Hand carved stone house number

[@DaleNorthEast]

Hey there, I've been a Stonemason (99% fixer mason) since i was 20, now 28 and with my own stained glass company, i've started teaching myself how to letter stone for door numbers and whatnot seeing as no one else wants to bother! i'm going to have a go of this today, i've only really carved a few I's and straight lines and such up to now, so we'll see how it goes! i've seen this method used before on 3.5" letters on a big granite foot kerb, got photos and a video of a bloke called Alan doing that. thank you for the video :)

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hey Dale, I shudder at the thought of carving granite though I know it can be done. I have mostly worked on marble and stone and have been at it a tad longer than you, (54 years!) It is great to hear of someone interested in the craft. What stone are you going to try first? Let me know how you get on! Cheers!

[@DaleNorthEast]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 i've just been practising the letter I a few times over as well as some vertical and horizontal lines, i had a go at a letter D in and i think that looks pretty good tbh, that's in marble. i have a nice bit of marble, sandstone, couple granites and even a slate tablet ive collected over time to play with ha.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

@@DaleNorthEast I think you will enjoy the slate (Welsh?), it is my favorite material for lettering. Sounds like you are enjoying yourself, have fun!

[@DaleNorthEast]

I can’t answer that truly, whether the skate is welsh or not, the likelihood is that it is, I’ll see what year the inscription says and clean it to see the colour and perhaps you’ll then know!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

@@DaleNorthEast Hi Dale, if it is old and dark grey/black or purple then it will almost certainly be Welsh, unless it is green or light grey which could be Westmoreland (hard ) or Cornish slate (soft). Slate from other countries was pretty well unknown thirty years ago. Cross your fingers for Welsh! Best of luck!

[@waterboy8999]

I've always faced trying Stone carving, I'm wood and glass bloke but I'll be giving this a go. Many thanks, David.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Best of luck with your carving, enjoy!

[@salmonninja7223]

Fantastic. I'm going to have a try! Note the word TRY! I know you're making this look easier than it is.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Do have a go, let me know how you get on. Thanks for watching and good luck!

[@davedave238]

I love this approach I’ve been wanting to do symbols in stone for years!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

There is something very satisfying using a hammer and chisel, cheers!

[@andrewbratos6907]

great job, fantastic work, I wanna do a long #, but I'm gonna use Separate Stones, dont wanna mess up on the last #.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Go for it, using several stones sounds like a good idea. Just remember to take the waste material from the centre-line of each number before working your way to the outer edge. Enjoy!

[@MichiganRocks]

I just came over to your channel from mine. I thought by the title of your channel you might have something interesting here. I was right! You do have interesting stuff. I was wondering what type of stone that is. I see that it is York Stone, but being from the United States, I think that would be hard to come by here. Is it a type of sandstone? It doesn't seem to have any grain to it. That seems important for this project. I built a stone fire pit in my back yard and capped it with limestone. The limestone would not break with a chisel in the direction I wanted it to break. I ended up using an angle grinder to cut it the way I wanted it. I don't think this project would be possible in a rock like that.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi and welcome, Limestone can be hard to chop accurately, especially the softer types. York stone is sandstone from Yorkshire and Lancashire in northern England. York stone is a bit of a generic term for a variety of sand stones from this region ranging from very coarse grit-stone to very fine grained stone. I doubt whether its available in USA. Nice to know we have something you havn't! I do envy the amazing range of stones you seem to have in USA. I plan to work my way down the English south coast, beach by beach to see if I can find more interesting stones for tumbling. Tumbling is a relatively new venture for me and you have taught me a lot. So thank you. Just a word of caution, not all stones react well to heat and explode,so the first time you use your fire pit be a bit careful. I will continue watching your channel with great interest. All the best.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I actually lined the fire pit with fire brick and then put rocks around the outside. It has been there for quite a few years now and is holding up pretty well.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

