hi there!

bpeak · Dec 12, 2006

I just wanted to say hello to everyone. I've been messing around on the side with engraving for a couple months now and REALLY love this art form. This website is now on the top of my Favorites list.

there are a LOT of extremely talented people on this forum, so I'm really excited to get to know you all and grow personally as an artist and engraver.

Take it easy!

Harold · Dec 12, 2006

Hello and Welcome !

bpeak · Dec 12, 2006

I figured that I would take a sec to post a couple of the pieces that I have done so far. They are not of the firearms or knife sort... but of the motorcycle parts sort. I am a motorcycle freak. (specifically choppers) So I grabbed a few parts I had around the house and started up.

For these I used a dremel rotary (i know... its sad) with a combination of diamond tips and tungsten carbide cutters at the 15,000 speed. As I said, they are far from the high quality pieces that are so common on this forum... but I am newly interested in the scrolls, scripts, etc. as seen throughout this website.

I can give some more info... but the main thing I want to point out is the script letter 'B' (shown last I think). I drew that last night based on the new tutorial on iGraver.com. With that knowledge... it took me 1hr. to draw that letter in pencil. I'm really looking forward to getting it in some brass...

Well... here goes...

graver2006 · Dec 12, 2006

Hello and Welcome

Big-Un · Dec 12, 2006

Welcome to the forum. Do I detect a little Von Dutch inspiration on the Maltese Cross?

Bill

KSnyder · Dec 13, 2006

cool parts! welcome on.
Kent

Sam · Dec 13, 2006

Welcome to the Cafe bpeak. While I'm more of a traditionalist myself, I enjoy seeing someone take engraving to new places. Very cool indeed! / ~Sam

Peter E · Dec 13, 2006

Bpeak,
Interesting work you have posted. I am a life long biker myself and plan to engrave some motorcycle parts at some point in time too. I like looking at choppers, but my riding preference is more sport/touring.

Welcome,
Peter

Dave London · Dec 13, 2006

Bpeak
Welcome to the forum, thanks for showing your work, Keep chipping

Smallpatch · Dec 15, 2006

Bpeak,

I've only been here a week or so..... these guys are awesome. I'm an outcast as well.... and they've welcomed me with open arms.

You're in good company.

Glenn · Dec 15, 2006

Welcome to one damn neat forum. The problem is getting hooked big time.
I'm an old Harley man. I've built me a trailer in the shape of the Roman chariots. My hub caps are in the shape of the Harley wing decals. I plan to engave these one day. I just may be knocking on your door when that day comes.

Jim-Iowa · Dec 15, 2006

Welcome! Thats some neat work. I would never have dreamed of trying that with a dremel and I have both handheld and shaft drive in the shop.

bpeak · Dec 19, 2006

Here are the only other two items that I have done worth showing.

Here too I was using the good ol' Dremel rotary with the small round diamond tip bit. The Rose was the first one I did on aluminum and measures approx 3" tall. The other one is a chrome piece from a Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide measuring approx 2.5" square.

In a perfect world, I would be able to afford a pneumatic impact engraver and all the goodies that come along with it. But for now I'm stuck with the commercial grade rotary tools. I know GRS makes bits for their rotary tools (which happen to be on my Christmas wish-list....) but does anyone else one here use rotaries? I'd be interested to hear any tips or tricks that might be spcifically tuned to that tool group.

p.s... sorry for the poor quality photos... I was using the company digital with no zoom...

bpeak · Dec 19, 2006

oh... and big-un... That maltese cross was for a guy I know from a chopper forum for his bike project. It ended up being bolted to a cross brace on the front of his sportster frame. I'll try to find the pics he took of his finished bike. I ended up doing three parts for him. the pinstriping was to mimic the paint job he had done on his gas tank. All of the parts I've done were with a good ol' fine point sharpie right on the part as the layout... so if you see some leftover black spots... thats why.

Randy Hayes · Dec 19, 2006

I met an engraver in the DC area who used a rotary with a stone setting bur to cut script lettering.

Tim Wells · Dec 19, 2006

Nice job on the letter "B"!

Sam · Dec 19, 2006

Some of the best inside ring lettering I've ever seen was done with a modified ball bur in a rotary handpiece. The engraver that did it normally uses a flex shaft for this work. High speed turbine handpieces are much too fast, so slow speed micromotors or flex shafts are probably the best.

Big-Un · Dec 21, 2006

Cool job on the Maltese Cross...the engraving inside the arms look like the pinstriping Von Dutch used to do, before his untimely passing.

bpeak · Dec 22, 2006

Thanks man! It took me a couple times sketching out a pattern before I was comfortable with it fitting the bars of the cross. Then it was just copying it four times freehand with the sharpie.

I just read some good articles on here and in "The Art of Engraving" (Meek) on transferring patterns to the metals... and wow... I need to look into some of that. I'm thinking about getting some of the Chinese White... being that I do a lot of freehand graphics in pencil, I could take those straight to the metal with just the rubbing.

the problem I have is that a lot of the parts I engrave are either rounded or domed to some pretty tight radii. Is there a good transferring technique that applies to such a case? Most of the methods I've seen are more for flat pieces.

Thanks again for all the compliments. I really appreciate it. I'm working on a few things that I hope to post up in January. My birthday is coming up on the 31st (turning the big 24... boorrring) so I'm not sure how much time I'll have at the bench.

Talk to you all later... Have a Very Merry Christmas all!

Brandon

hi there!

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