Originally Posted by
Jim Neeley
Derek,
Please pardon my simplistic response. No offense in intended.
A name in relieve inherant means the letters stand proud of the surrounding area. This involves either elevating the letters or lowering the surrounding material. Elevating the letters (to the best of my knowledge) would require an applique, which I'm assuming isn't your desire.
Lowering the surrounding area involves some combination of crushing the fibers, cutting or gouging the materia, burning the fibers, or lasing (yes I know, a form of burning) the material away. Those are the methods that come to mind.
I do remember seeing a high-end builder in Boulder, Colorado who had lased "coins" made up for him containing his mark and he would inset them in his work. He used a contrasting color for accent but you could place an order with an assortment of lumber; I seem to remember the setup fee was the relatively pricey part but I don't know why (if you provide the material) it should cost much more to get them in assorted materials.
The quality of your work would certainly warrant such an investment.
Just my $0.02.. YMMV.
Jim