Newbie

Hi all,

I'm very new to engraving, though it's an art I've appreciated for a while. The master work and inspiration on this forum is incredible.

I figured I'd introduce myself and maybe several years from now I'll have some basic work to present.

The equipment I have (acquired on my college student budget) currently consists of a square graver with a push handle and a GRS vice (sent to me by mistake instead of the generic 'Vevor' vice I bought).

Hand push is my goal, though that may be a mistake given what I've come to learn about the difficulty of that method.

While I've been working on getting straight(ish) lines and basic curves down, my drawing skills need serious work. Anyone happen to have some instructional drawing book recommendations?

-Zach

Zach,
Welcome to the wonderful world of engraving and best of luck on your journey.
You might find a book, even in the used book shop on campus called "Drawing on the right side of your Brain."
Look on the internet for " The Art of Engraving" by James B. Meek.
A other great book, but a bit pricey is " Engraving Historic Firearms" by John Shippers.
Sam Alfano, Lee Griffiths, Ron Smith and Didyoung all have fine publications on drawing scrollwork.
Historically most engraving was done with push or hammer and chisel.
It's may not be the fastest way to learn but it will give you a great foundation. Take the time and enjoy the journey.

Check your local library for the books, if they don't have any of them, they maybe able to get them through an interlibrary book loan program. Another free source is Google, search "drawing acanthus leaves". You will find a lot of good stuff in that area. Another that helped me was drawing Celtic knots, again a free research on Google will pay great dividends. Even simple doodling on scrap paper will also help hand control.

I am a hobbyist, retired and spend my time learning stuff that I had no time for during my working career, So keeping cheap is my goal, and it keeps me busy. Here is a homemade power hone link. http://www.engraverscafe.com/showthread.php?15498-Low-speed-bi-directional-6-quot-power-hone Some of it is out of date, and the gentleman that made the first one is no longer with us, if you have questions, I made one and might be able to offer alternatives for parts that are no longer available.

Keep a set of notes when you do any research, electronic notes are the best so you can keep a link to the source. A month from now you might want to use some info and when you lost t and have to look it up twice, you waste time. I use a document format, so I can copy and paste any info I think I might need in the future, a lot faster than hand scribbled notes.

"Drawing from the left side of the brain" by Betty Edwards. Great book.

Thank you everyone for the advice!