First Post and Pics

clocksdr · Apr 6, 2009

OK folks, Iâ€™m new here and this is my first post. Iâ€™ve got lots of desire, but absolutely no experience with engraving. Iâ€™ve had my Lindsey engraver for about 6 mos but Iâ€™ve had limited time using it so farâ€¦ seems my full time job gets in the way of a lot of fun stuff. I am a little reluctant to post anything with all the master engravers showing such exquisite work. But here goesâ€¦
The first photo is my first attempt at flare cutting on a practice plate.
The second and third are photos of my first engraving on something besides scrap brass. Boy, was I nervous about cutting on something I had to pay for. The second photo is a side plate for a muzzle loading rifle Iâ€™m building for my dad. The third is my attempt at engraving the breech end and tang of the same rifle barrel. This was also my first attempt at inlay of a gold ring on the breech end of the barrel. I plan on bluing the barrel when I'm done.

Well, now that I got that over with, I would welcome some comments, constructive or destructiveâ€¦

silverchip · Apr 6, 2009

Very nice start.one suggestion would be to put an accent cut along side your inlaid band on the breach plug.

eastslope · Apr 6, 2009

Way to go! Keep up the good work and thanks for posting. Seth

clocksdr · Apr 6, 2009

silverchip said:
Very nice start.one suggestion would be to put an accent cut along side your inlaid band on the breach plug.

Yeah, I thought of that. I wanted to do a running wheat border on the gold ring... but I havent had that great of luck in practicing that one.

Arnaud Van Tilburgh · Apr 7, 2009

Welcome, thanks for posting.

arnaud

KCSteve · Apr 7, 2009

Looks like you're off to a good start! :thumbs up:

J Saville · Apr 7, 2009

Looks good,
I'm certainly not one of the experts, but I think it could really be enhanced with a bit of shading on the side plate.

Nice looking inlay, looks very clean.

KCSteve · Apr 7, 2009

But would shading be appropriate to the 'era' of the gun and/or the particular class of weapon he's making?

Assuming he's going for something reasonably historically accurate, of course.

D.Ellis · Apr 8, 2009

Very nice. And welcome.
Darcy

Metalshaper · Apr 8, 2009

Very nice!!

Always happy to see another 'builder' on the cafe! I like what you've done and it'll certainly add to the overall finish of the rifle. your Dad will love it!!

Respect Always
Metalshaper

Marcus Hunt · Apr 8, 2009

Looks like you got to grips with the gold inlay. Personally I'd leave it alone as a nice band really pops out against a blued or browned barrel.

As for the scrolls, well you've actually tried something immensely difficult. To leave the spine of a scroll out and engrave the rest is something that would challenge the most experienced engraver. I don't quite understand where you were headed with this practice plate but I'm minded to advise you to take a step back and start with the basics. Don't try anything fancy or try to develop your own style; these things will happen in their own good time. Study scrollwork of different engravers and try to see the things that they have in common. I can assure you that even if two engravers cut two totally different styles of scroll there are still elements in common.

I don't know if you have them but the books by Meek and our own dear Ron Smith give a great deal of advice on how to form scrolls.

Well done, keep cutting and keep posting.

monk · Apr 8, 2009

grrreat, as tony the tiger would say. most of the old style engraving was not too complicaed in design. some was actually quite primitive, having been done by those who weren't actually engravers. keep the fotos coming.

Ron Smith · Apr 9, 2009

I would say that for first attempts, this is pretty darned good. Your Dad will love it. What a special gift from a son!! Way to go. Can I be your Dad for a while?.....HaHa........You have a good start, just keep practicing and studying. Your flare cuttng is a little sketchy, the design is pretty good, but you have the idea and it will get better. It appears to be in two segments due to the lack of stem connecting the parts and the weight of the stem. Just making the stem bolder will help the design I think.

Ron S

clocksdr · Apr 9, 2009

Hey Folks,
thanks for all the comments. The first photo of the scrolls was a very first attempt, almost a doodle. I gotta keep practicing! As for the barrel I'll keep practicing a border to line the gold inlay and may end up just leaving it alone. I don't want to mess it up as I'm nearly finished with the rifle.

I'm glad to see that there are several folks from KY, I may need local advice!

First Post and Pics

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