@@MichiganRocks HI, I,m sure you know what you are doing, sorry to sound like a nag! When I was in my twenties I saw the result of a York stone hearth exploding. It badly injured the two people sitting in front of the fire. I get twitchy about this ever since, I am aware that this is very rare but I do like to warn people to be careful.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I wasn't offended by your advice. I appreciated it. Before my nicer fire pit, I just had a ring of rocks on the ground. Some of those broke in half, but no explosions. There are a lot of people with rock rings around here and I've never heard of one exploding, although I've read that it's a possibility. I wonder if we just have safer rocks around here or if we've just been lucky.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

@@MichiganRocks I think on balance that limestone is safer but I also think you have to be unlucky to choose an exploding rock! Back to tumbling, I am just about to post a vid on an old vintage tumbler I found, you might find it interesting.

[@stephenwilliamson8364]

Thank you for sharing!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

My pleasure!

[@DanielaSanchez-e3g]

Beautiful work!✨

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Louise-xr5ok]

Love this, I have a Welsh house name. What would you suggest?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Welsh slate is a super stone in every way, both for carving and as a long lasting sign. best of luck!

[@WillBakerArtsNamaste]

Thanks for the video. I have a piece of Bath Stone which I want to add a date too and 4 symbols. I've never done it before but someone recommended I try a Dremel. Do you think this would work? Thanks

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Bath stone is a wonderful stone. Lettering with a Dremel is a challenge, keeping the rotary tool steady and in straight lines is really quite hard. The fact that it is "Rotary" means it wants to roll around on the work. If you keep your hand rested on something solid like a block of wood it will help. Before you try with your nice piece of stone have a practice on something else. (slate is a good practice stone) I find using a chisel is easier. Best of luck and please let me know how you get on

[@WillBakerArtsNamaste]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thank you for the reply and advice. I'll order a rotary and perhaps one of the chissles you mention for t he straighter elements. Thanks

[@theaspieman6126]

Would it be possible to do this with just a rotary tool say for something a bit smaller? Also what type of stone would be the best to engrave? Many thanks :)

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Yes I'm sure it would, you will need to be able to hold the tool steady and to be able to cut a reasonably straight line. I have been practicing lettering with the rotary tool for a while now and it is certainly possible. Welsh slate is probably a good starting choice, not too hard and will take a very clean cut. Good luck and please let me know how you get on!

[@lanabates8094]

thank you for the video, which chisels do you recommend? Is it necessary to top coat a stone to avoid blackening with a time?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Lana, the best chisels for letter cutting are definitely tungsten. If you want to buy just one to have a try out a fine tungsten 12-20mm wide should work well and do most lettering or carving jobs. You can see the sort of thing here: www.stonetools.co.uk/hammer-head-chisel-lettering-europ-2e As you can see the tungsten is long and thin so these are not for heavy hammering, more a tap tap tap tool. I use a water seal from Thompsons to seal stone and this will prevent discolouration. Best of luck!

[@je8480]

Gorgeous!!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@je8480]

Love your humor too🤣🤣🤣

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you!

[@charliefranklin9579]

Will this chisel work on granite ?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Granite tools are made for the job, chisels tend to be heavier duty with more steel around the thicker tungsten tip. I have never attempted to chisel granite myself, it is so hard!

[@ivanm7041]

That is amazing work

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Kind of you to say so! Thank you

[@FiveJiggawatts]

I have a nice granite slap. It's tall and narrows as it goes to the top. I was going to mount it in the ground and put my house number at the top. Is granite harder to carve

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Tim, yes granite is very hard. I would say too hard to work with hammer and chisel. You might be able to do something with a Dremel and diamond bits. Alteratively could I suggest you try to buy a stainless steel number and mount this on the granite? Good luck!

[@FiveJiggawatts]

Thanks for the heads up. I will go with my original plan and paint them on with stencils. My dad has stacks of granite steps and other stones that he acquired back in the 80's from a state property that was being torn down.

[@KQuinn672]

beautiful!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you!

[@taylaunst612]

This is beautiful ❤️

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you and thank you for watching.

[@05Tingley]

the way you did it with the tape is a good way but another to consider would be using filter paper, you can just trace the patern and it will transfer the carbon on the back side!

