Getting Started

[mitch]

Don't be discouraged, Cesare! We just want you to understand going in that there is no 'magic wand' that will make an accomplished engraver out of you over the weekend. THE most important factors in the learning process are your head & your heart. If you really want to learn to engrave metal, and I mean REALLY WANT TO, not just kinda sorta want to because it seems like a cool thing to do*, then you won't know if you CAN until you give it a shot. Hand engraving is one of the most difficult skills there is- literally right up there with microsurgery, but there is nothing like the feeling you get when you master a new technique, look at it and say, "I did that!?"

*I'm guessing more than a few good engravers actually started this way and got bit hard by the bug. it happens...

 

[Doc Mark]

OK, here comes a semi-contradictory opinion! Although I agree that taking a class is the fastest way to learn about the different tools and techniques available, it is possible to teach yourself! With all the info on this and a few other website Forums, the DVDs, the castings and of course, all the books, you can learn on you own. I have progressed slowly but surely with engraving as a self-taught. Although I hesitate to really call it "self-taught", as I have use all the above mentioned sources for all my information. I've been at it off and on for almost 5 years now, and am finally doing some works that I consider successful. But, God knows I'm no Master Engraver (and probably never will get to that point). It's just that I don't want you to think that you can't do it! Yes, it will take longer to learn but it's doable. I am also going to go out on a limb and state firmly, if you can buy a used Gravermax or Gravermach at a price you can afford, THEN DO IT! The learning curve is so much shorter with power tools. I know the purists disagree with this and feel that one should learn to use hand push and hammer and chisel first, but we all have an unpublished expiration date hardwired into our systems and we need to spend time wisely! If you really have the desire and, more importantly, the drive, you WILL SUCCEED! The first thing you need to do, is go through the entire "Tips Archive" on this site and then do searches for specific questions you may have. This is going to take many hours but you will learn soooo.. much important info quickly that many masters took years to learn. Just make use of all the sources of information available to you, ask questions here and just jump in and do it!

 

[KCSteve]

Doc Mark, I for one agree with you.

What tool you use has very little impact on your actual engraving but the modern pneumatic tools make it much easier to learn. Just by myself reading books and posts I've figured out how to cut with a hammer and chisel in a pretty short time. I'm not good at it, but I can do it and could get much better with even a few days of practice. Same with push engraving - no matter what tools you use in the end some of your work is going to be push.

But note that I've picked these other techniques after I already knew the basics of engraving. When I started out I started with air-assist and learning to cut a line took literally less than a minute. Learning to cut a good line took longer, and I'm still working on what to do with the darn thing, but I was working on engraving (albeit poorly) within an extremely short time. Had I started with hand push or H&C I would have been dividing my time and attention between mastering the technique and mastering the art. There's a very good reason why the traditional route with traditional tools involves plate after plate of straight lines, arcs, and circles. Cutting them properly with traditional methods takes some learning.

And adding on to what the others have said, we live in wonderous times. If you get a system from either of the main makers - GRS & Lindsey - you should be good to go. Is a Lindsey PalmControl better than an original GRS GraverMax? Sure but GRS's latest gear is better than the original Lindsey Artisian as well and in both cases there are people today doing extremely good work with those old systems.

I also do some photography and in a way this is like the wars as to which brand of camera is best where the answer really is "the one you like best for what you do." The real change is that the air-assisted gear is like a digital camera and the traditional gear is, well... traditional.

So don't get discouraged. Engraving is easy. Engraving well is what takes all the work.