Bulino Relief Cape buffalo.

[Damien Connolly]

If I said how many hours have gone into this only a few would believe me. Its a custom floorplate I made for a BRNO in .375 that I did extensive metalwork on. Apart from the sky, all detail is in relief with a maximum depth of .022", in most places reducing to zero a couple of mm before the edge. All work is with hand tools to original artwork. The buff is an amalgum of the 20 or so pictures I gathered around me. Photography was a real challenge with the light upsetting the bulino effect in the relief.

[KDavid]

WOW!!!!! That is absolutly stunning Thanks for sharing

[Fred Marrinan]

Damien, Really Really outstanding work! How is it that you have stayed mostly under the radar so to speak. I know you are from the far side of the world but you are certainly not new to this? Great -Fred

[ArtisticAttributes]

SUPERB!!! I really, really enjoyed seeing that.

[KatherinePlumer]

Oh my goodness, that is fantastic! REALLY nice job on that!!! Wowzers.

-Katherine

[Daniel Houwer]

|That is fantastic work!
About the time you spent on this, if you would say you spent a hundred hours on this I would not believe you. If it is way more than that I probably would

[Lucie Bandikova]

That is beautiful work, it is very iteresting to look at last three pictures, thaks for pisting.
Lucie

[WVEngraver]

Damien, I was just checking these photos out in the gallery. This is the kind of work that MUST be seen. Absolutely perfect and the relief really takes this bulino piece to a fantastic level.

I'm guessing you have about 300 to 400 hours in this scene alone (not including the actual fabrication of the floorplate)?

Chris

[rbaptiste]

Wonderful.
Please, can you tell me how you arrive at this finish? Thanks

[Damien Connolly]

Thank you all for your kind words. To say that I work in a vacuum here in Australia would be an understatement, and the contact I've had with my peers through the forum is of great importance to me. So thank you again.

You're right Joe, I've been at this since 1979. I'm self taught in my endeavours which encompass all fields of firearms manufacture and embellishment. When I see the tools and setups some forum members have, most would look askance at my workshop. You can see a cross section of my work athttp://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Connolly.htm I've mainly done Australian work, but in the last couple of years have made the right contacts in the US, and with any luck will be emmigrating to join you in the spring of next year. The UNCIS wil not be hurried in these things though!

I'm actually a little embarrassed to say that you're on the right track Daniel and Chris. As usual, I've kept a careful log of hours (they're always a good read if I need to depress myself) and it comes to 266 hrs on relief work, and a neat 200 on bulino. Like I said Chris, I'm slow.

Roland... the shapes are chiseled, the flats areas filed where possible, then largely shaped with a variety of scrapers, the flats varying from .003" to .250" in width. These are "hook" type scrapers and in the main are pulled (in a constantly varying pattern to avoid chatter) but will cut in either direction. Rounds vary in radius from .002" to maybe .050" ( that's radius, not dia.) and are straight blade type. The secret weapon is a number of sub-miniature three sided machinists scrapers, the largest of which measures .055" across the widest part of the triangle, and the smallest .012". Each cutting face has a different camber to the cutting edge, which when used in a narrow angled crossing pattern, enable smooth undulating surfaces to be created. A finger rubbed in Rio Grande "Burr Life" and regularly wiped across the surface is a remarkable aid to clean cutting scrapers. All scrapers are lapped to polished sharpness under the microscope.
Burnishing the surface (I've also made tiny set of straight and bent burnishers from needle and escapement files) will show the high spots and "chisel produced" forms, which are then scraped away. (A straight burnished surface is seldom enough, as any irregularities are highlighted rather than removed.)
In this way a clean scraped finish is produced, at which point lapping with 700grit silicon carbide paste and purpose shaped mild steel laps that are constantly filed back to shape to maintain clean transition between forms. High spots are attended to with the scrapers and the surface lapped with 1200g paste, then the same two grits on shaped paddle pop sticks. In difficult areas I use an ebony stick, or even a Lexan one - its even harder. At this point you see all the bits that you should have scraped off before....and start again.
When the surface is true, (and I know this is your interest Roland), use both grits on 0000 steel wool, using the sticks to get it into the tight spots. Careful not to blurr the detail. The steel wool is pretty indiscriminate and can make a mess of painstakingly produced sharpness. Like any polishing operation, all marks from the previous medium must go before moving to a finer grit.

