How to Carve Rocks With a Dremel

Have you seen those rocks that people carve with inspirational words and then display in clear vases?  I think they're quite pretty.  Turns out there's lots of uses for those carved rocks.  You can use them in the garden:

and even turn them into jewelry:

You'll need just a few supplies for this project:

1.  Your Dremel
2.  A Silcone Carbide grinding stone, tougher rocks will need a diamond bit
3.  Stones of your choice (though you may want to test a small area to make sure they'll yield enough of a contrast in color for your design)
4.  Water for cooling your bit, safety glasses and a dust mask

You may want to consider a few optional supplies:
1.  A Dremel Flex Shaft (this allows you to use a pencil like grip while carving)
2.  Beeswax if you hope to wear your finished piece as jewelry
3.  If you'd like to turn these rocks into jewelry you'll need to drill a hole.  You can do this with your Dremel grinding stone or with your drill; a drill with a masonry bit works best.

Start by tracing your design out on the rock in pencil and insert your carving bit into your Dremel.  If you're using a diamond bit you'll need to change the collet to a smaller one to accommodate the small shaft size of the bit.

Trace over your design with either your carbide carving stone or your diamond bit until you've achieved the desired depth.  Be sure to wet the rock every 20-30 seconds or so to keep the bit cool.

Finally, if you decide to polish your rock run the polishing wheel through a hunk of beeswax and rub it back and forth on the rock.  I wouldn't typically all polish for outdoor rocks but I definitely would for a piece of jewelry.

If you need to see this done, don't worry - it's all on YouTube.

So, what will you do with your carved rocks?