Help, please: engraving problems, hitting raised parts

Dani Girl

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Does anyone know how to make it so that you can engrave with a higher hand or other cool tricks for engraving where your hand runs into part of the object you are engraving making it impossible to continue?
 

SamW

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I have found it necessary to be able to draw my design accurately on the metal and then be able to cut the design from either direction because there are areas with protrusions that will make that necessary. A higher lift on the tool can only help so much and bent or oddly shaped tools can become problematic in themselves.
 

mitch

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Sam- post another pic of your awesome guitar(?) project for Dani. that had to be the ultimate example of working around a tiny obstacle course.
 

dlilazteca

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just like Sam explained, you have to be able to cut a scroll backbone in both directions and have them meet with the exact depth and curve, I've learned this because I work primarily with firearms, as far as my experience sometimes you cut with the thumb on the side of the Graver and sometimes I must cut with my index finger on top of the graver because I have no room for my thumb.

But your main issue and I really think this will solve your problem you must cut small sections from either side of the backbone, when you're drawing directly on your item you must also visualize your graver angle of attack, think to yourself will I be able to cut this, these little things come with practice you won't make the same mistake twice. Also try reducing your graver point size same angle just narrow it down, why dont you post a picture.
 
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Dani Girl

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Ok, here are the pictures.

I didn't see a problem when I looked at the knife but when i sit down to start cutting, the part of the handle just back from the sharp edge... the underside while you're using it. I run into the blade cutting back and the far rear part of the handle cutting forwards so I can't seem to get in there... maybe point geometry will be enough? I tried cutting all the border lines and I made a real hash of it on those two faces.
 

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dlilazteca

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Okay if I understand correctly it's where your index finger Would hold right behind the cutting edge, how short is your graver sometimes I find that using a longer graver for that angle could help, it is cutable you might just have to cut a little bit from one side spin it and cut from the other side and so on, to complete your design.


I use some 3 inch graver blanks at times for clearance, so your hand or handpiece does not get in the way, shoot me your address in a p.m. and I'll send you a couple so you can try them out.
 
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GTJC460

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Increase your heel angle and decrease your face by the same amount. This will give you more clearance and help maintain visibility of your point. I've used a heel up to to 25' to allow me to clear obstructions.

This is the reason I highly recommend the grs dual angle fixture for sharpening.
 

SamW

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Dani Girl, this is the project that Mitch refers to.

If I read your questions right the problem you are having is caused by your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers (or at least one of them) under the tool and hitting the knife parts. I run into this from time to time and solve it by sticking the 2nd-4th fingers straight out, out of the way. I pinch the tool between thumb and 1st finger. This works for short cuts though you do lose some control.

In the photo is the second of 2 guitar tuner bases and the 6 uprights get in the way of almost every cut needed. The tools are some I bent and re-hardened so as to be able to cut around the obstacles. The scribe was used to remove some of the background next to the post where I could not get any other tool to work and the exacto knife has a rounded point that allowed me to press in some shading lines that I could not otherwise cut.

GTJC has good advice on more lift, as do others. Also the suggestion of a longer graver will help.

By the way, the engraved area is about 1.75 square inches and the first base took 60 hours to finish...difficulties add time exponentially!
 

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mitch

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that still just blows me away, Sam. i would have told the client, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gates, but even if you pooled funds with your buddy, Mr. Buffett, you still don't have enough money to get me to engrave that."
 
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SamW

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Well, thanks for the comments...where were you when I started this nonsense. Might have avoided a lot of new vocabulary!

Here is what the first one turned out to look like.

Sorry Dani Girl, not trying to highjack your thread...this does show how obstacles can be overcome if you are persistent enough (or silly enough to start with).
 

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monk

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dani girl: this one saved the day for me some time ago. it was an old, curved liner. i turned it so the arch was up, 20 degree heel. worked. this would not have worked on steel, however, as the graver was quite old,
 

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Dani Girl

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Well, thanks to the comments and help I've got so far I'll be trying to change my heel angle, maybe trying some new types of gravers, and I was able to get the maker to explain to me how to disassemble it as Peter Del Raso designed this knife specially for thin handle material which needed to have a tang all the way through the knife,... so the tang is fake, the first half of the knife is part of the blade. The rest pulls out. That deals with the back part I run into, I'll just have to balance graver geometry and coming at the cuts from either side now I think. It's looking infinitely more possible
 
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