Hi all, I'm Trip, new to the world of engraving, but I'm one of those folks that can't sit still, lots of irons in the fire. I have experience in glass, leather (both carving and stitching), metal (welding, machining, shaping), wood (turning, carving, carpentry, etc.) and the list goes on, like I said, can't sit still...
I've spun up most of what I've learned I need to get started, machined up hammers, handles, sharpening templates, nice bowl resting in an old cast iron brake rotor (eventually to be bearing mounted as a potter's wheel type base) with about 20lbs of lead and 5lbs of pitch. I do have a microscope, but haven't fabricated an arm yet, so it's optivisor for now. Gravers I've made from .120 O1 tool steel, I have a fair bit of experience with metal work and heat treatment, they seem to hold up well in the piece of semi-hard brass I had laying about.
So I took my first stab at things last night after accumulating and fabricating everything for the last month and realized the one key component I was missing was scale. I suspect that the gravers are all much too large and my cuts way too deep. I can't seem to find numbers on the typical widths of the faces (plenty of angles for sure, but no actual dimensions) or the depth of cut for various types of work. I've thought about just ordering a pre-shaped graver, and may ultimately, but that would go against my typical M.O. of only buying what I can't make.
It may be considered heresy, and I apologize, but I have no interest in traditional scrolls or acanthus leaves... I swore I'd never tool another about 20 years ago (leather work for the last 30 years). My leather and intention for engraving lean heavily toward Celtic designs, knotwork, zoomorphic, etc. I don't imagine this will heavily influence the question of scale, but figured it worth mentioning for context.
Any information would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a specific recommendation of a preshaped blank to purchase for size reference.
Trip
I've spun up most of what I've learned I need to get started, machined up hammers, handles, sharpening templates, nice bowl resting in an old cast iron brake rotor (eventually to be bearing mounted as a potter's wheel type base) with about 20lbs of lead and 5lbs of pitch. I do have a microscope, but haven't fabricated an arm yet, so it's optivisor for now. Gravers I've made from .120 O1 tool steel, I have a fair bit of experience with metal work and heat treatment, they seem to hold up well in the piece of semi-hard brass I had laying about.
So I took my first stab at things last night after accumulating and fabricating everything for the last month and realized the one key component I was missing was scale. I suspect that the gravers are all much too large and my cuts way too deep. I can't seem to find numbers on the typical widths of the faces (plenty of angles for sure, but no actual dimensions) or the depth of cut for various types of work. I've thought about just ordering a pre-shaped graver, and may ultimately, but that would go against my typical M.O. of only buying what I can't make.
It may be considered heresy, and I apologize, but I have no interest in traditional scrolls or acanthus leaves... I swore I'd never tool another about 20 years ago (leather work for the last 30 years). My leather and intention for engraving lean heavily toward Celtic designs, knotwork, zoomorphic, etc. I don't imagine this will heavily influence the question of scale, but figured it worth mentioning for context.
Any information would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just a specific recommendation of a preshaped blank to purchase for size reference.
Trip
I did consider that, but I thought about it and mitigated the cost with the interest my daughter expressed in seeing some old repousse work and the potential to go there as well.
