Engraving decorative stones

Hillbilly · May 17, 2002

My friends,
I wonder if any of you know or have information on rock engraving? I have seen pictures of stone where people engrave images,names etc in decorative rock.It looks to me like it must be done buy something similar or the same as equipment used to engrave images in tombstones.
Any one have any info or ideas,leads and or tips you would share with this here Hillbilly from planet WVa /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
It would be appreciated.

Thanks

rmorgan · May 17, 2002

Hillbilly,

There was an Appalachian Festival here last weekend and a guy from SE Ohio was selling sandstone statues that he cut with a chainsaw!!! ---A water cooled chainsaw with a diamond-tipped, $500-per blade, all sold by a California company. Pretty interesting, although unfortunately he didn't have the saw there.

Hillbilly · May 17, 2002

Thanks Rick........That would be interesting....

Anonymous Poster · May 18, 2002

The engraving process is done by sandblasting usually, or by lazer if you have tons of money to spend on the machine.
For light work, a vinyl mask will be sufficient to protect the area you don't want to cut away. For heavier work, a rubber mask is preferred.
Depth and shape of cut is pretty much a matter of operator skill.
Try experimenting by using duct tape as a mask, and cutting it out with a exacto knife.
Start with air pressure around 60psi, and Black Beauty as a medium.

EdKing · May 18, 2002

Hillbilly,
Depending on how much detail you want to get into, and how much time you want to spend, you could take several different aproaches. Back when I was in highschool, I carved a simple sandstone headstone for the neighbors 20 year old pet pony when it died. I just used some old files I sharpened points and edges on. You could also use a die grinder and a Dremel with diamond bits, the Dremel for the finer details. I don't think you would need the same setup used by headstone carvers, as they are usually working in much harder stone, like granite. The sand blaster idea sounds good, but I have no experience with it.
Hope this helps,