Method of making blocks and plates from pieces of marble and other natural stones

Claim 1

Method for the production of blocks from pieces of marble and similar natural stones, said method comprising the following series of steps: a. providing a plurality of pieces of marble or similar natural stone having a plurality of plane faces, at least two of which are rough and parallel to each other; b. stacking said pieces in a plurality of layers with a plurality of pieces in each layer in an open container having internal shape and dimensions corresponding to those of the block to be obtained and whose side walls and bottom wall are liquid-tight, said pieces within each layer having the same thickness and being arranged with their plane faces facing adjacent layers so as to form a plurality of parallel layers, each layer being delimited by a plurality of each plane faces; c. placing said open container in a sealed autoclave and applying a vacuum in said autoclave; d. pouring into said container, while maintaining the autoclave under vacuum, a fluid hardenable resin binding composition, so that said composition flows down through the interstices between one piece and another and between the pieces and the side walls of the container, until it completely covers said pieces; e. bringing the inside of the autoclave to atmospheric or super-atmospheric pressure, thus causing said fluid binding composition to thoroughly penetrate into all said interstices, including those caused by the roughness of said plane faces, and into all the cavities of the pieces opening on the surface of said pieces; f. allowing said binding composition to harden; and g. removing from said container the thus consolidated block, formed by the pieces and hardened binding composition.