Engraving stones, like, just off the street stones?

[Paul Williams from Nunavut]

Probably a dumb question, but better ask before I damage the missus' laser :mad:. Is it possible/advisable to gather a bunch of nice sized stones and laser into the surface of them :eek: ? If so, I imagine the power/speed settings would be similar to marble/glass, that is low speed and high power :o ?

Ta, muchly

[Joe Pelonio]

Wouldn't work on something dense like river rock, depending on the power and variety some stones like soapstone or sandstone could show some marking. Granite rock wouldn't do much, when we do tiles it's just breaking into the gloss.

[Darryl Hazen]

I agree with Joe. I tried it for a client. They wanted black river rock engraved. Best effort on a 40 Watt was a medium gray image.

[Jeff Belany]

Laserbits has some stones that are laserable.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

[Riki Potter]

I've lasered a few stones before, I'm also preparing to do a logo on 100 stones for a lodge to put in their rooms. I've found it's key to get the right rocks, this is only really done by trial and error, for example I've found rocks from a specific part of the harbour I live in work best. Darker rocks do seem to work better because the engraving comes out lighter, it looks like it actually melts the surface or something. I first used low speed and high power which worked great for text but not so well for raster logos, I found that running on 100% power and taking the speed up to around 30-60 still marked the stone well and gave decent raster quality.

I live in New Zealand so I have no doubt our river/beach stones will be quite different, but it's still quite doable if you find the right type of rock. Also I'm not sure if it damages the laser more than normal doing them, it gives off a very bright light and some crackling which can be unnerving.

[Bill Cunningham]

If you go to pet stores, dollarstores, etc.. They usually sell bags of black stones they call 'river rocks'.. The stones are actually polished black marble chips. These marble stones hold images and text very nicely, and you get a bag of them for a buck (well, it used to be a buck, but now it's closer to 1.25 -2.00)

[Dee Gallo]

Oh Bill, thanks for this info! You just solved a problem for me... I was wondering if I could get some marble and a rock tumbler to make some rounded stones like that!

For the forum at large: here is my newest discovery/invention for all to steal and profit from - Itch Killing Rocks!

I have found that if you hold an ice cube on a bug bite until it melts, the bite will not itch anymore. But the melting was a problem. Plastic bags were an improvement until I thought about putting a flatish rock in the freezer. The rock I used is a brown river rock, but I thought that if I used marble, it would hold the cold better since marble is always cold, and also it ould be engraved with some clever name such as "Itchyban Rock" (bad pun, I know!) or some such similar. Would make great sticking stuffers or self-promotion freebies with your logo!

Seriously, try it yourself, it really works! You just hold the rock on the bite until it's not cold anymore, about 5 minutes. Maybe a wide rubberband would be a good accessory. It's also good for icing a bump or bruise.

Off to the Dollar Store tomorrow! cheers, dee

[Ron Thompson]

Dee,

Here you go
http://www.dollartree.com/floral-decor/floral-arranging/34-oz-Black-River-Rocks/202c204c204p294219/index.pro

Ron in San Jose

[Bill Cunningham]

Oh Bill, thanks for this info! You just solved a problem for me... I was wondering if I could get some marble and a rock tumbler to make some rounded stones like that!

For the forum at large: here is my newest discovery/invention for all to steal and profit from - Itch Killing Rocks!

I have found that if you hold an ice cube on a bug bite until it melts, the bite will not itch anymore. But the melting was a problem. Plastic bags were an improvement until I thought about putting a flatish rock in the freezer. The rock I used is a brown river rock, but I thought that if I used marble, it would hold the cold better since marble is always cold, and also it ould be engraved with some clever name such as "Itchyban Rock" (bad pun, I know!) or some such similar. Would make great sticking stuffers or self-promotion freebies with your logo!

Seriously, try it yourself, it really works! You just hold the rock on the bite until it's not cold anymore, about 5 minutes. Maybe a wide rubberband would be a good accessory. It's also good for icing a bump or bruise.

Off to the Dollar Store tomorrow! cheers, dee

Ha.. Glad I could help Dee....Rock on.. :>)

[Ron Thompson]

Dee and anyone else looking for these stones. I checked my local DollarTree but they were out of stock. So I ordered a case of 16 bags ($16.00) on-line with free delivery to my local DollarTree store. Should get them in a week.

Ron Thompson
San Jose, CA

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks for the tip, Ron. I have not had a chance to get to my Dollar Store (busy busy busy!) , but if they are out now I know what to do! Are these flat stones? I prefer to use flat (or mostly flat) stones for my project.

cheers, dee

[Ron Thompson]

211227







Dee, I should receive the product next Wednesday. I'll let you know, but here are the product photos from the DollarTree website. Ron
211228