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Kyle, the carbon paper idea will work on some stones but does not work so well on rougher faced stone and not at all well on dark slate or granites. But it is worth a try on suitable types. Thanks for the useful input, Cheers!

[@craigsadler4823]

Could i use the same method for brick? Would it carve as well as stone?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Depends on the brick, would work on soft bricks but not commons!

[@rachelfranco2250]

How did you hang it?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Rachel, I used a hidden pin fixing, you can see how to do this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZzYkoysf8d6a9E Thanks for watching!

[@durango8882]

Beautiful. New subscriber 👍🏻

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thanks for the sub! Thanks for watching and a Happy new year!

[@succulentqueen7737]

That is a beautiful #4. What type of font is that?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi, it is a free font called Dumbledor. I may have modified it a bit in carving! Thanks for watching!

[@succulentqueen7737]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Thank You. It's a beautiful font! Great job!

[@Starsock78]

I've found many stone chisels come from U.K. Any specific recommendations on a manufacturer? Any country of origin?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Jim, not really, I buy chisels according to the shape and type rather than country of origin. In general I have always been pleased with both British and German made chisels. Good luck and please let me know how you get on.

[@stuntmanbillstella]

Would this be possible on a granite stone

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi, not really, this was done with a chisel and though granite masons have been doing this for decades it is not something I would try (as a marble mason). If you do want to try you will need heavy duty tungsten chisels, ones that you can hit very hard with a big hammer without shattering them! You might be able to do something with a rotary grinder and diamond burrs but I am not sure if they will simply burn out. I may give this a try one day. Good luck with whatever you try.

[@teamadventurebeagle4392]

It's all fun and games when your house number is 4

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Sorry but I am not going to move house just to make a longer number!

[@teamadventurebeagle4392]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 if anything having 4 as a house number is just good planning on your part! All the time you save writing your address, no confusion on the phone, getting to carve your address and not having to worry about messing up when you're on the very last number. I hope my earlier comment didnt offend you, i was trying to joke and I'm bad with tone

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

@@teamadventurebeagle4392 Hi, I was not at all offended, I did make this for my house and it now sits by my front door, but I am aware it looks a bit like a quick fix video.I will make another with more numbers just to prove I can do it! I have made a vid with a house name using a dremel. My reply did read as a bit terse so sorry for that. Keep making comments it is what keeps youtube real! Thanks Steve

[@benhawkins3881]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 lack of commitment!

[@festythenoun]

Whats the stone?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Yellow York Stone

[@Puleczech]

Use carbon paper and a pencil to transfer the shape onto the stone. I reckon it is much easier to work with.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thanks for the tip, however the carbon does not work well on rough surfaces but would be good for smoother stone, so thank you for the idea. Happy new year and thanks for watching!

[@TheGregWallace]

Comment.......what do you suggest if I have granite?

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Hi Greg, granite is really really hard! I would not try to carve granite with a chisel, if the granite is polished you could try shallow engraving with a Dremel type tool and diamond bits, relying on the contrast between the polish and the ground out lettering if it is black granite or painting the engraved lettering. This is one I did in slate kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZvCnJmKbKiYqLc Best of luck!

[@sompuradenish8299]

Superb

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@shaidyn8278]

I wish you'd shown the first few tap, instead of cutting to the video of the number being a quarter of the way done already. But really helpful nonetheless.

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Noted! I do try to take these constructive comments on board, it helps me make (hopefully) better videos. So thank you for the input and I am glad the video was helpful. Thanks for watching.

[@sompuradenish8299]

I do this

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Do you do this for a living? Thanks for watching

[@sompuradenish8299]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 i have 22 years Expireance

[@siberwolf33]

My address is 5 digits 😣

[@thestonecraftingworkshop7490]

Sorry, I live at No4. You could still have a go! Use a bigger bit of stone or smaller characters. Thanks for watching.

[@siberwolf33]

@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 I will definitely be trying. Thanks for the video it was great.