A little different engraving

fegarex

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Since Sam has put together this great forum, I thought I would post a little different engraving I do. Each year, I engrave the Goodyear "GOLD CAR" trophy for the Nextel Cup Champion in NASCAR. Each car has around 100 "decals" that must be engraved on it. Each decal is exact scale and in the correct place. For some of the smaller decals, I make engrave a template of the decal and then use a pantograph to transfer them on the car. Some of them have writing barely visible.
Right now, I'm up to my elbows in decals for several race teams as we never know who will be the champion till the last race.
To view the cars from previous years go to:
http://www.michaeldunlapstudio.com/index.html
Click on the "stock cars" link. I also do the open wheel cars as well.
Again Sam, great site!
 

Christian DeCamillis

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Fegarex ? Is that a dianosaur ? Well I guess you are in many ways.:) I have had the occasion to see one of rexs car engravings, they are very nice. It shows that the field of engraving has may possibilities. If others have things that they engrave that are out of the norm this would be a good thread to post them on.Whats the strangest thing you have ever engraved? Christian
 

Rick Eaton

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These are some of the most difficult of the types of engraving to preform, and Rex has done a great job on them. Thanks for sharing.
Rick
 

Sam

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Odd shaped/sized objects like this really present a host of problems, especially for guys like me who are used to engraving small, easier-to-hold items. They look great, Rex. Using the pantograph to expedite the layout is also a smart move.

In response to Chris' question on the strangest thing I've ever engraved, I would guess it was the his & hers toilet paper holders for the owner of New Orleans Arms Co back in the '80's. The owner lived in a huge mansion in New Orleans, and custom made his own toilet paper holders of heavy brass which were inset into the walls of their bathrooms. I monogramed and gold plated them. Unfortunately I don't have photos, but am inclined to knock on the door and see if the present owners would let me photograph them. I also engraved the doorbell plate on the house. / ~Sam
 

Yves Halliburton

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Zippos

I do quite a bit of Zippo lighters. All are for the sport (CAS) cowboy action shooting. We all love our cigars and pipes and Zippos have a great canvas for aliases. Unfortunatly I have failed to take quality photos of them. Since Sams class last week I am on a new mission. Unfortunaly, I have had mine for 25 years. I will work on getting a new one.:eek:
 

Sam

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I guess this fits into 'unusual engraving' category. It's unusual for me, anyway. This is a US Lifesaving Medal that I engraved for the National Parks Service. It's actually a copy of the original solid gold medal which is too valuable to put on public display, so they commissioned me to duplicate the engraving on a copy they had made. It's about the size of a US silver dollar, and the engraving was quite small.

My policy is not to engrave plated items. They can't be repolished or repaired in the event of an error or slip, so I don't engrave them. I made an exception for this gold plated piece since it was of historical importance and to be on display at Harper's Ferry. They provided me with a photo of the original and I copied the inscription.
 

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Big-Un

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Stock car engraving

Thanks for showing us the engraved stock cars. You told us in your GRS class you did the presentation cars for NASCAR, but it was difficult to imagine what they really looked like....now I know! They are truly authentic; you can't fool an old racer.

Bill
 

Joe Mason

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Thanks Rex for providing this link. I have seen a photo of one of these trophys, but had no ideal the detail was engraved on them. Very nice.

Joe
 

Dmitry Martinov

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fegarex , thanx for the link. I don't understand a little bit, those cars made of copper and covered with pure gold or they are made of gold fully ?
 

fegarex

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Wow..
This was an old link!
The cars are made from mostly copper with some brass parts. Then they are gold plated after engraving.
 

fegarex

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Thanks,
The job is actually a two part thing. I make a lot "master" templates for the smaller decals by hand ahead of time for the top 5 or so teams and have them on hand to pantograph on the car. The larger decals are done by hand.
Then, since the time from the last race to presentation is so short I usually have only 4 days to do the engraving. And it is literally 4 days of work. I usually do 20 hours days for the 4 day stint.
 

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