Burning letters into/onto stone or marble

[imisscookie]

I've sprinkled flash powder over a base of magnesium turnings, into hollow clay letters (open air, just an outline), on a memorial stone I'm trying to make. I also tried melting wax; both have had mediocre results. It appeared to deform some parts of the stone into letter shapes after 2 lights; may have actually 'carved', but seemed to spread past boundaries in some places, not burned enough in others for it to be legible.

 

I want to stain very long lasting letters, so depth would help; I may be only placing a top layer of magnesium oxide ash and other particulates not bonded to the surface of the rock. The stone is flat, perhaps 25cm diameter, only 2cm thick; too thin for normal stone carving; I have access to a hard marble type block also. but I don't and won't have diamond tipped drill, money to invest in carving/sand blasting, or hazards like HF. I tried using a soldering iron to melt crayons; that may stick and be water proof but I'll leave it as a last, frustrating resort, looked sloppy.

 

So I may obtain some FeO3 to mix with dark al powder. The flash I used was roughly 2 parts kclo4 : 1Al : 0.8 S . The rock could fracture from heating , but doubt the marble would. Arranging the precise burning into letters may require some clay containers in shapes of letters, and done one letter at a time**, so that is my plan, but would like to get insight from others. I have a minor in chemistry, so I'd be willing to work with other ideas, perhaps something not as hot, or a way to react it over time (NaOH may do so, not sure), and would appreciate it.

 

I hope to get some new ideas; opinions I'm on the right track or would do better on another, either way I may post the picture of the final result.

 

I'm also looking into how to seal a photograph on the stone after letter imprint. A very clear weatherproof glue comes to mind, but not known to exist. But that isn't as important now.

 

Be safe,

 

IMC

 

 

* (I used long fuse; I was glad to have strong UV eye protection (eaglepair + sunglasses); other safety issues with flash powder, for those new or finding this via search engine not mentioned but important)

**(with waiting period in between, because thermite can be more violent on already heated surface)

 

This is for a grave stone for my dog, a dachshund named Cookie. She was a great dog, and to some it may seem silly due to ignorance of such bond, but I've been deeply hurt by the passing. I got her as a 15th birthday present and had her just shy of half my life. I'd like to think I'm making it for her, but I realize it's for me. I'll be happy knowing I gave a long lasting memorial as a tribute,

[WSM]

I've sprinkled flash powder over a base of magnesium turnings, into hollow clay letters (open air, just an outline), on a memorial stone I'm trying to make. I also tried melting wax; both have had mediocre results. It appeared to deform some parts of the stone into letter shapes after 2 lights; may have actually 'carved', but seemed to spread past boundaries in some places, not burned enough in others for it to be legible.

I want to stain very long lasting letters, so depth would help; I may be only placing a top layer of magnesium oxide ash and other particulates not bonded to the surface of the rock. The stone is flat, perhaps 25cm diameter, only 2cm thick; too thin for normal stone carving; I have access to a hard marble type block also. but I don't and won't have diamond tipped drill, money to invest in carving/sand blasting, or hazards like HF. I tried using a soldering iron to melt crayons; that may stick and be water proof but I'll leave it as a last, frustrating resort, looked sloppy.

So I may obtain some FeO3 to mix with dark al powder. The flash I used was roughly 2 parts kclo4 : 1Al : 0.8 S . The rock could fracture from heating , but doubt the marble would. Arranging the precise burning into letters may require some clay containers in shapes of letters, and done one letter at a time**, so that is my plan, but would like to get insight from others. I have a minor in chemistry, so I'd be willing to work with other ideas, perhaps something not as hot, or a way to react it over time (NaOH may do so, not sure), and would appreciate it.

I hope to get some new ideas; opinions I'm on the right track or would do better on another, either way I may post the picture of the final result.

I'm also looking into how to seal a photograph on the stone after letter imprint. A very clear weatherproof glue comes to mind, but not known to exist. But that isn't as important now.

Be safe,

IMC

* (I used long fuse; I was glad to have strong UV eye protection (eaglepair + sunglasses); other safety issues with flash powder, for those new or finding this via search engine not mentioned but important)

**(with waiting period in between, because thermite can be more violent on already heated surface)

This is for a grave stone for my dog, a dachshund named Cookie. She was a great dog, and to some it may seem silly due to ignorance of such bond, but I've been deeply hurt by the passing. I got her as a 15th birthday present and had her just shy of half my life. I'd like to think I'm making it for her, but I realize it's for me. I'll be happy knowing I gave a long lasting memorial as a tribute,

 

Unless you're determined to do this pyrotechnically a simpler method is to use almost any acid to etch marble (which is basically calcium carbonate). If you use wax, lacquer or some other etch-resist where you don't want etching, and acid etch where you want the lettering it ought to work fine. When you get the amount of etching you desire, neutralize the rest of the acid with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and rinse the stone well with water.

 

Pool acid would be very agressive and lemon juice would be very tame, but both would work (choose the speed you want to use but protect yourself from the harsher acids).

 

Good luck.

 

WSM

Edited July 25, 2012 by WSM

[graumann]

WSM beat me to it with the etching.

 

As for the photo, you are better off sandwiching that between two pieces of glass or perspex and fixing that to the stone with screw anchors.

[imisscookie]

I appreciate the input, I thought it'd take a strong flesh melting type of acid like HF; it wouldn't be trouble to pick up muriatic or acetic acid. Perhaps the molten crayons on clay will work well to protect, and contain the acid. Burning with heat sounds easier but I've found no info of it being attempted, and containing it may be hard.

 

On the flat rock I've already crayoned up, likely not the grave stone which I want to be marble, I'll try thermite, to see how that works out. Also going to re-examine my previous attempt with flash/Mg, because I'm skeptical I melted the rock in places- it already had minor defects and it was dark out so may have been illusion.

 

 

 

 

 

[Short5]

On some stone, like Flagstone, you can torch it and get the srface to pop. We do it in the masonary business to soften cut edges or to give a nice texture. Take a cutting torch and apply to stone. The moisture in the stone will expand and cause the surface to pop. How deep and wide depends on flame size and how long you hold it there. The kicker is it will look like you hand wrote it with a torch. If you have an amazing hand you may be able to make that look pretty but I know I couldn't.

[Peret]

I don't think you'd want to use HF for this, even if you could get it, unless you look forward to occupying the grave. Even dilute HF is extremely dangerous because it causes tissue necrosis if you inhale it or get any on your skin. It doesn't matter how fast you wash it off, which you may not do anyway, since it interferes with nerve function and you may not notice the exposure. Unless you have calcium gluconate gel on hand and can get it on the spot within minutes, followed up with hospital treatment, the flesh underneath will die and turn gangrenous.