Urgent help please - Cherry wood raster

[Jani Pedersen]

Hi all,

We have sadly had a bereavement and I am wanting to raster a grave marker tonight - I have only just received the wood this evening.

We are leaving for the funeral tomorrow and so I am desperate for any advice or help that you are able to offer.

The wood is a slice of a fallen cherry tree - approximately 4 inches deep. I do have three slices in case I mess up, but I'd really rather get this done in one shot as I need to treat it too and time is against me.

So, my questions are:-

1. What settings would you recommend for a 35w epilog ? (24TT)
2. I was considering using a good oil rather than varnish - would that be okay ? ( I have a high quality oil we used on rosewood garden furniture )
3. Would raster alone give a sufficiently clear engraving or would I have to do a colour fill ? My preference would be to have a more natural look, without additional colour.

The marker is only needed to last approximately one year, until we are able to have a 'proper' headstone - and I can replace it if needed.


Finally, it is already 10pm here in the UK so I am a little anxious ( although we could delay setting out slightly if we had to. )

Thankyou in anticipation of your advice and help !

ps - Should I use masking tape ? It will only be text but I am hoping to get crisp clear work, easily read.

[Dan Hintz]

My suggestions would be 50S/100P/600dpi for a nice, dark burn. If you only get one shot, I would consider using one of the other pieces to run a few small test burns to get the power where you want it... you may even want to go faster to lighten up the mark a bit, but it will be up to your own eye.

[Larry Bratton]

Jani
Epilog says 30s/100p@300dpi. Some recommend 2 passes to get a good burn.
The oil would probably be OK, but I believe I would seal it with clear poly
With cherry, you should get a good mark without having to fill it.
You have some extra pieces, so try and see if you like what u get.

Good luck, late hour. Sorry for the loss.

[John Noell]

I'd probably do two passes at 30/100/300 or one at 600DPI, no fill. Depending on sun exposure, oil might be okay (it would NOT be okay where I live). Most poly is not for outdoor use (check the label) and you don't have enough time to get even one coat on and really dry anyway, so oil sounds best for now.

[Bruce Volden]

I agree w /whats been stated. One thing I would add is to seal the wood VERY well as it is my understanding it will be used outdoors.....? Cherry wood does very well indoors but not so much outdoors:(

Bruce

[Larry Bratton]

John:
I had some wood signs on the side of my own office building, sealed and had several coats of polyurethane on them and they still looked pretty good after 10 years on the building. (I moved). Maybe they made better poly back then. This is short term she said, so I wouldn't sweat it much.

[Edit] Check this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=134099 about using poly..looks like Joe has had some success with the new Krylon Clear Poly

[Jani Pedersen]

Thankyou ! Thankyou, thankyou.

[Larry Bratton]

Thankyou ! Thankyou, thankyou.
Think nothin of it mam..we aim to please :)

[John Noell]

John:
I had some wood signs on the side of my own office building, sealed and had several coats of polyurethane on them and they still looked pretty good after 10 years on the building. (I moved). Maybe they made better poly back then. This is short term she said, so I wouldn't sweat it much.

[Edit] Check this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=134099 about using poly..looks like Joe has had some success with the new Krylon Clear PolyI do wonder. I've had pretty good luck with polyurethane-containing varnishes myself, but the only poly here is clearly labeled "Indoor." The local paint company has an outdoor product called EHS which has UV blockers but it does not say if it has any poly in it. According to Bob Flexner's book on finishing, adding poly makes varnish harder but outdoors it can be damaged by UV, turning yellow with time. Here in the tropics, sun is a MAJOR issue. But given how long it takes for some of the problem to develop, the tests I have started in the last 12 months will take at least another 24 months before I am even partially confident of the results (unless something fails before then). If for no other reason, Flexner is fascinating reading on what is actually IN those cans: Polyurethane varnish is still mostly just an alkyd varnish; most "tung oil" has NO tung oil in it, etc.

[Larry Bratton]

John
I think Joe said this Krylon stuff was non-yellowing. I think he has been testing it. Maybe he will weigh in on it and let us know what he has found out. I believe he had been using a clear made by One-Shot but it is very expensive.

[Jani Pedersen]

Thankyou all so much for helping me so quickly last night ! I did a test engrave at 50sp 100p and 600dpi and the result was spot on so I used that setting. Below is a poor quality picture that doesn't do it any justice.

Buntie died on May 24th as a result of a large overdose of morphine given in error in hospital by iv pump. It was started on Saturday and the error noticed on Monday by which time other problems had become established. She died 7 days later.

Due to the circumstances surrounding her death and that of another patient who was also overdosed on the same day, she had to undergo an autopsy and the doctor became involved in a criminal investigation.

We had been told to expect a delay of months before we would be able to bury her and so weren't fully prepared when we were told we could go ahead with making funeral plans earlier this week.

Buntie was a member of Churchill's secret army and trained many many spies during her time with the SOE - and even married one ! She helped with the training of Violet Szabo who died after capture in France. The poem used by Violet to decipher codes was written by Leo Marks who was the senior chap dealing with codes and code breaking in the SOE. He originally wrote this poem for his fiance who died in an aircraft accident, and didn't take credit for it for many many years after the war.

The poem was very dear to Buntie and it is this which has been engraved onto the cherry wood marker.

A film about Violet Szabo's life, capture and ultimate death is called 'carve her name with pride'.

Again, thankyou so much for jumping to our aid - we are thrilled with the results - and love the rustic look of the wood. We have decided against treating it at all, and will allow it to weather and possibly fade with nature over the coming year.

Sorry for the poor quality photo, we were in such a rush.

[Larry Bratton]

Good job..looks great!

[Dan Hintz]

I did a test engrave at 50sp 100p and 600dpi and the result was spot on so I used that setting.

Buntie was a member of Churchill's secret army and trained many many spies during her time with the SOE - and even married one ! She helped with the training of Violet Szabo who died after capture in France. The poem used by Violet to decipher codes was written by Leo Marks who was the senior chap dealing with codes and code breaking in the SOE. He originally wrote this poem for his fiance who died in an aircraft accident, and didn't take credit for it for many many years after the war.
Those settings were an educated guess rather than tried and true (having a significantly more powerful cartridge than yours)... glad they worked out for you :)

That's a cool story (spy stuff fascinates me, and I still want to work for the NSA writing signal processing software).

[Bill Cunningham]

A very nice Tribute. It's wonderful to live a long and eventful life, but to have it needlessly cut short by the incompetence or neglect of someone else, would be truly devastating to all who knew and loved her.
My condolences to her family