So I may have mentioned I bought a piece of granite off of Craigslist for $75.  It is black, which is probably my least favorite granite color, but the cheapest remnant quote in my area was $220.  So yeah, black it is!!  Now comes the fun part…cutting it.

I first needed to figure out how to do a perfect template.  I thought about using plywood or hardboard but then decided on something completely ingenious….paper!  Yes I taped sheets of 8.5×11″ paper into a template (heavy on the tape).  I couldn’t have produced a better template if I do say so myself.

I debated for awhile (as per usual) before settling on a tool.  I used a masonry cutter with 4″ diamond blade.  It worked great!  A little dusty, as it is a dry-saw, but other than that, it cut really well.  I recommend a bandana, safety glasses, a mask and ear plugs.  And it was pretty hard work, I won’t lie.  It took about 2 hours to cut.  But it came out great, phew!

What may have been even harder was getting the pulpit inside the house with just the brawn of my extremely handsome husband (trying to score points for the amount I owe him this weekend) and me, a girl with a bad lower back!  Fortunately, my husband also has an engineering degree and I didn’t end up lifting anything but the granite!  Here it is in the house!  Just a backslash and some floor pads and the pulpit bar will be finished!!