Thread: Tombstone help needed - stencils

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I have 6 foam tombstones I have finished sculpting and preparing for their epitaphs. I have the wording nailed down. Problem is I can't figure out a good way to make the word templates. I have a dremel and the router adapter ready as well as a number of wood carving tools and razorblades. What method works best for getting a large number of letters carved out fast and how do I make the template/stencils? Any tips and advice is appreciated.

if it's foam your cutting into, a sharp knife will do I think. You could use one of those plastic stencil guides that you can get from any good stationary store I suppose to make an outline ready for cutting. This is not always simple if your making 6 though.

Also remember attention to detail like moss on the tombstones and cracks to show age.

Hope it goes well for you!

Have you checked out Terras tutorial on this? She is "THE MASTER" !!!

Any chance I can get the link to Terra's tutorial? I'm contrabanning at work to post.

Originally Posted by mitaccio

Any chance I can get the link to Terra's tutorial? I'm contrabanning at work to post.

This might be the link

i used microsoft publisher, printed out using the banners then traced them onto the tombstone using a razor then i carved them out with a dremel.

It is hard however you do it. I bought a stencil kit from Hobby Lobby and took pains to make sure I was getting upper and lower case letters, got home and some of the lower case letters are really just smaller upper case letters! Plus it just looked silly as a font anyway.

Carbon paper might be the answer if anyone still sells it. The black stuff that you write onto and it leaves whatever you write imprinted on the next page. In a time crunch you can also skip carving and just paint like an oval around where you want the name and do like an inverted stencil, where you paint around the letters that you want. That way it looks carved because your letters are the same color as the rest of your tombstone.

I do exactly what deathshead67 mentioned. Use a program to make a banner, tape that onto the tombstone, exacto knife through your banner template, and after removing the paper, dremel out the letters.

Zombiefrac has the way. I downloaded (maybe from this site, can't remember) a halloween font pack. Used publisher banner for the tracing and wood burner. It depends though on what kind of look you want. Raised lettering is really going to be done with a dremel.

As in Terra's tutorial... (the quick and easy method)

Epitaphs: In 'Word' find the font and size you like. Then go under the format tools and select 'emboss' to just outline the font and then go under 'spacing' and make the space between the letters bigger. If the words were too big to fit on one page, still print it but tape the letters together. Place it over the tombstone and transfer the drawing by tracing over the outline with a pen. It would leave an impression on the foam. Remove the paper and make a clearer line with the pen.

Use the Dremel with the multi-purpose cutting attachment to cut out. For very small or detailed fonts, go shallower. If not, the centers of 'e' , 'o' and 'a' would flake off.