Question: fossil watch engraving

[ken dixon]

Hi,
My sister-in-law wants me to engrave some lettering on the back of a men's fossil watch. She thinks its stainless, does anyone have any words of advice, other than removing the back first?

Thanks Ken

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Yes, remove the back first :big grin:

Depending on the stainless............... be prepared for some sanding as the cutting may leave burrs. If you gave to sand use 1500-2000 grit with a bit of lube (spit works if you are desperate) Make sure the paper is backed up with something solid.............I use a very small square Arkansas stone but anthing solid will work.

Holding the work. Again depending on the metal..........set it in something like thermolock to prevent vibration. If it is a really tough stainless any vibration can make the work damn near impossible.

Again, depending on the nature of the metal..............try a wider graver like 110-115-120 or whatever you are comfortable with. Sometimes a 90 can leave really bad burrs and a wider graver will leave far less burring.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[ken dixon]

Andrew,
Thanks for the help.
Ken

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Ken

No Worries

One thing I should emphasize here is ............when I say sand.......I mean really, really lightly!! And just a couple of licks at that.

A small ultra fine Arkansas stone will do the same thing and can be preferable in some cases. You don't want to round off the engraving.

If the surface is highly polished you may want to buff the area around the engraving (after you've sanded/stoned) with a Foredom/Dremmel type rotary tool with a small buffing wheel on it. Don't touch the engraving with it!!!!!

If you can........... make a test cut on the inside of the watch back where it won't be seen. The reason I say all this is that not all stainless is the same. The watches I'm working on are 316L which are as hard as anything and when you cut the metal it sort of cuts, tears and crumbles all at the same time and can throw up a burr from hell on the edges of the cut. You may also find yourself doing a lot of sharpening.

Apart from all that............it's a peice of cake!!

Cheers
Andrew

Oh yeah..........there is one more thing that I will mention............and I know this sounds really basic. Make sure the spelling is correct. Don't double check..........triple check!!!

How do I know this to be true?????

 

[Weldon47]

Adnrew,

Good piont abuot teh splleing!


WL

 

[qndrgnsdd]

OK I'm sorry but watches have not existed long enough to be fossilized!

 

[jimzim75]

If she ask you engrave the inside of the watch cover, and your using straight shaft
standard gravers. Watch the rim, so you don't nick it. This type of engraving isn't
the same as engraving a flat sheet of metal.

Jim