Etching Granite by Hand

Have you ever seen the monuments and gravestones in cemeteries that have photos on them? This Instructable will show you how it is done. I have worked in this industry for 15+ years and started out with a couple of tiles and the stylus tool. Its pretty easy to do and is like a lot like coloring in a kids book. You basically trace the lines and then fill in the spaces.

You will need the following:

Safety Glasses, when etching little pieces of stone dust could end up in your eyes. Even though it is stone dust, it is tiny pieces of granite and could scratch your eyes

1 Black Granite tile something you can get from the big box stores. This will be a piece of granite that is polished on one side (meaning it is shiney like glass). The granite must be black in color. I got a 12"x12" tile for $5.00.

1 Electro Stylus etching tool with a diamond chip bit- $69.00, this tool can be bought at GranitCity Tool @ this address:

http://www.granitecitytool.com/electrostylus-stone...

This tool comes with 1 diamond chip bit, but I suggest ordering at least one extra diamond chip bit because they can break off. I know that Granite City sells them but could not find them on the website so a quick call to them when ordering may be best.

1 Drawing that you want to etch, printed out on paper to the size of your granite tile.

Some sort of tape to attach your print to the tile. Any tape will work.

Thats it!

I have taken the Instuctables logo to etch today as a demonstration, changed it around in a photoshop program to fit the tile, then printed it out on paper.

Step 1: A Complete Etching Video From Start to Finish

What you are doing to etch granite is scratching the polish off the stone, in specific places to create a photo.

This video is 12 minutes, but the etching actually took 45 minutes to complete.

Step 2: Finished Piece

I took some reclaimed lumber made a small table to fit the tile and I now have a great little custom table for the patio!

Step 3:

With practice you can do all kinds of pictures!

The applications for granite tile is endless, table tops, backsplashes, garden stones, cheese tray, and if you have a wet saw you can cut the tile for small coffee coasters, the list goes on and on!!

Have fun creating your own "one of a kind" artwork!!