I need a bit of guidance on getting started.....

[bronzeo]

Hi, My name is Jack Davis and am new to engraving. I have already read a lot of posts to get a feel for this artform, but have yet to strike up anything. Many folks over the years have suggested that I pursue this trade, so here I am. I am an accomplished artist and technician, so that in itself should speed me along fairly well. At this point in my life I am a jeweler, painter, sculptor, airbrush artist, woodturner, woodcarver, and gilder. I have recently gotten into collecting handguns for pleasure as well as investment. The prices of engraved models in relation to bare models, seems to leave me quite a nice margin to do my own thing, even though I may be only collecting them. It is my plan to purchase probably a basic system from this site, but I have a few questions.

Are stainless pistols hard to work with?

What is the advantage of the adjustable length cut airgravers over
the fixed ones (probably several)?

Can I use the same regulator and foot control with compressor or CO2?

How is a pattern laid out on a substrate (like a gun)?

Here is my website, so you can see where I am in life
http://www.imagemakerart.com

[Ray Cover]

Hey Jack I see your a fellow Missourian!

Lets see what we can do about the questions

Most of the stainless handguns I have engraved have been made of 416 stainless and have engraved quite nicely. Though that is no guarantee that all stainless handguns will be 416.

I am assuming you are talking about the difference between the Artisan and the Classic model airgravers. The big difference is one of convenience. You can adjust the stroke length on both. The difference is that with the Classic you have the adjustment ring on the outside of the tool where it is easy to get to. To adjust the Artisan you have to pull the bore and piston out and stack spacers on the face of the bore to lengthen the piston stroke. Not near as convenient.

No most standard regulators will not work with CO2 for a couple reasons.
1.When the CO2 changes from liquid to gas it gets very cold and will tend to freeze up a regulator.
2. CO2 deteriorates neoprene, rubber, and many other types of plastic commonly used in standard air regulators. THat is why they make special o-rings for paintball guns.

There are many ways to get the layout on metal. some will draw the design on the metal directly with superfine permanent markers. Some draw things out on paper and use one of the various transfer methods to transfer the drawing to the metal. I tend to prefer the second method.

[bronzeo]

Thanks Ray for that speedy help...... I've been lurking on your website earlier today and wish I could attend your classes, but I'm tied up at the Jewelry store 6 days a week. It is a new business, and I have yet to add backup help. Maybe in the near future........... Anyway, I did rent a video that you made from Smartflix.com to give me some basic insights. I will watch it next week and then probably dive in. The stainless that I will be using is on a new Colt 1911, so I assume it to be a good choice. Thanks again. Jack

[powderhorn]

Something that Ray just touched the tip of is the C02 regulator. The C02 regs are a high pressure regulator. C02 in a tank is a liquid at 850 psi, and regular air regulators can not handle that pressure. Most common regs are of the max 150 lb variety, as a max working pressure. Also you have to be careful not to get liquid C02 into the regulator, as the regulators work off of the vapor portion of the C02.

[paulcdfoss]

I have the classic hand piece with foot control. Steve hooked me up by using the CO2 reg he offers for the palm control in conjunction with the double reg. It works great. I can engrave at night at home when my girl is sleeping of a cylinder, and hook the double res straight to a compressor, (mine is a nail gun type, pretty loud...). So basically you reduce the CO2 tank pressure through the CO2 reg to a manageable pressure to the double reg system. Ray mentioned one thing that I haven't discovered to be a problem yet and that is the deterioration of the O-rings due to CO2. Hope this helps. It also makes the foot control semi portable!

Good Luck,

Paul