# You bought WHAT? at Sainsburys



## minerva (Mar 31, 2010)

Hi Guys,
especially those of you resident UK side of the pond
During our weekly grocery shop this week I espied in the kitchen utensil section of Sainsburys the following item marketed as a "Worktop Saver" when I attempted to pick one up I thought at first two were stuck together but it turned out it was the finish quality that was holding them together.
They are made of Granite about 1/2 inch thick, weigh about 12lb. and the surface finish is superb. All for the princely sum of £12. As I have been looking for a safer alternative to my plate glass reference surface it fits the bill a treat and much cheaper than a surface plate!
I will almost certainly make a box and cover for it and keep you posted .

regards to all
TerryT


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## Blogwitch (Mar 31, 2010)

Hey Tel, you must have a posh workshop, tablecloths on the benches :, it will be china cups and saucers next.

Good idea though. 

I dropped a big lump of steel on my photocopier glass platten, which I used to use as a surface plate. The steel won.


Bogs


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## b.lindsey (Mar 31, 2010)

Nice find Terry...and now you already have a spare too :big:

Bill


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## don-tucker (Mar 31, 2010)

A spare bit of granite kitchen worktop is ok to.
Don


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## minerva (Mar 31, 2010)

John,
I always abide by the Paras alternative motto " any Bl**dy fool can rough it!"
so comfort is always a consideration (even if the tablecloth is plastic!)


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## tmuir (Mar 31, 2010)

Great Score!


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## Artie (Apr 1, 2010)

Mate that is great use of the old brain. Good idea... it made me think... yes, as mentioned, granite bench topping would also be good. And it would be thick... AND they have to cut a hole to fit the sink in... what do they do with the off cut? I bet its thrown out.... im off to find who in this area does granite bench tops..... :big:


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## Maryak (Apr 1, 2010)

Offcuts from these in polished stone also come in handy.






Best Regards
Bob


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## lee9966 (Apr 1, 2010)

Another source is granite floor tiles. 12x12 polished for about $5-$10
18x18 can be found too.

Example:
http://www.marblewarehouse.com/Black-Absolute-12x12--P70.aspx


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## ariz (Apr 5, 2010)

Maryak  said:
			
		

> Offcuts from these in polished stone also come in handy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Bob what is that? your tomb stone?
I don't want to offend you, I'm really curious, because may be that in Aussy it was common to buy the tomb stone BEFORE it was necessary
here in Italy nobody would do the same, italian are too much superstitious

but probably I'm only confusing something, as always ;D
so, I apologize in advance for the misunderstanding ???


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## Maryak (Apr 5, 2010)

ariz  said:
			
		

> Bob what is that? your tomb stone?
> I don't want to offend you, I'm really curious, because may be that in Aussy it was common to buy the tomb stone BEFORE it was necessary
> here in Italy nobody would do the same, italian are too much superstitious
> 
> ...



Ariz,

Offended absolutely not :big: When I stopped laughing, I thought I'd best let you in on the joke. You make these from:

http://www.jjchandler.com/tombstone/

And insert your own inscription. 

If you have an offbeat sense of humour like mine you can write all sorts of crap about yourself and those you love and those you hate.

The inscription I made is derived from an Australian Navy Officers fitness report written by his commanding officer. It went along the lines of: "During his time in my ship this officer has performed entirely to his own satisfaction."

If you were in the clear your report started out with. "This officer has performed to my entire satisfaction." Not so good. "This officer has performed to my satisfaction." - normally resulted in being placed on quarterly reports. "Not to my satisfaction" was tantamount to being asked to resign your commission.

Another one I like is: "This officer should go far and the sooner he leaves my ship and commences the journey, the happier I will be."

Hope you get the joke and are equally not offended.

Best Regards
Bob


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## ariz (Apr 6, 2010)

oh well, I'm happy that I didn't hurt you

now everything is clear 

I'm sure that your boss was always satisfied by your job, but I undertsand the variants of the inscriptions and how you guys joked about them  ;D

and where I work I know of some colleagues that "should go far and the sooner they leave the office and commence the journey, the happier I will be" :big:
especially those who tried to stop my career progression (when there was not any risk for their own career) :


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## Maryak (Apr 6, 2010)

ariz  said:
			
		

> I'm sure that your boss was always satisfied by your job



Actually, when I made the transition from CPO to Sub Lieutenant, I was placed on quarterly reports. Actions such as slamming a silly sailor into the condenser, getting in his face and saying, "This is not a discussion. It's my F###ing Court Martial so do it my f###ing way," were not seen as befitting an officer and a gentleman. It took almost 2 years for me to rein in my temper and perform in an acceptable manner. I learned that there are other ways of showing you the sun does not shine from your backside other than saying look up there and observe the blackness.

The school of hard knocks of the lower deck is very direct in its' teachings. The subtleties of the wardroom took quite a bit of getting used to.

Best Regards
Bob


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## ariz (Apr 8, 2010)

well, I didn't image you as a rude person 

maybe it was the youth, all us were more aggressive or determined in those days 

now you have the wisdom and the habits of a real gentleman


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## Maryak (Apr 8, 2010)

ariz  said:
			
		

> well, I didn't image you as a rude person
> 
> maybe it was the youth, all us were more aggressive or determined in those days
> 
> now you have the wisdom and the habits of a real gentleman



Thank you. :bow: :bow: :bow:

Age has definitely mellowed me, the wisdom is open to conjecture.

Best Regards
Bob


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## student123 (Apr 12, 2010)

Tel,

Thanks. Bought one today.
Also Sainsbury's were selling a mini version - can't vouch for how level the surface is - approx 5" square for a fiver.

Mike


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## Artie (Apr 24, 2010)

Ha! I found the thread that gave me inspiration! I had forgotten which thread this was.... it was this one..... the result of that inspiration......






Rob


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## minerva (May 5, 2010)

Rob,
glad it worked!
I only wish I had the room for a dedicated marking out bench, it would be very useful.
regards 
terryT


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## Artie (May 5, 2010)

Hi Terry, room is always the issue isnt it. I made a timber cover for this so it doubles as a small workbench as well... as I surmised in an earlier post, this is the off cut that was removed so a cook top could be set into the granite bench.

Works great...

Rob T


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