John, My local friendly tombstone manufacturer does his lettering by sandblasting. He has a computer system that cuts the lettering, lines etc. out of a flexible, self adhesive sheet. This is then stuck on to the tombstone. The sand (or whatever it is that he uses) bounces back off the flexible sheet, but cuts into the exposed stone. If you look carefully at the cut letters, you can see that the surface is not a clean V - it follows the changing softness of the stone. This is not noticeable when painted in.
Mike [EMAIL PROTECTED] 53.37N 3.02W Wirral, UK
