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How to Carve Stone by Sandblasting

Visit any curio or souvenir shop, and you're bound to find personalized rocks for sale. These multicolored, different-sized stone crafts are usually etched with numbers, letters or pictures, and can be found on front lawns to show addresses or names, or as attractive paperweights. If you have some skill and patience, and a steady hand, using a small siphon sandblaster setup at home to carve your own stone masterpieces is easy to do, and a fun choice for a hobby or as a career. This particular sandblaster uses sand shot out of a hose by air or steam bursts, but unlike pressure sandblasters, doesn't cut very deeply, which makes it perfect for carving into just the surface of rocks.

Things You'll Need

  • Siphon sandblaster
  • Stone for crafting
  • Towel
  • Rubber or silicon stencil
  • Drawing paper
  • Magic marker
  • Sandblasting cabinet
  • Protective eye-wear
  • Gloves
  • Surgical or protective mask
  • Small brush
  • Wet rag
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Instructions

    • 1

      Prepare your siphon sandblaster for operation. Most sandblasters have a container for holding the sand, so fill that first. There should be a hose that fits from the sand container to the sandblaster, and fitted on the end of the hose is the nozzle itself. Connect the air compressor hose to the sandblaster next. As compressed air shoots out of the nozzle and causes a vacuum, it sucks out the sand in the container and the result is a combination of air and sand blasting out.

    • 2

      Wash your stone and wipe it dry with a towel. You want to make sure there are no traces of dirt or debris left on the surface before sandblasting. Determine what you're going to have on your stone. If you're going to choose names, numbers or words, it's a good idea to use a sandblasting stencil made of rubber or silicon, but if you'd like to try your hand at a more complex drawing or scene, draw it first on regular paper, and then trace it onto the rock with a marker.

    • 3

      Place the stone inside your sandblasting cabinet. This will protect the stone from the elements, and keep it absolutely steady while you're etching. It also keeps the residue left by the blasting from flying all over and making a mess. Select the PSI (pounds per square inch) pressure for your sandblaster. Start with 70 PSI at first, put on your protective eye-wear, mask and gloves, and select a starting point on your tracing or stencil to test the pressure. If the sand isn't digging into the stone, set the pressure a little higher.

    • 4

      Work slowly and carefully along your stencil or tracing, keeping a steady hand. Try not to go over one area too much, or you'll get some grooves that are deeper than others. Once you're satisfied with the finished etching, shut everything off and remove the stone. Go over the surface with a small brush to get out any lingering sand, then polish it with a wet rag. Once it dries, it's ready for further painting and decoration, or to show off to your friends.


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