......and, "stress" is a normal occurrence, and what we're really talking about is "strain", the point of departure between the two. Convoluted? You bet! I think many trees were undergoing drought strain, even though I've never once heard those two words strung together like that, during that time span I referenced. Heck, even two summers back was considered moderate to severe drought across S. Wisconsin. I'll tell you what though, especially those of you inclined towards science, right across this state is a long-held zone of transition called "the tension zone" running roughly S.E. to N.W. if you will, the area to the north being considered well, north of the tension zone. And due to the orientation of this diagonal line, many locales near Lake Michigan, nearly all the way to Milwaukee, are also "north of the tension Zone". Turns out there's something to it. I live in a city which lies directly in this transitional ecotone. We've got groves of 300-year-old oaks in some parks, tamaracks and white cedar in other spots. You can almost see the line in action! So along comes this supposedly abnormally cold winter. I can honestly state that, at least where my tree farm is, 60 miles north of where I live, conifers could not look better coming through a winter. There's absolutely no winter burn, no off coloration, everything looks prime. So if this was supposed to be a "stress event", then I'm going to have to say stress, as such, is of little impact. Then too, summer and fall rains were copious in that region as well. This is the place where my 4-years-in-the-ground-from-seedling Norway spruce grew nearly 5 feet last summer. Sometimes, I think you just have to be in a good zone for what you're trying to do. Not possible, of course, for every conifer hobbyist to up and move, but at least should you be contemplating a larger-scale project, it might just make sense to relocate! Incidentally, the northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) which comprise a great deal of my woods up there seem to produce large amounts of viable seed year in and year out. Not sure what it would take for them to not do that. White pine are perhaps more cyclic. +oM

I absolutely love my Xyrons...I have the 150,250,510,and the 900 and adore them all!! I use the 250 and 510 the most and almost daily for so many different projects. I don't think you will ever regret getting either version. The Xyron would be a lot more affective and less messy than any sort of glue on spray. They are not only sticker makers but certain version can also laminate with no electricity. You also use a line glue instead of the spray on such as hermafix, even Duck brand has a line glue that is awesome and really inexpensive. With the scrapbooking industry there are so many selections of glue available it's mind blowing. I wish you much success and look forward to seeing your finished projects. ginger

Sorry, I realize now that you already tried acetone. Did you thoroughly scrub with the acetone or just do a single wipe? I found a single wipe did not remove the adhesive residue for me and had to do some serious scrubbing. I still suspect in your case that it's residue that has permeated the stone. I never tried just applying sealer (and I wanted a non-enhancing sealer in my case) because I was afraid it would simply seal in the residue and the mark would still show. But with some work, the acetone did work for me. I haven't tried yet, but I had some tiles scraps that sat for a year outside with masking tape. I decided to try cutting them into coasters and they also have a dark mark where the tape was. I intend to try acetone on them, but haven't yet tried. I imagine that the longer the adhesive sits, the more it will seep into the stone.

Depends on which machine. Look at the specs.