50's style brass plaque

Southern Custom

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Buy some blank sheet and start cutting? Was there a particular problem to solve? It looks like a cut and dry lettering job.
 

Roger B

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I still reckon it is done with a pantograph but if you want to cut by hand I would use a round graver, lay it out properly maybe with a computer font for the uniformity and practice beforehand.
 

Southern Custom

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Appears to be stamped to me. Too deep for pantograph. If it was hand cut with a round it's damn clean work. Round graver would match it but it must be cut cleanly as every mis step will show.
 

dlilazteca

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That's the problem with lettering no matter which Graver type of use if it's not perfect it will stand out

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
 

dogcatcher

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Back when I was still building custom furniture, I bought plates like that at the local trophy shop. I could order it, and pick it up a few hours later, less than $5.
 

Crazy Horse

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Unless you're really adept at cutting lettering, I'd go to any local trophy shop and have them pantograph it for you.
 

mitch

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how big is it? as any woman will tell you, size really does matter.
 

Brant

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To my eye it looks like it was cut with a milling machine.

Not a difficult job, just time consuming.
 

Southern Custom

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Brian, Were ball mills ever used with pantographs? I've had numerous pantograph machines in my shops over the years from the simple tabletop setups to the massive New Hermes jobs with motors. I never knew they were capable of cutting to any significant depth.
I've been looking for an old one that's disappeared into the the abyss of old tools around here. Apparently some guys are using them to transfer outlines to guns for scene work. I saw an article by Marty about this recently in the Engraver and thought it looked like a pretty neat solution.
 

MoldyJim

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Layne,
The larger Deckel 3D pantographs I have run will take up to 1/2" end mills.
They are used for mold making, plastic injection and lost wax etc.
Using a ball mill for contouring and shaping works well, you just use a ball end stylus on the pattern.
I don't think it would be a problem to use a small ball end mill in a 2D panto.
An angled cutter is more common for 2D work.
 

monk

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i think i posted info in the tip section on making yer own pantograph templates. if you cant find it, gimme a pm. i've made a truckload of this sort of thing, including complete font sets. easier to do than one would think. just a bit time consuming.
 

John B.

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Layne,
The larger Deckel 3D pantographs I have run will take up to 1/2" end mills.
They are used for mold making, plastic injection and lost wax etc.
Using a ball mill for contouring and shaping works well, you just use a ball end stylus on the pattern.
I don't think it would be a problem to use a small ball end mill in a 2D panto.
An angled cutter is more common for 2D work.

The Deckel (German), the Gorton (American) and the Alexander (British) pantographs will all do about the same.
Most of these are about the size of a full size milling machine. A bit big and heavy for most engraving shops.
A very good pantograph that can do serous work for the engraver is the Preis. They come in in both 2-D and 3-D models and have about an 18 inch footprint.
A Preis pantograph could whip out a plate like the one in question in a few minuets using a ball end, flat end or angle cutter with no problem.
 

mitch

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i've heard that since most knifemakers (and presumably many other trades, as well) have gone to CNC, some fantastic old Gortons & Deckels can now be had for a song. in fact, maybe 15 years ago a knifemaker friend offered me his fully tooled Gorton for $1,000. he told me the machine sold new for $26,000(?) + tooling, he paid only about $4,000(?) used. so you can see how the market is headed on those...
 

John B.

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i've heard that since most knifemakers (and presumably many other trades, as well) have gone to CNC, some fantastic old Gortons & Deckels can now be had for a song. in fact, maybe 15 years ago a knifemaker friend offered me his fully tooled Gorton for $1,000. he told me the machine sold new for $26,000(?) + tooling, he paid only about $4,000(?) used. so you can see how the market is headed on those...

It is true that the price has fallen on the good, big old pantographs, as Mitch says.
The big problem is the weight, space and the moving costs.
It's not just the price you pay for the machine and tooling.
Factor in that it can cost in the thousands $$ to move and set up one of these full size babies.
 

Brian Marshall

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Yep, shipping anything that large sometimes costs double or triple the cost of the machine to begin with...

Just cost me $350 to get a mint (still in the cosmoline) Preis shipped down from Washington state.


Brian


Layne, most lettering cut with motorized pantograph into metals is done with variations on "V"angled cutters.

Ball cutters are more likely used on softer materials, like wood. Used on metal they tend to run/skip over the surface.


Scroll down to the section on cutters - https://www.engraversjournal.com/article.php/2685/index.html

http://goldmachinery.com/machinery/category/pantographs - some examples... We have 4 different makes at the moment, mostly used for small parts milling and transfers.
 

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