Granite Engraving

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I am going to have my first granite engraving job which is making me slightly nervous, especially since I need to engrave a photo and the customer is supplying the stock. I was reading up on one of the posts http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...rble-engraving

Any suggestions for speed/power settings on a 35 watt? I thought I read somewhere that it would be best to engrave at a lower resolution (around 200 dpi or so) since granite doesn't hold the dots very well.

[Dan Hintz]

I would suggest grabbing some scrap material and get your settings honed in now. Whatever settings we give you will not be ideal for your machine.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Just out of curiosity, are there any suppliers other than lasersketch that carry granite? I was thinking of trying Home Depot/Lowe's but my customer is looking for something that is approx 1" to 1 1/2" thick.

[Tim Bateson]

Use a low DPI for Photos (150-200) & higher for text (300-400). It would help a lot if you would add your machine info on your signature line as I do below. This can get you the right answers much quicker.

BTW: The Granite at Home Depot/Lowe's is good stuff not only for practice, but as a finished product as well - inexpensive too. Just remember what works on one piece doesn't necessarily mean it's the same setting on all other pieces, but it should be a good guideline. Buy the Home Depot/Lowe's granite and practice, practice, practice.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you for the advice Tim. I have the same laser as you. An Epilog Mini 24, 35 watt.

[Khalid Nazim]

Check this site for tutorials/videos. Great Resource:

http://www.engrave.ca
http://www.engrave.ca/video-elements/?p=119
http://www.engrave.ca/archives/date/2010/02
http://www.engrave.ca/video-elements/?p=276

[Richard Rumancik]

Liesl - take a look for local fabricators of granite countertops. They could probably supply some scrap material to experiment with. As well, they probably could make up custom shapes. It may cost a bit for custom shapes but you would avoid shipping heavy material. They may be able to make your items from scrap material and cutoffs so in the end it might be advantageous both ways and you would have a local source. Also, some monument fabricators may have some equipment such as polishing equipment. If you had a problem with a plaque, perhaps they could grind off a few thousandths and polish it back.

[Ron Chapellaz]

Hey Liesl, here's a previous post of mine. Check out the video from Mike Clarke and you'll get a good grasp of what to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZubRDUrg_7k

For my Epilog 35 Watt I used 60 speed 30 power 250 DPI with Stucki, but as mentioned by Dan you'll have to tweek things for your own machine. Good luck!

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Wow, thanks Ron! That video is very useful. I have been following some of Mike Clarke's articles in EJ but I didn't realize he had videos as well. I do have Photograv but it's nice to know how to manually tweak things in CorelDraw too!

[Laurynas Savickis]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.vika12x12.jpgThats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

[Martin Boekers]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.

Wow, Welcome to the Creek. You jumped right in with your first posting! Not sure how you are doing
it in PS as your image covered the area that said how you did it. (unless the photo was ment as the
the way) This forum is about sharing if you have a better method help us all out. If you have been
monitoring this forum for a while you know everone has different methods from PhotoGrav, One Touch,
Gold Method, you name it many out their. One I recently found was from a great engraver Roy Brewer
on converting to half tones; www.youtube.com/watch?v=yllZTBA0HO0

So just a thought, share some of you ideas instead of just critisizing.

[Laurynas Savickis]

I`m not good at explaining things,just saying,that doing it that way is not a good idea.unless u want it to look like skech or artistic drawing.

[Dan Hintz]

I`m not good at explaining things,just saying,that doing it that way is not a good idea.unless u want it to look like skech or artistic drawing.

I have to disagree, and so do my customers. If you can't explain why and your only comment is to say it's bad, well... maybe you should find something more positive to comment on.

[Mike Null]

Your customers??

Let's not all be so anxious to pounce. Laurynas certainly could have been a bit more diplomatic but have we not all fumbled in our choice of words at one time or another?

[Ron Chapellaz]

Well Ron.I personaly think,that you destroyed your image by doing it that way.Do you have a foto of finished tile.Would be interesting to see the result.vika12x12.jpgThats how I do it in photoshop.It is possible to engrave images without sharpening them,so they look realistic.But still would like to see your result.

Well, I don't really think it is fair to criticize anyone before you see the quality of their work! We are all here to help and guide each other on the forum. Why don't you post your technique so it can furthur help other members. I posted this pic using Mike Clarke's method and I received many compliments from the forum. Mike Clarke is highly respected in the field of laser engraving and has been writing for the Engravers Journal for over 10 years and has instructed for years on laser engraving. I attended 2 of his seminars at the ARA show this past year and he certainly knows a lot about laser engraving. As a side note: If anyone is in the Niagara region there will be an engraving show Oct. 21-23. It is the first in Canada in over 20 years. Mike will be doing a seminar on Corel Draw. Here is the link if anyone is interested http://www.fortuneatthefalls.com/