Hell week

[artimrj]

If you call it a "Memorial" you might make out better ;)

[hertsbob]

Hmmm. Didn't go quite as expected.

I went in with the opening gambit of a Memorial for Chritsmas, and she thought it was a great idea.

Then she asked what a Memorial was, and I told her it was effectively a headstone...

Now she wants to set up a franchise!!

[artimrj]

A franchise, hmmm, have to let my boss know about that.

[dejoh]

I know this thread is partly in jest, and I find it very intresting and informative, but when I read the word franchise, I see me going to Wal-Mart or Target for my
headstone/memorial along with the family pack of toilet paper and laundry detergent. Another skilled trade replaced with automation to make everything less artistic.
I'm more upset with what has become of the sign industry. They too have the quick one day cheapest as can be sign shops (Franchises)
One day the owner sell shoes, the next day he's a sign maker. go figure. In our lifetime railroads will have robots running our freight trains, it coming.

[buzz456]

I know this thread is partly in jest, and I find it very intresting and informative, but when I read the word franchise, I see me going to Wal-Mart or Target for my
headstone/memorial along with the family pack of toilet paper and laundry detergent. Another skilled trade replaced with automation to make everything less artistic.
I'm more upset with what has become of the sign industry. They too have the quick one day cheapest as can be sign shops (Franchises)
One day the owner sell shoes, the next day he's a sign maker. go figure. In our lifetime railroads will have robots running our freight trains, it coming.

What's scarier is when we have robots flying our airplanes. We probably will be better off with robots driving our cars tho.

[artimrj]

Well the franchises are all online. They have a software that allows you to design your own stone over the net. You can upload pictures to some of them and they digitize your design. Then they make arrangements with a monument dealer in your area to set it for you. Or you do it yourself. Our smallest units are 24 x 12 x 4. In grey it is 125 pounds. You could get it in your car. When you buy them online, they could be as little as 1 inch think instead of 4. Four inch is standard for a "flush" marker, they are set with their tops flush to the ground, like a sidewalk sort of. In my shop when we incise the lettering it is cut in to a "V", which is the natural shape things get when blasting with abrasive. The bigger the letter the deeper it goes. We stop when we hit a nice crisp V. Online they barely skin the polish off and paint it black. They are just scoring the lettering in to the granite, not cutting it like I do. You get what you pay for, but if you don't know any better, I guess it doesn't matter. Most people only buy 1 tombstone in their life. So they have no experience with it. You buy several cars and houses possibly in your life time and you buy clothes all the time, so you are savvy to those purchases.

[dejoh]

Thanks for that information. I guess my veiw of memorials is the old dark complex with the old overhead cranes and the one eyed stone cutters.
I lived close to one as a kid in the MT. Greenwwod area of Chicago and used to peek in before some old guy would chase me away with curses I can't repeat.
Have a great Memorial Day ALL. Remember why its called Memorial Day

[hertsbob]

You could get it in your car.

Hmmm. Tempting thought, but I think I'll have to pass on that particular idea. Thanks all the same...

Map.jpg

My beautifully naiive mental image of you is wearing this sort of thing - http://www.gibbins.co.uk/craftsmen3.html - carving out your letters with a mallet and chisel...

Does pub calkboard writing have a similar industry in the States? http://pubchalkboards.blogspot.co.uk/ Some of these are a bit gaudy, but the Marston's Specials Board half-way down the page is the sort of thing I've always wished I had the talent to achieve.

To take the thread off on yet another tangent I work during the day in this converted water mill (complete with a sack-hoist trap door under my desk... ).


It turns out we've got a local waterwheel repairman in our area! That has to rank as one of the most random occupations I've ever come across!

[dejoh]

Hertsbob. Something simular to those chalkboards here in the States where called Show Cards.
They were roughly 2X3 hand lettered on card stock and presented on an easel. Back in the day, I painted them for restaurants,country clubs, and
social events for my regular customers only.
I think occupations of the many members of Railworks America is extremly intresting. Some are stepping stones to much better things in the future.
Lets face it, we all have to work, enjoy what you do.
Let hear from our members on what they do for work.

[bpetit]

Some are stepping stones to much better things in the future.

Nice pun.

[hertsbob]

Nice pun.

Ooh! Very sharp indeed, Sir.

[artimrj]

My place is at romemonuments.com check out the videos you can get short glimpses of me and my shop and helpers.