5, and 7-inch Velcro drivers, and a 7-inch hook pad driver. Above, middle: Four hole adapter (quad) with turbo blade mounted. Above, right: Cutoff /zip wheel mounted to an adapter on a grinder.

If you ever have to core drill a sink faucet or similar fitting, you will need adapters to allow either your hand tool or a drill to run the appropriate core bit. Most core bits come with a 5/8-inch x 11 threads per inch female fitting. This should screw directly on your hand tool. However, I prefer to use a drill so an adapter is necessary. Screw the core bit onto the adapter, insert into your drill chuck, and you’re ready to go. I also like to use of a rubber water dam to help keep the core bit wet during the operation.    

When it comes to cutting stone, grout, or other materials,  an adapter really becomes necessary to utilize your angle grinder or drill. There are adapters for mounting a 4-inch or larger diamond blade. Newer blades usually have the 4-hole flange system. This is probably the best type for performance and safety, but the older screw-on adapters also work well.  The base flange simply slides on, the blade is mounted (on a 4 hole system there are screws for mounting the blade to the inner flange) and aligned, and then the outer flange is screwed on after the blade is aligned.  

These flanged mountings will also allow for zip or cutoff wheels to be mounted. These come in handy for cutting off carpet strip nails, especially in terrazzo. Just cut off the nails at surface level with the zip wheel (preferably a thin wheel, say 1/16-inch, with some flexibility), as trying to remove them by prying or pulling usually results in blowouts (divots).

Above, left: Various useful adapters, and a specialty spanner wrench. The pins on the wrench are designed to fit the adapters and hand tools. Above, right: Dust shroud for dry grinding using a dust extractor/dry vacuum system. Makita also offers a shroud to precisely fit its 4-1/2 and 5-inch grinders.

In the case of terrazzo, the remaining nail usually blends into the floor and becomes quite invisible.  

Using a diamond cup wheel to remove large amounts of material stock dry can help with less mess. You will need a dust shroud and a dust extractor or a vacuum with filters for dry operation.  

At some point, you will be required to drill a core hole for a faucet, maybe as a favor to a good client. The same is true for tuck pointing (grout removal and replacement), or cutting some tile/slab material. Having the proper accessories and adapters can give you ready-to-go ability when needed. In most cases, these abilities will not be profitable, but for good clients, it’s a value-added service that can get you lots of mileage.

As always, I recommend submitting a test area to confirm the results and the procedure, prior to starting a stone or hard surface restoration/ maintenance project. Also the best way to help ensure success is by partnering with a good distributor, like BB Industries, that knows the business. They can help with technical support, product purchase decisions, logistics, and other pertinent project information.

Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in natural stone, tile and decorative concrete restoration and maintenance. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry, and is currently the Director of Operations for M3 Technologies.