Bulino critique please

williamph

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Hi this is my first attempt at bulino I think the bass may have been a tough choice for my first project but anyway here it is its a little rough I used a 96 degree point in a Lindsay Palm control, any critique or advice would be appreciated. I feel like the dots are too big maybe? I can just about see them with the naked eye. Thanks!
 

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Thierry Duguet

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I am not sure that I am the most qualify to help you as I do not use pneumatic tools but I can explain how I do it with none assisted tool. I do not think thank bulino work by removing metal but more by displacing it and creating projected shadow at least when one used the dot technique. You create dark spot with a high density of dots and light gray with low density. A dot is best done with a vertical motion, of course you can varied the strength of the dot but within limit as individual dot should not be visible. You may need/want use steel wood to attenuate your gray, give a texture or create a smoother degrade from one tone to the other.
Bulino is not made to create, black and white, line drawing, but more something like pointillism with a richer tonality variety. BTW you need to better polish (600, 800 grip) your practice plate, right now your bulino has to compete with the ruff condition of the surface.
Good luck
 

Roger Bleile

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To do bulino work (actually puntini) as practiced by the Italian masters you will need to use, easily, 10 times more dots. An Italian master like Fracassi may put 100 hours into a figure the size of a postage stamp.

Have you ever seen, in person, a gun or knife engraved in puntini by an Italian master? Images in books and on line do not show you what it actually looks like. Trying to do fine bulino work without seeing the work in person is like trying to paint a picture in the style of van Gogh having only seen a picture of his work.
 

dlilazteca

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Oh man did I ever see the best example at Mr. Finleys house, he has some casting there oval shaped, man wish I knew who did them, I was awed I asked if I could take them off the wall and have a look under the scope, seemed like a million dots, no blank spaces even in negative spaces there was dots. Man of man, I would buy those castings in a heart beat.
 

williamph

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Thanks for all the replies, I have not seen any bulino in person but was recommended to grab some of the FEGA castings from Chris decamillis, I figured it needed more dots but I'm not quite sure how to put more any closer together in some of the sections because they already seem "full" and I'm just punching over other dots if that makes sense
 

monk

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2 issues comes to mind, aside from how rough the plate is.
tool geometry is kind of essential. also i think using a scope would be a requisite. my vision is too poor to attempt this type work. if i was to give it a whack, i'd surely try using a scope.
 

Gemsetterchris

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A scope is obviously a help, though a x10 loupe is a fair bit cheaper & exactly what alot of bulino engravers make do with.
You have a good start at least but lots more to fill in yet!
I did a fish for my first attempt too but with some lines as well as dots, come to think of it I haven`t done any more since.
This was about 20mm square
 
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williamph

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Thanks! I have a scope and used it for this, the plate isn't in bad shape it just has a brushed finish so maybe next time I order plates I won't get brushed, didn't realize when I got them they'd look that bad
 

peteb

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The number of dots and cuts needed to achieve a pleasing image needs to be predicated, I think, on what you consider your time is worth. Making practice plates seems to be fairly common on the forums but what is the end goal you are striving for? I desire to make jewelry so I started with a material which I think allows a wide range of not only engraving but anodizing, repousse and oxidation. My first piece was this:

This was followed by this use of dots and cuts:

This last piece shows the use of niobium oxidation to accent the dots and cuts.
 

Brian Marshall

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Carlos, if those oval castings you saw were vertical, about 5 3/4" x 6 1/2" - then they were done by Eric Gold. They were a limited/numbered edition of 250 in a set of 4. At the time you could "subscribe" and get the same number every year that he did them.

Lions, leopard, cheetah and tiger were the subjects. My set is mounted to the wall over my engraving bench. I fixed magnets to the back, had some cloth framed over sheet steel and they are removable for study under the scope.

Since they sold out and there are 250 of each, you may get lucky enough to find a full set come up for sale someday? I would guess you'd be looking at $1,000+ for a set with identical numbers?

Eric told me that the original steel plates were stashed away to be used for his retirement someday...

He did a 2 week bulino class about 20 years ago (?) that I was lucky enough to attend.


William, (or anyone else studying bulino) definitely get any and all castings by Chris DeCamillis!


Brian
 
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dlilazteca

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Carlos, if those oval castings you saw were vertical, about 5 3/4" x 6 1/2" - then they were done by Eric Gold. They were a limited/numbered edition of 250 in a set of 4. At the time you could "subscribe" and get the same number every year that he did them.

Lions, leopard, cheetah and tiger were the subjects. My set is mounted to the wall over my engraving bench. I fixed magnets to the back, had some cloth framed over sheet steel and they are removable for study under the scope.

Since they sold out and there are 250 of each, you may get lucky enough to find a full set come up for sale someday? I would guess you'd be looking at $1,000+ for a set with identical numbers?

Eric told me that the original steel plates were stashed away to be used for his retirement someday...

He did a 2 week bulino class about 20 years ago (?) that I was lucky enough to attend.


William, (or anyone else studying bulino) definitely get any and all castings by Chris DeCamillis!


Brian


Brian,

Yes those are the ones I got an email reply from Mr. Finley. Stated the same one a year, those are a beauty, Brian If you could post some HD pictures to show them what were talking about, I know pictures will not do them justice.

Brian have you found the hidden animals in the work. I found some that Mr. Finley had never seen, so small and hidden in the foliage.
 

Brian Marshall

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Yep, that was Eric's "game"... Frogs, rabbits, lizards, snakes, etc. hidden in the grass, foliage and branches...


Haven't the time right now to do the kind of images that would do them justice - but there were some excellent images taken back then.

Maybe they were in the FEGA magazine or some gun magazines back when they were for sale? Can't remember, but I did see some somewhere?


I'm gonna guess that at least 100 of those sets belong to members of this forum? Maybe one of them has the time?

Or, if you are lucky - a set they might part with...?


Brian
 
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Dave London

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Chronite makes plates ready. For engraving/ etchings , cold rolled steel from speedy metals .com 3/32 thick still need some hand work but way better than hot rolled . Depends on the tools available and what your time is worth
 

Thierry Duguet

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Here is I think a more realistic idea of the require dot density, the head of the leopard is about 1 X 1 centimeter. I will add that I do not think that pneumatic tools are appropriate for bulino work, sometime there is no technological or mechanical alternative to purely hand work.

leo 3.jpg

PS. I know it is not finish, it is a job I am currently working on.
 

Gemsetterchris

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I have noticed that Phil who does a fair bit of bulino but rarely are they all dots, due to the fact It's overly time consuming.
Needless to say you can get results with lines a lot quicker if you know what you are doing.
It's abit the same doing diamond setting, you could go on forever with details for no real purpose.
 
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Thierry Duguet

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Detail is what make the difference between something "nice" and something actually good or outstanding, ask Fracassi or Pedersoli or Hunt or Churchill or Coggan if details make no difference ? Maybe it is their dedication to "details for no real purpose' which make them whom they are and distinguish them from those who do not see the point.
If you think that line "bulino" is that much easier you are up for a rude awakening.
 
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Gemsetterchris

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Details need to be visible without magnification Thierry, It's the overall look that counts.
You could spend an extra few hours on some things & no-one would be any the wiser.
I would think lines could well be more difficult in some instances, quicker is what I said.
 
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