Arctic Exploration

[Peter]

Great looking project so far Barry. It amazes me how precise the finished engravings come out with the minimal sketching done for guidelines.

I guess it comes from experience.

Peter

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks guys,
Steve,I scribed the scene on with a cronite pantograph, then apply the mask. No graver work till the etching is done, then I go over everything with punches and gravers and burnishers.

[Phil Coggan]

Excellent layout Barry, and beautifully cut scrolls.
Well done!

Phil

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thank you very much Phil.

[Barry Lee Hands]

Jerry Fisher and Winston Churchill dropped by the shop and took a look at the work in progress.

[Roger Bleile]

Barry,

What brought Winston to Mantana?

CRB

[ron]

hey Barry .. with Winston stopping by your shop that has got to be an honor and it says one thing ,, you are the greatest , he don't give any beginner his time .. keep those photos coming .. ron p

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks guys, It's finally finished, at least my part, Lee Helgeland put it together yesterday to ship back to C. Sharps arms co. where it will be hardened and shipped to the client. Here are some pics I took before shipping yesterday:

[Vanknife]

Good day Barry,
What I want to say i am not allowed to say on this forum he he, but allow me this it is absolutely stunning.

Again thanks for sharing

Cheers

"VAN"

[WVEngraver]

"Stunning" works Van.


A very thorough and timely completed project Barry. Really gives one a good idea of what is involved in turning out a top notch job with both efficiency and accuracy.

Chris

[Daniel Houwer]

Yep, stuning or flabbergasted or out or word's are the only reply's I can give!
I was looking forward too seeing the way you engraved the hammer!
Very very nice!!!! Now I can only and hope to be able to do half of what you can!
I thank you very much for showing this and the way you did this!

Greetings,

Daniel

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks, here's the whole thing , start to finish:
On june 19, 1878 a group headed by a US Cavalry Officer, Lieutenant Schwatka, left New York headed north in an attempt to locate the records of the Franklin party of 1845.
C.Sharps Arms Co. donated two Rifles to the Schwatka expedition .
This piece is inspired by that journey.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...DE&oref=slogin

its a Gemmer by the C Sharps arms Factory. The stock was done by Don Franklin, and I believe most of the rest was done by Joe Seeley.
Lee Helgeland did the disassembly for me, here is a pic with Jerry Fisher checking it out-"no hair on this" was his comment.
and a pic with lee and I , Lee disassembling the piece, and the parts laid out for engraving.
When its done, in a week or so, it all goes back to the Factory for finishing.



















all they found was skeletons, a small boat, corpses and a few trinkets, they never found the logbook.
and they barely made it out alive.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...result#PPA3,M2


The procedure was as follows: I took the drawing, reduced it on the photocopier to the size of the lockplate, and transfered it on. That was mainly to locate the scene. I then erased the transfered scroll with acetone on a qtip and redrew the scroll lines. This keeps me from doing anything too stupid. I then freehand the leaves as I cut.
How much layout I use depends on the style of the scroll, and the shape of the leaves, this style I know well enough I dont have to fill in much, as I can see it in my mind as I cut.
I look at my drawing and count how many leaves are in a certain area of the scroll, and put in that many. There are really only three kinds of leaf elements I am using here, so I put them together in my mind to fill the space.
Some people might view this as risky, but I have found as long as I am familiar with the style of scroll I am using, it allows more creativity than slavishly following a transfered layout.







here are some more pics.
The first is layout, the second is completion.





Here is more work in progress:











Here is another pic.



Further. . .






here are some pics from doing the stock inlays:










The Patchbox:


I did a sketch for the starboard panel, and then did the work.




Jerry Fisher and Winston Churchill dropped by the shop and took a look at the work in progress.



It's finally finished, at least my part, Lee Helgeland put it together yesterday to ship back to C. Sharps arms co. where it will be hardened and shipped to the client. Here are some pics I took before shipping yesterday:

[Phil Coggan]

Barry, I mentioned to you in my PM that it should turn out a nice looking gun....and I was'nt wrong!
The gun itself looks exceptional and your engraving adds to this.
Has the gun been case hardened yet.

Phil

[jlseymour]

Thanks Barry...
Jerry

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks Phil and Jerry,
iy has not been hardened yet, its back to the factory for that. Joe Seeley who is one of our members will coin finish it.

[Danny C]

Magnificient work, there Barry.
What is coining?

When looking at the patch box, I noticed the light made a golden color in the rays. My thought was how would you make the "inset" rays gold. So, I have this question.

After it is all done, what would happen if you gold leafed the rays, and after burnishing everything down tight, you "basically sanded the tops of the rays" and had both there.

I know that that can actually be done (gold leafing) - the real question is would it actually work, or would the gold leaf be too fragile to stay in the cuts?

(We are ignoring the fact that if you wanted gold you would have inlaid a gold sun).

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks Danny, it would work, but there is no gold on the gun, and it would be a little out of place for this one.
Coin finish is when its hardened and then the color is removed so it is bright metal again.

[Rick S]

Thanks for posting this Barry....As always, you've done a beautiful job on this one.

~Rick Simmons~

[ddushane]

Outstanding job Barry, I love being able to check out all of the different phases of the work, I'll look at something finished and go back to look at earlier stages, back & forth, back & forth. Thanks again for the great tutorial, I know it was a lot of work but we appreciate it. Dwayne

[rod]

Barry,

I have really enjoyed your beautifully documented step by step sharing of this wonderful project. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you appear to be quite comfortable standing on thin ice. You approach your work fully prepared, yet one can get the sense that you are out ahead of the train laying new track, somehow aware of everything that will come up as you execute the design with what appears to be informal sketches that become faultless beautifully cut work. Your work is bold and great, so thank you for letting us see the timeline.

best

Rod

[Peter]

Outstanding Barry. I really appreciate your taking the time to post all the pictures and as always, it is my pleasure to be able to see them.

Thanks,
Peter

[Barry Lee Hands]

Thanks folks, it was my pleasure.

[Vanknife]

Good day Barry,
It is not everyday that one see history captured in art and kept alive through the world of common interest with such a high level of craftsmanship. Yes again outstanding work.

Cheers

"VAN"