Cast in Stone

[Keith Outten]

I've always known that my laser would engrave marble but recently I visited Stonecrest Etching (http://www.stonecrestetching.com), a web site that is owned by George Skinner and I decided to try engraving black marble. George has recently joined SawMill Creek and does some woodworking as well as laser engraving.

The picture below was taken by Jamie Hayes of Hayes and Fisk-Taylor Photography in Richmond Virginia. This particular picture is very special, Jamie won the "Kodak Elite Award" in New York last year for this beautiful photograph. The original is a black and white photo of a father and daughter titled "peek-a-boo".

Sadly my photography doesn't do this engraving justice but the next time I visit their studio I'm sure that Jamie or Mary Fisk-Taylor will photograph this marble tile engraving for my web site. Both Mary and Jamie are Master Photographers, their web site is at www.jhayes.com (http://www.jhayes.com) if anyone needs the services of a photographer and you are looking for a nationally recognized professional get in touch with them.

This photo will never fade, won't burn and can be placed outside in the weather. The phrase Cast in Stone has new meaning these days.

[Ken Salisbury]

OH MAN !!!! -- THAT IS FANTASTIC !!!

[Keith Outten]

Thanks Ken,

Wait till you see these marble engravings at the 5 Barns Picnic. I will bring several with me as I just acquired several more photos from my friends at Hayes Fisk-Taylor yesterday. This is by far the most beautiful work I have done with my engraver.

About 4 pounds each these 3/8" thick 12" x 12" black marble tiles are heavy but they make the most awesome photographic meduim. You have to hold one of these in your hands to appreciate how well black marble engraves. I wish I could take the credit but it is the photographer who deserves the applause. peek-a-boo is a national award winning photograph, the original digital file is 56 megabytes so the quality of the photo made my engraving look much better than my skill level.

I absolutely must engrave this photo in wood as my next project.

[Brad Schafer]

yowza.

being relatively new to this group, this may be a dumb question, but ... what in the world did you use to do this? i've heard of water jets doing something like this, but never a laser. tool specifics, plz?

there is some serious workmanship in these forums - you guys are good.


b

[Keith Outten]

Brad,

I used an Epilog Legend Model 24 laser to engrave the black marble photo above. My legend has a 35 watt power supply, autofocus, air assist, rotary attachment and a 12" by 24" engraving bed. More information about Epilog is avaialble at their Web Site (http://www.epiloglaser.com).

Your right! There are some very talented people here at the Creek and I'm feeling the pressure just to keep up and stay in the group these days considering the quality of the projects I see in the forums here. I do have a couple of woodworking projects in the works though and in time I hope to be making more chips and posting more pictures. I may not be the lead dog but it is an honor to be in the pack considering the level of woodworking some of our members are capable of...this is a great group of folks.

Brad, if you go to the Laser Woodworking Forum and use the time dropdown button and select "From the Beginning" you will see all of the projects I have posted, the default is set for 30 days so many of the posts are off the scale.

[Scott Greaves]

Hi Keith,

I don't pipe up too often, but I gotta say, that is a beautiful project! The further I go in this hobby, the more I want a laser machine! Why don't you buy a new one, and sell me your old one for cheap? :D

Scott.

[Keith Outten]

Scott,

When I buy my next laser I hope it will be because I need two of them to handle the work load. Mine has very low hours on it and they are not supposed to need any major servicing until 10 to 20 thousand hours. I'm sure that when it is ready to be sold I will list it in the classified forum on SawMill Creek...by then lots of woodworkers will be in the market for used lasers. Don't worry Scott, I'm taking real good care of my Legend Engraver.

Thanks :)