differences in cutting speeds

Hello all,

I reciently got a gravemeister from another engraver here online. The machiene works wonderfully and I've been happy with it's performance, even if my skills aren't quite up to the machienes.
It's an older model and the strokes per minutes are from 800 up to 1200.
I know that several folks have machienes that have a much higher output.
So my question is, are there any differences at different cutting speeds?
I find that I tend to float between 1000 and 1200 spm on my machiene, while pushing very little on the handpiece. I can't imagine what a faster speed would be like. I'm afraid I'd wipe out on the curves like a kid in a sports car.

I just started the layout on a steel belt buckle blank that I got at the local leather store today. If it doesn't look like a train ran over it, I'll post the results in a few days. To date there have been a lot of "train wrecks" in the shop, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and it a good darn thing.

John C.

Hi John,

Enjoy your Gravermeister as is for awhile, it's a good tool.
Those cutting speeds are far above what can be done with H&C.
And look at some of the great work done with H&C.
Sam Welch produced some world class work for many years with a Gravermeister just like yours.
As did James Meek and Don Glaser the inventor of the Gravermeister.
Don't worry about all the bells and whistles at first.
Practice and gain control of your cuts with the tool you have.
Plenty of time to try the other tools later. And GRS can sell you a high speed kit for your Gravermeister if you eventually feel you need it.
Best wishes,

John,

One of the things you are talking about is what I call ground speed. Higher stroke speed may or may not result in faster travel. For example if the distance traveled per stroke is half then it would require a doubling of the stroke speed to result in the same ground speed. I think generally the air handpieces and higher strokes can speed things up. I use a gravermach and still cut much of the time at 14-1500 which is not a lot higher than you are using. Other engravers prefer higher speeds. John B. has given good advice. Anyone questioning the speed of a hammer need only watch Phillipe Grifnee to appreciate that high productivity can be achieved by any method.

John B. and Lee,
Thanks for the input, it is most appreciated.
I'm *very* happy going with a slower speed, and I still find the hand piece trying to cut quicker than I want it to sometimes. :beat up:
I have noticed that some of my cuts aren't smooth and tend to look a bit hacked. While I'm sure that most of this is from my own inexperience, does the speed of a handpiece actually lead to a smoother cut, or is it mainly an expierence factor? Do I need to maybe slowdown the forward advance of the cut, while maintaining the same amount of strokes per minute to allow more strokes to smooth out a curve?

thanks,
John C.

I rarely go above 2300 strokes per minute for my work. An exception would be for stippling, but for engraving I've settled into much slower speeds than I used to use. I think this was at the suggestion of either Chris or Lee or both. I tell my students to try all speeds and use whatever gets the best results and control. There are no right or wrong speeds. I think Marcus was shading at 8,000 SPM with a Magnum handpiece not long ago. The newer generation of handpieces and pistons have certainly given us more performance options than we've ever had. A little experimentation might net some pleasant surprises.

John Cole said:

I'm *very* happy going with a slower speed, and I still find the hand piece trying to cut quicker than I want it to sometimes. :beat up:

Click to expand...

John C., Maybe I'm missing something here, but if the machine is cutting faster than you want it too, just don't push down on the pedal as much.

If I barely push the pedal on my old Gravermeister it will stroke/pulse only a few beats per second.
Think of that pedal as the gas pedal; stomp it down for the straights and let up for the corners!

John

John C.

The "hacked" cuts come mainly from poor graver control but a little more experience will soon provide that.
Tilting or wobbling the graver in the cut, making sudden changes in direction all lead to the dreaded hacked cut.
Try to keep your hand steady but without a death grip on the graver.
There is also the matter of progression cuts in the channel. With slower pulses and the graver held firmly against the cutting face these will be more pronounced.
They are usually easier to see in H&C work.
When smooth and evenly spaced there are collectors that place extra value on these.
They are not to be confused with hacked cuts, broken edges or dog legs in the channel
and I wonder if that is what you are seeing.

Best wishes,

I recently had to use my old gravermeister on a couple of bracelets because my Lindsay was being rebored. I found I slipped back into its rythyms quite easily and did well with it if I concentrated. I switched because the gravermeister could not keep up with where my mind wanted to go and I would lose concentration and do a lousey job because my mind was wandering, but it took ten years of using it for it to get too slow! It is a great tool and I'm greatful I have one.