Firearm Metal Prep

Grayson

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Joined
Aug 8, 2009
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82
I've had Ray Cover schooling and ten plates and five cheap knives of practice. I'd rate my cutting skills as fair+ for production work and my drawing skills as execrable. Even so, I'm plotting my first gun engraving. I'll do my nearly-new (no pits) Heritage Arms .22 SAA (~$160) with a Mike Dubber transfer. No matter what I do to that gun, the value won't go down ... much. The finish on the HA is as you may expect for the price; you can see and feel the tool marks on the cylinder, for example. First order of business then is to learn to refinish. The leaders of this forum say use elbow grease, files, stones and paper, but some more detail would help. I note that FEGA offers two DVD's on metal prep: 2009 by Strosin and 2016 by Farman. Should I just jump in, or order the lessons first? Which DVD should be purchased or purchased first?

BTW, thanks for the advice so far from masters Alfano, Roberts and Biggs!
 
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JJ Roberts

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Grayson,Keep it simple file's,fine polishing stones and wet & dry automove paper in different grits in all you need just stay away from buffers,you want to keep all edges on the gun sharp and not rounded.One day you'll be restoring & engraving high end firearms and if you take your time you'll do just fine. J.J.
 

SamW

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I normally use w/d auto paper. If item is rough I start with 220 or 320 and work up to 600, final finish with well worn 600, This gives a surface free of marks and polished enough for my method of drawing on the metal which is a very light scribing just enough to see well under good lighting but fine enough to burnish off errant lines. A lesser finish requires heavier scribe lines that do not burnish off easily if at all.

I always back the paper with a flat file of piece of hardwood which helps keep the sharp edges JJ mentioned.
 

mvangle

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Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
305
Location
Pilot Virginia.
You can not go wrong with Bruce Farman's DVD of the 2016 seminar. It is one of the top sellers of the DVDs offered. Bob Strosin's is good as well, but if you can only have one, start with Bruce's.
 

Southern Custom

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Mar 8, 2013
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Baton Rouge
Metal prep is as mentioned. A lot of elbow grease. There are quite a few nuances and tricks that would be hard to detail in a forum setting and therefore I would most definitely take advantage of someone else's knowledge whether a local gunsmith or DVD. An engraver must be a metal finisher, gunsmith, artist and all around problem solver. I don't know what I would have done without my years of experience as a jeweler.
One tip I will offer is an old jewelers trick. Take a 1"x 8" long piece of wood, 1/4" thick. Lay a sheet of abrasive on its back. Lay the wood strip on the paper and roll the paper onto the wood strip. Use a sharp tool to run along the crease as you turn the strip. This will make the edge sharper. When it's rolled up, staple 6 or so staples along one edge to hold the paper. As a piece wears you just cut it off and expose a clean sheet.
When you finish the gun, show it to an experienced engraver whether on the forum or privately, in person or by email. You'll get the best advice and the advice you need. Take Facebook likes with a grain of salt. You may get a hundred likes and pats on the back most don't know good from bad. Post it here for solid critique if you have no mentor. Good luck!
 

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