Arthur -
I use the Dremel tool to sign works with several of the
different cutters. For soft stones at slower speeds I
use the small engraving cutters or burs - they are only
made out of high-speed steel and they wear out very
after only one or two signatures in marble, or about
half-a-dozen in Indiana limestone. They do have the
advantage of giving a small and fairly well-controlled
letter - the finer the granular structure and more
homogenous the stone the more control.
For most work where the signature can be somewhat larger
(letters such as lower case "a" or "o" being no less
than 1/4 of an inch high), I prefer to use the straight
tungsten-carbide cylinder bur. The Dremel tool is held
at a constant 45-degree angle like a large writing pen,
and the upper edge of the cylinder is used in much the
same way as the point of a wide calligraphic lettering
pen. This seems to work best if the lettering to be done
is sloped to some degree - or italic.
I use this method for signing / titling / dating on
limestone as well as both hard and soft marbles. The
approximate depth of cut I use for the 1/4-inch
lettering described above is about 1/16-inch -- this is
about half of the diameter of the cylindrical bur.
Tungsten-carbide is four or five times as expensive than
the high-speed steel but it out lasts it by at least a
factor of twenty.
The pointed tungsten-carbide shapes might bear
experimenting with if you want smaller lettering, though
I have found my lettering to much more legible using the
larger size and the cylinder above.
When signing granite or other very hard carving stones I
also use either the small cylinders or the
spherica/ball-shaped diamond cutters. These are coated
with a diamond dust and will cut with a great degree of
control -- however they are even more expensive than the
tungsten-carbide. It is IMPERATIVE that the diamond burs
are used with a very light touch, and if possible cooled
with water or oil while cutting.
The diamond dust is only on the surface, and using the
bur with heavy pressure will cause friction heat to pop
the diamond grit off the metal (and the metal without
diamond dust is not going to cut at all).
Good signing to you - Don Dougan
>Would someone recommend the appropriate attachment for an e.g.
>"dremel" tool to sign a limestone sculpture.
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