Thursday, June 28, 2012

Brick Engraving


Something I've been wanting to try for a while is brick engraving. Businesses do this a lot for dedication bricks or donor bricks. When I was in 3rd grade, they tore down my elementary school and built a new one. They engraved a photo of the old school on the bricks from the building along with the name and dates it stood. I always thought these were cool :)

I finally got to try my hand (or should I say laser) at some bricks. Before I left work, a friend gave me a brick paver he had from a landscaping job he had done. This was the first brick I tried. As most of you know I'm not a gardener, so I didn't know that pavers are just painted/stained concrete! The result was pretty good and had good contrast, but I need to find out if it's safe to laser concrete with all the little pieces flying off! If I find out it's safe to use these, I think they'll be a great idea for gardens.

The next brick I tried came from an old building that was torn down in town. I had been told that clay bricks will turn a nice black color when engraved. From what I could tell, this brick was solid clay. It had cracks in places, so I could tell it wasn't concrete. The result was a nice solid engraving, but it didn't turn black. It's more of a gray color, but it still looks good.

The last brick I tried was also one that came from an old building. A friend wanted me to engrave this brick which came from her dad's old homestead. This brick looked much like the one I had engraved before, but the results were different yet! Again, good results, just different.

I still have some research to do before I offer these on a larger scale. I've been happy with the results, but I want to get a consistent engraving. And I want to find out why they don't turn black. I'm afraid my laser might not have enough power to turn the brick black. In that case...gray will work just fine :)

17 comments:

  1. This is such a great idea! I love the result in the last brick :)

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  2. I had no idea you could even do this! How cool

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  3. Wonderful idea. I like the white/grey color of the engraving.

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  4. This is pretty cool! What kind of a laser do you use?

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  5. Wow, Edi! What a fabulous idea! The bricks look great!

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  6. Strangely I've never seen engraved bricks before! Yours look amazing!!
    Great job :)

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  7. These are so cool Edi! What a great idea. These would make for unique house warming gifts!

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  8. What a great idea, engraving bricks. I think they all turned out great, and when you are ready to incorporate them into your collection they are going to be a nice addition.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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  9. What an interesting concept! I enjoyed seeing the different examples. Best of luck working on getting a consistent engraving.

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  10. That is a whole lot engraving. You aren't going to break your machine are you?

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  11. They all look great, but it is a mystery why the coloration is different on each one. Hmmm.
    Where's that cute Sherlock Holmes when you need him?

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  12. Yep I think people would love these. When they demo'd the house I grew up in my mom got each of us a brick from the site and had the place and dates put on there.

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  13. You're sure giving your laser a workout! They turned out great! They have engraved bricks in front of California Adventure at Disneyland. :)

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  14. That's fascinating! I hope your work this out because it's a great idea!

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  15. Wow - I had no idea you could laser a brick! They look really cool!

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  16. this is great for businesses, and like you said, for fundraisers. The last brick looks fantastic! {:-D

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  17. What an interesting (and creative) way to use your laser! I don't think it matters that the letters, when engraved, are not dark. They look great!

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