Mass-produced: how do they do it?

Tim Wells

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I would think they are stamped rather than engraved. As for the leather, it's pretty but it'll be a cold day in a "hot place" before I'd wrap my 54 Tele in cowhide...:)
 

Bill Tokyo

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Jan 25, 2007
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Heat stamping and photochemical etching

The leather is heat stamped or heat rolled. I used to do a lot of work with watch bands and that
was how we produced those patterns in leather. Although there is hand carving and tooling of leather
to my eye they have the look of pieces which are heat stamped, which also leaves a very deep "engraving"
with a very nice finish.

As for the metal, it has the look of photo chemical etching, which you see considerable
amounts of in the watch industry also.

Bill
 

Ron Smith

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You probably have an engraver trying to make a living at it. Ha Ha!! They earn about $5.00 an hour, but kidding aside, have you ever watched a professional bright cut engraver work? They are fast. They can do a quite large buckle in several hours.........You can get some pretty good results with mass production techniques and the public is none the wiser. I fought this ignorance my whole carreer. You will too, but not nearly so profound, because engraving has become an art in my lifetime and the public is much more aware. Supply and demand is the engine of our economy and this suits the public with something they can afford. I'm like Tim. The fancy pickguard or tailpiece in metal would be okay with me, and has some interesting potential, but the leather covering I think, would have a direct influence on the sound, but maybe not..................But, if the public wants it, they get it.........and it has to be cheap!! Thank goodness for the coneseurs of the engraving arts......You might get them to pay you for what your time is worth, but don't count on it. You have to have one hell of a reputation to go along with your talent, or you won't get the time of day from the big hitters. This is the reality of the business of engraving, in a society that has forgotten what it is like to make something with your bare hands. They cannot relate to that at all............Makes you wonder why we do this to ourselves for those intertaining the thought of full time engraving, but it is better now than it was. Educate, educate, educate!!

Ron S
 

RT Bit and Spur

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How do they do that

I have seen dies that strike the plates and the engraving is done all in one hit. This says it is hand engraved.
I have been to some places that have a row of engravers at their stalls, hands just going real fast. If it is the
same pattern all the time. A person could get real good and real fast.
Rod
 

Brian Marshall

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It was a long, long time ago that I posted on this thread. (2008)

I still don't think that what I just looked at was necessarily engraved or carved by machine, stamping or embossing.

This work still looks Mexican hand work to me...?

I've known guys who could do that work fast enough to still allow a retailer to double their money. The carving or the engraving.


Brian
 

monk

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Check out these pick guards:

http://www.eldoradostraps.com/new-products.htm#pickguards

I have no idea how they are able to do that much engraving for so cheap. Are these made in China?

i couldn't say, judging by the fotos, but quite possible to have scanned a drawing and the scan sent to a cnc machine. my cnc engraver could do stuff like that. all one need do is output the scan in hpgl2. if you go across the street, it would likely look good !
 

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