Raised lead lettering

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Simon,
I used to have copies I made of a monument builders shop book, ( which is
lost to time and the vast pile of stuff in the corners) which described the
lead lettering process.
I remember ,vaguely, that it just as you describe. Cutting anchoring holes
in the bottom of the sunken letter, cutting lead strips and beating them
into the stone until the lead is a little raised above the surface , and
then leveling off the excess, which would turn black from exposure to the
air. There was no mention of raised letters.
My question is how does the beating of the lead strips make the strips meld
together? Won't beating the lead break the sides of the letters out?
Especially in limestone or marble?
Would it be ok to make the raised letters in a mold and then set them in
shallow cut letters in the stone?
I looked at your pictures and it has been done, but I don't understand how
it works.
I'm curious, and you are the first person I know who is really looking into
it.
Thanks much,
George Graham