Hi everyone

[JamieTimothy]

hi everyone, my name is Jamie and i have just started engraving, been about three weeks now. My interest mainly is gun engraving, i have been shooting since i was young so i really like gun engraving.

I have been taught the basics of how to set up and sharpen a graver and the basic cuts, but am very much a beginner!!!

My aim is hopefully to one day go to one of the large gun companies with a practice plate and see if they would accept me to do some of there guns, an ambitious quest, but hopefully achievable and im more than happy to put in the practice!

I have included one of my first practice plates, lots of slips and lots of less than perfect cuts, but i would love to hear what you have think.

HAve been looking through the forum and i have to say it is very exciting having access to so many extremely talented engravers, hopefully i can learn from you all and improve!

If anyone has any pointers for me that would be great, like what are the best things for me to practice etc, i think i lack a bit of direction at the moment, so any help would be much appreciated.

I look forward to hearing from you all and hopefully at some point in the future ill be able to post a picture of my first fully engraved gun!

Jamie

[Tim Wells]

You've got the right idea but it's hard to see any detail in an out of focus photo with so much glare on it. Next time try to hold a paper towel or a clean piece of copier paper over that plate so the light has to shine through it like a diffuser. You'll be suprised how well this cheap method works for quick shots.

We can better assess the plate when we can see the detail. It looks though that you have a good design concept but cutting it just takes practice to avoid things like elbows in the backbone of the scroll and those slips you talked about. It all comes with time and chips of metal on the floor. Try some brass practice plates or steel, this will give you more resistance without galling like copper has a tendency to do.

If you go to your local Lowes, Home Depot, or Tractor Supply, they have a section in the hardware department where there are strips of mild steel in 3 foot lengths or less and that is good practice material; just cut a piece off with a saw and polish it up and engrave it. The chips have a more positive pop feel when you throw them out at the end of a cut when cutting steel and not so muddy like the softer metals.

This will also give you a better idea of what gun metal will feel like in some areas when that time arrives. Guns are hard in some spots and softer in others and don't make cheap practice plates so don't be in too big a hurry to cut one. Take your time and fill at least one square inch of space with scroll every day. That was the advice I got from Jim Small 2 years ago and it works.

Welcome to the forum and ask whatever questions you like, there are lots of helpful folks here.

[rbaptiste]

Hi Jamie, welcome on the forum.
Your practice plate look good for a beginer.
If your destinate work is to gun engrave, I concil you to practice with a steel plate, you will have the same feeling than gun.
Where do you from and why do you like engaving?
What material used.
VERY IMPORTANT: your sharppening will be very good for a good starting job.
I see a lot of young engraver with a bad point and they will be impossible to do a good job with a bad point ;-)
Thanks

[JamieTimothy]

Thanks for your replies guys, Tim, i will try to take another photo of the plate using the method you say, thanks! Roland, i am using mild steel, the same material that is used on the lock plates so that i can get used to using the material.

Im from London, England. I like engraving because i have been shooting for a while and just decided that i would love to be able to engrave guns, my thoughts behind it were that i am fairly artistic and enjoy drawing so thought i would see whether engraving was something i would enjoy also.


Thanks for the advice about the sharpening, everyone i have spoken has stressed the importance of sharpening, im beginning to think i should buy 20 gravers and sharpen them all to get some practice!

I have a square graver set up at the moment as described in Engraving precious metals and was trying some script lettering, however the book says to do the shade lines by rolling the graver when you cut to make a flange cut, however whenever i try this the graver either slips, or digs in and no matter what i try i cant seem to make a cut that seems to be the proper width...will this just come with practice, or is it likely to be the graver isnt properly sharp?

[rbaptiste]

Jamie, for a good cut you must have a good sharp.
If you use a angle of 120° you have a larger straight than a 90° with the same deph.
The easier is to have a good starting.
The solution for that it is to study with an angraver with experience or take few courses.
For a regular good sharp I concil you to buy the Lindsay's sharpening system. It is very easy and you will have alltime the same point.
For beginning it is perhaps more easy to try with 90°.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have a special question ;-)

[SVD]

Jamie

The trick I learned that's helped me with rolled cuts is that you want to roll the graver in your fingers rather than letting your wrist turn. When you roll the graver by turning your wrist it changes the angle between your hand and the work and it digs or slips. When you roll the graver in your fingers you keep your angle and just change the width of the cut.