Flare Cut Class

[Skate]

AT[TACH=CONFIG]21622[/ATTACH]

I am just back from teaching a flare cutting class at GRS in Emporia. The students did some amazing work.

Attached is a picture of one of the class projects we did. I used a Magnum handpiece modified with a heavier piston (a Magnum on steroids, if you will). The oval is mild steel.

The flare cut style sure is quicker to cut, but takes more time in the design and planning phase.

Also attached is a picture of a pendant I did about three years ago as a demonstration. It shows that there are so many design elements that you can incorporate with this style - you need only use your imagination. Rod's beautiful work is a fine example of how stunning it can be! His flutes are awesome and he has taken the style to new heights with his gold plating.

Chris's short video was good timing. Great to see and experiment with. Now go sharpen those flats!

Diane

 

[GTJC460]

Those are really nice! That's a class I'd like to sit in on.

I really like this style. The bright sculpted look really appeals to me. I've experimented with it using quite a few different geometries. Lately I've been using a big wide 120' with a parallel heel. Basically it's a std graver blank that is not tapered at all. It only gets a shaping grind and the parallel heel.

I've been using patterns from a Dover book called 2286 Traditional Stencil Designs. These work really well for flare cutting. I scan the design I want. Then bring it into one of my software apps and use a tool that creates vectors from bitmaps. I do a little editing to clean things up and I them have vectors that can be easily manipulated to fit the work piece. It really makes the job really fast.

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

I never thought about cutting so the cuts were concave in form. I always bring everything to a peak so it all looks raised. ? This variation you do is nice as well. I used the lightest striker head for the Enset. I don't find it necessary to have that much power to make the cuts. In steel I would go to the medium weight. I also find this kind of cutting to be easier to design for. I usually just make flow lines and then make it up as I go. That's one of the things I find so much fun.

Chris

 

[Peter_M]

That is nice Diane,

The concave looking cuts are cool will have to give them a try.
On the designing I guess it depends what you plan. I been sketching in a backbone and then just cut and make it up as I go. If you wanted a symmetrical pattern I thing a lot more planing and drawing would be required.

This style sure is fun and relaxing when you just wing it.

Peter

 

[Skate]

Hi Chris and Peter. I do love to "wing it" on a practice piece, but I am not that good for winging it on an actual commission. This is my weak point. Also, you have to keep in mind that I am coming at it as a bright cutter. For me, flare cutting takes more designing than bright cutting. Probably for a single-point engraver it takes less design time. The challenge for some of the single point engravers is to make the cuts bigger and bolder. They often have much better designing skills. For me, I have to spend more time with the pencil than the graver.

Diane