Etch words on stones to carry in your pocket or give to a friend.

This is another quick and easy project to make on a laser cutter. (I just joined TechShop, and I now have access to all kinds of wonderful equipment, so this is one in a series of "I made it at TechShop" Instructables.) This project assumes that you have already had some training on safety and basic use of your particular model of laser cutter. My directions are based on my experience with a Trotech machine, but they are basically agnostic - they should work whether you are using an Epilog or Trotech machine.

Step 1: Materials:

Here are the materials I used:

pebbles from the beach
soap and water
some canola oil

These were my tools:

Adobe Illustrator, for creating the words
a Trotech 100-watt laser cutter
paper towels

Step 2: Preparation:

Go to the beach. (Or a construction site.)
Look at the horizon.
Breath deeply.
Listen.
Think of words and ideas that matter to you.
Pick up some smooth flat stones and put them in your pocket.
Wash them with soap and water when you get home.

Step 3: Etching:

Prepare a vector file with a single word in it. Size the word to fit on one of your pebbles. Format the file for your laser cutter.

Place your pebble flat on the cutting bed.

Use a focusing jig to be sure the laser is the correct distance from the pebble.

Set your power and speed settings to the default for Stone > Granite. After your word has etched once, open the laser cutter and look carefully at your stone without touching it. Is the word etched deeply enough? If not, you may want the laser to make another pass to etch it more deeply. Depending on the color of the stone, I went with 2, 3, or 4 passes.

Step 4: Polishing:

This step is optional. I didn't do anything fancy to polish my pebbles. I noticed some canola oil in the kitchen, and put a tiny bit on a paper towel. I rubbed that on the pebble, and the etched word appeared slightly darker. Over time, I imagine that the natural oils of your hand and the soft cloth of your pocket would have the same effect.