By Ernie Robinson
Not all etchings are something we want to do. My family asked if I could make a marker to show a family members ashes last location. The granite is scrap from a countertop company. A pressure is required to get depth to the etching. I use silicon carbide as a cutting media.
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A beautiful Marker!
Very nice work. What kind of masking did you use?
Thanks, I use regular sign vinyl. It’s 3 to 4 mil thick. I set my pressure pot to 25psi and hold the tip about 3″away from the stencil to keep from from blowing the stencil away.
What a wonderful and important niche market this could turn out to be. I have done stained glass and teach wire wrap jewelry at the local technical college. I would love to learn etching and combine all into etched wrapped glass. Just need to find time and $ to learn it. I have just to much going on and being A.D.D. doesn’t help. lol
Sue, basic etching is really a very simple process. My wife and I both do stained glass and I wanted to add something to stained glass that give it a dimension that enhanced our projects. I use a vinyl sign machine to cut my stencils. I also make stained glass patterns with it. You might want to download Eric’s book to see how easy it really is. Granted you won’t be doing items like Dave with realistic shading but beginner stuff like this is a snap. Once you try it you will be hooked. We are all here to help you if you have questions.
I agree with Sue. This could be a great niche idea. I know a lot of people carve rocks, but don’t see the granite items as much except for memorial type things. I imagine it could be used for other decorative niche things also.
@ Ernie- I am curious to know how much the scrap granite sells for or if it was free. It would be a great idea to build a relationship with one of those installers and get the stuff they might throw out for free.
There are lots of items the scrap could be used for, such as sayings or names in a rock or flower garden, paperweights or even pet memorials. The pieces of scrap are free. The place where I get mine has a pile 20 feet tall and 100 feet long. All different shapes, sizes and colors. For a price they will cut the edges, but I like the chipped look. Some are smooth, so I pick up a variety when I stop by.
Isn’t that silicon carbide the stuff that causes lung disease? sciliosis or something like that? I blasted an address marker for my home with 70g aluminum oxide and it worked great! Nice job BTW…
Thank you Charles. Yes it’s bad stuff on lungs, but it cuts the best and last longer than other media. I use it in my cabinet and aluminum oxide in the closet. I use a 6’X6′ closet to do large projects. I have a hood with a outside air source and the cabinet uses a good exhaus.t i system that is in the room next to the cabinet. If I was a weekend warrior meaning occasional blaster, I would use the aluminum oxide exclusively.
Thanks for the feedback Ernie but ouch! I’m not a weekend warrior nor an occasional blaster i.e. I’ve been blasting for 2 years now (weekdays too) and my media of choice has mainly been 70g-180g aluminum oxide.
Sorry didn’t mean to offend anyone, but if you blast more glass and ceramics aluminum oxide is fine. It will looses its cutting edge faster when carving granite or harder surfaces. For durability silicon carbide is hard to beat.
Hi Ernie, I really like to design on granite. Can I ask you what size nozzle you use at 25 psi? I am usually at 30-35 psi and it still takes a while to finish. Maybe my nozzle is worn out? Does that slow you down? I also use aluminum oxide. Just feel like I’m struggling with granite and boulders.
Tammy, I use a 1/8″ nozzle on my syphon gun and a 3/32″ on the PAB pressure gun. In the free standing blast cabinet I use silicon carbide because it last longer, or more recycle uses. In my blast closet I use aluminum oxide in a pressure tank because it’s cheaper and I can’t reclaim 100% like in the cabinet.
To answer your question, I wouldn’t think a worn out nozzle will slow down the cutting. Is it possible your blast media is about worn out? Granite is much harder to cut than glass and will round off the edges of the media thus reducing the cutting efficiency.
I hope this answers your question.
Ernie
you really do beatiful work
Thank you!
That is awesome work. I did marble once. It turned out ok but I had issues telling how it was cutting because of the stone coloration. I had to put ink on it to make it visible after I blasted. I used a 4 mil also but my silicone carbide choice was a really fine grit. The one past 180. Cannot think of it off hand. I bet a larger grit or nozzle bigger than 3/32 would have been a better choice for me. I used rapidmask high tack and it had lots of small details though.