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a small tribute to our gone but not forgotten brother

a small tribute to our gone but not forgotten brother

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[–] • 2 pts

Acid etching might be the only way to do something that large. I love the design though.

I'm not super familiar with either stone working, nor with laser machines but I've got an idea for each.

Is it possible to do the laser etching in parts? Possibly by removing the floor of the box and moving the rock under it as needed. I'm guessing the laser looks similar to a 3d printer.

Another option is find someone with Dremel skills.

[–] • 2 pts

It is possible to remove the floor on my laser, but the stand it is on makes that useless since there is a floor (shelf) under the laser floor still. It would only gain about 3/4" extra height. Granite and slate will be possible to surface engrave because the laser causes the mineral crystals to explode away, but other stone types might do very little or even nothing.

Sandblasting and acid etching might be the only way to get anything more than a surface engraving. Never tried acid etching stone and the results will definitely vary by each stone's chemistry so who knows how that will go.

A Dremel with a diamond engraving bit could work well with a template to keep the design proper. Would still be a slow process but at least we have options.

[–] • 3 pts

I have experience in carving stone

[–] • 1 pt

Awesome! Do you have any suggestions for us inexperienced stone carvers? I'm pretty sure my laser idea isn't going to give the results I want after doing some more research on laser engraving natural stone. It can leave a visible surface engraving on dark material, but it will not have much 3D depth to it and may only end up with a roughened texture. Slate seems to give the best results, but I'd like to make it as close to the PhotoShop image I made for this post as possible.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

Just get some sandblasting resist ( glass art supply ) and sandblast it in. It’s like thick plastic film, it’s rubbery, resists being abraded. You can do very nice details with it. Fast and easy. You could even laser cut the template. Whole job should be an hour or two, plus finding a rock.

I envisioned it cemented halfway into the sidewalk, just enough to trip on. Maybe that’s just me…