A nearly maxed out engrave at 10.5” by 16+“ (18:12 aspect ratio), The map is of Strongsville Ohio from a map of Cuyahoga County in the library of Congress, circa 1858. A gift for some Ohio family members.
As always lighting matters, here it is in progress:
Thanks to @kittski for her mineral oil slate technique and @Jules for posting settings.
Sources, since people will ask…
Map: Map of Cuyahoga County, Ohio | Library of Congress
Slate: https://www.worldmarket.com/product/slate-cheese-board.do
Definitely going to try oiling the slate first, that just turned out fantastic! 
Wow, I’m going to have to invest in some slate! This came out really nice, and I’m going to have to agree with you, lighting really does matter!
WOW! Do you have a link to the settings and the oil technique?
That is amazing! How long did it take?
That is so beautiful, I think I would be hanging it on the wall rather than bearing down on a cheese knife with it.
Wow! Looks so amazing!
Last night I did a test on cardboard to do a map for my daughter & son-in-law. Was going to change to wood today … but, now I must hesitate and think … should I order slate for Friday delivery???
Beautiful job!
Oil technique discussion here:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/sealing-slate/16112/5?source_topic_id=16381Settings:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/settings-for-engraving-on-slate/10034?source_topic_id=16381Not to get into beyond the manual territory here, I’ll post a follow up response in @Jules thread in a minute that outlines a couple tips.
Here’s the update, with detailed build notes:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/settings-for-engraving-on-slate/10034/13?source_topic_id=16381About 2 hours of engraving… 
Slate Good-Fire Good-Imagineering Good…Feel the Glow…!
Fantastic!
Thanks for sharing!! I’m currently living in Ohio, this is great - and I can definitely see myself making some.
As someone who just discovered that Ohio has a wine region, I’m tempted to hold off on my wine & cheese pairing party until I get my GF so I can have some 
region maps and 
region maps!
Be careful of oily things on the engraved slate, it’ll darken your engrave… basically once you engrave it it’s kind of not usable for cheese anymore.
There may be a way to seal it after engraving that would preserve the contrast, but I haven’t gotten around to investigating that yet. There’s just so much to figure out!
I adore this!!!
Love the look of the old map. I agree that it is too precious for cheese - this deserves to be hung up on a wall!
I’m in the process of making an easel for it as we speak!
Love it! I go to church in Strongsville! O-H!
Fabulous! What a great map and gift!
how thick was the slate you used?
Sources, since people will ask…
Map: https://www.loc.gov/item/2012591128/
Slate: https://www.worldmarket.com/product/slate-cheese-board.do
According to the link posted for the material, it was .5"
