Complete newbie advice needed

flintdoubles said:

Thierry, I should have said faster improvement I do believe the learning curve is reduced by a pneumatic system but keep in mind I know nothing. A palmcontrol my be one of the best setups out there and for 450 dollars it can't be a bad deal even if he sold it and turned the profit into other things he needs.

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Sorry about that, I should have refrain from commenting.

Thierry, comment all you want. I did not think I made that connection between improvement and pneumatic. Sorry if I offended you.

I didn't see any connection either. And you're right in that pneumatic handpieces make learning easier and faster.

Against the advice of my instructor, I hand chased for the first year, and then bought an old GraverMax, and in two months I was engraving ten times better than I had been with the chasing hammer. I thought I was getting pretty good with the hammer, but the results with the pneumatic graver taught me what a fool I was. After doing it the hard way, I wish I would have listened and I'd be so much further ahead now. The time was not truly wasted, I learned a lot, and this is just a hobby for me, but the learning curve with the pneumatic graver was much shorter. You plan to sell your work, so rather than invest a year in chasing, buy the Lindsay. Also, learn to sharpen your gravers. I have both the Lindsay templates and the GRS dual angle fixture with quick change adapter. Both have their place, the Lindsay is super easy but you have to buy a different template for each geometry. The GRS can sharpen almost anything, but it is finicky and if you don't tighten your knobs enough, it can shift. I have a 600 grit diamond wheel on a small drill press that works just fine, but I wish I had a power hone. Couldn't really figure out how to justify $600 for a hone when I'm giving away my work as birthday presents and such. If you are selling engraved rifles, your costs are more rightly justified. That's my two cents anyway...