Thanks Damien.

[JJ Roberts]

Damien,You have a good eye for animal anatomy,scenery,clouds it's all there.That buffalo looks real mean and ready to charge,nice action pose.Keep up the good work and keep posting,like to see more.Where in the US are you planing to live? Pick a state that's gun friendly. J.J.

[rbaptiste]

Thanks Damien for your answer. I am very interesting by your tools. can you post any pictures of the scratching and polish tools? Maybe a little tutorial next time if it is possible.
Thanks a lot

[WVEngraver]

I knew I was in the ballpark Damien. Quality work requires LOTS of time. It might leave your wallet a little lighter but it always fills up your soul.

I'd sure appreciate a photo of the tools used in the relief work as well.

Thanks again. JJ mentioned you are coming to the States. Very cool. He's right ... some states are bad news for anything more deadly than a beach ball. Then again, the most gun friendly states only serve biscuits and gravy in their restaurants. (don't ask me how I know that but I would kill for fresh shrimp and lobster on the barbie right now ... ).

[Damien Connolly]

Thanks for your interest guys... and I'll certainly post a few pics of the tools, but it will have to wait a few days. Very busy catching up ( I've got my wallet weighted down with a rock) and photography gets time consuming. So its most visible when I do, I'll make a new post of it on the engravers forum. I've just started to realise that's where a lot of the traffic is.

Initially I'll be probably settling Vermont, my contacts there say the law is not too bad.... and I have seen a few biscuits and gravy on my visits, but it seems there's a choice.

Damien.

[Peter_M]

This is a WOW piece, thank you for posting.

Peter

[Gert]

Great work man! keep posting!

[George Spring]

Nice piece of work!.........

[Tom McArdle]

That is one of the most beautiful engravings I have ever seen.

A tremendous achievement!

Thanks for showing that!

Vermont is beautiful, and gun friendly in a unique way.

Take care,

Tom

[kcrutcher]

Damien

What else is there to say.

Just Beautiful.

I first thought it was just Bulino, but Sculptured and Bulino is Fantastic.

Ken Crutcher

[generalwar]

That is really superb work.

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

Thats awesome! Quite a time investment.Is it really possible to be paid for all that work? Or is it for yourself? Awesome work and dedication.mike

[SEngraver]

HI Damien,
This amongst is one of the most magnificent engraving,bulino,sculpting work I have ever seen.As Chris mentioned another level.
And the different tools and accessories you made as you progressed is amazing......
SE

[Matson]

In the modern vernacular.....OMG, I can't imagine the hours that went into the piece. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Damien Connolly]

Originally Posted by tundratrekers@mtaonline.n

Thats awesome! Quite a time investment.Is it really possible to be paid for all that work? Or is it for yourself? Awesome work and dedication.mike

Given that the client is well kown here in Australia I shouldn't talk dollars, but yes, I did feed myself on the proceeds, though it's fair to say that I wasn't eating caviar. But then to have the job I want most in the world , and then want to be rich as well? I dunno. But I get slower and pickier the older I get, and shall we say, "suitable clients" have become very important!

Thanks for the comments guys....Damien

[Gail]

Damien, I think you nailed it, there is more than one kind of rich! I also doubt that doing the job you most want in the world, as well as you do it, will ever keep you from eating even caviar now and then!
Thank you for sharing your work.

Gail

[gluckie]

Is your manual work that has to take time, skill and love of art. There are now engraving techniques that still survive in spite of technological advances. Thank you.

[Jim Kelso]

Damien somehow I missed this. Only a year late! It's an extraordinary piece of work showing the full range of your mastery from sculpting to bulino along with the superb design. Bravo!

Jim