Question: How do you correct shading mistakes ?

[SalihKara]

Hi,

Suppose that you are engraving a gun for 4 weeks and you are about finish it in a few days,

One morning you feel that you are not at your day but you want to continue anyway but you made some mistakes on shading lines.

Do you have any tecnhique to correct them or do you just left them as they are.

 

[Marrinan]

Cuss a blue streak after sending children and other loved one for cover, tear a new hole in the wall that will help with lighting. Take yoga breaths, walk down to the freinds who hasn't returned the brooded tool As for you take the fifth on anything relating to this work.

How deep are the cuts? Fred

 

[SalihKara]

Cuss a blue streak after sending children and other loved one for cover, tear a new hole in the wall that will help with lighting. Take yoga breaths, walk down to the freinds who hasn't returned the brooded tool As for you take the fifth on anything relating to this work.

How deep are the cuts? Fred

Sorry but I didn't understand anything from your post,

Regarding to your question '' how deep are the cuts ? '' they are as deep as they need to be for shading so trying to remove them by using sandpaper or something else is not an option,

 

[Bama]

I don't know that there is a good way to fix shading once it has been cut. I have recut my shading sometimes to try to help it and sometimes this works and sometimes it just makes things worse. You could possibly try to flatten the shading cuts with a punch since they should be shallow and then try to recut. I have had some success using a burnisher to flatten my occasional slip of the graver, I have never tried this on shading but it may be worth a try. It may one of those times you just have to caulk it up to experiance and try to do better on the next try.

 

[Roger B]

Would it be possible to laser weld or arc weld using a PUK or similar some fine steel wire into the area so that the welding is proud of the surface, refinish and rework the area? I know this would be possible on jewellery but I don't have any experience with firearms.

Roger

 

[monk]

in this case i would go over the cuts again. the first one i'd cut it a bit deeper(wider) than it is. the second cut , i'd do the same, but not quite as wide or deep. i'd continue the process, till the mistake was far less obvious. the terminal ends may also need attention. it wouldn't be enough to just correct the bad one. you would need to go over all of them to make them similar in appearance.
look in the archive. there's many good examples for cross shading. that too could help a bit. sam alfano is very good at this. check out some of his work.
unfortunately, for the past several years, i have decided to design with as little shading as possible. on-going vision problems makes this very risky for me to do, such as on a gun or anything brought to me that has real value. i don't like my problem, but i've learned it's something i must be mindful of each time i engrave. i never try to push my "envelope"any more. for me it's not a matter of not wanting to do better. rather, one of knowing my limits. good luck solving your problem.

 

[Thierry Duguet]

You should try burnishing the bad cut then break the brightness you just created with something like steel wood then you re-cut the shading in that particular area. Keep in mind that sometime you have to live with your mistake because they are not worth fixing, no one is going to look at your engraving with a microscope and no one is going to spend as much time looking at your work than you did, what may seem to be a big mistake to you may never be seen by anyone else.
One last thing, if your shading line cannot be burnish out your shading is too heavy.

 

[dlilazteca]

Never tried this myself, but if Mr. Hunt says it works, well then its just a matter of time, before I put it to the test.

Saludos,
Carlos

 

[JJ Roberts]

Salih,Before you have the problem with the shading lines running into themselves try scribbing light lines as a guide before cutting the shading lines,this is how I teach students and after time with control & practice you'll be cutting the shading lines without guide lines. J.J.

 

[Thierry Duguet]

Never tried this myself, but if Mr. Hunt says it works, well then its just a matter of time, before I put it to the test.

Saludos,
Carlos

What you describe does not (hopefully) apply to a shading cut, using sand paper will create a bright spot and even a depression, steel wood will homogenize an area as it "draw the line" and does not remove any material. I will add that using a hammer or a punch to a shading cut is disproportionate and inadequate as it is not precise enough. One more thing about hammer, if you want/need to use that tool on a flat surface it needs to have a convex face (like Belgium hammer), a flat hammer head (like German hammer) is more likely to create an indentation when you hit a flat surface with the edge of the head.

 

[SalihKara]

Thanks a lot for all your valuable information,

It really helped me.

 

[Choppers_rule]

I have the same problem sometimes. Due to the shading lines were to close to each other, my graver derailed to the next line

 

[Andrew Biggs]

You need a razor sharp graver and keep turning the vise or turntable......if you are tracking into previous cuts then in all likelihood your graver is blunt.

Too much is made of dubbing points to make the tip last longer. Constant sharpening is all part of the deal.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Dani Girl]

Yep. Razor sharp gravers can never be overstated. They dont all have to be the same size. They just have to look the same size. To fix mine I often scratch some finer lines in where there is too much empty space and often recut wobbly lines with a razor sharp graver.

What is wrong with shading so deep it can be sanded over aggressively without serious damage?

 

[Thierry Duguet]

What is wrong with shading so deep it can be sanded over aggressively without serious damage?

Sanding aggressively or not is never a good idea, regardless of how carefully you are you will always roundup the edges and and lose some of the sharpness and contrast of your engraving. Once finish I use a little 0000 steel wood for a cleaner result, nothing more.

 

[Southern Custom]

The only thing I haven't seen mentioned is this. How large is the area. If you are talking about a 2 or 3mm section of scrollwork, Then it's too small for the naked eye to pick out among the rest. If the overall appearance when held at standard viewing distance is the same as the rest of the work,, then let it go.
Obviously if it stands out like a sore thumb it may need attention. In my case I would laser weld the area, dress it and re cut. This is only helpful if you have access to a laser welder.
Good luck
Layne

 

[Choppers_rule]

You need a razor sharp graver and keep turning the vise or turntable......if you are tracking into previous cuts then in all likelihood your graver is blunt.

Too much is made of dubbing points to make the tip last longer. Constant sharpening is all part of the deal.

Cheers
Andrew

Thank you Andrew! Very valuable lesson for me as I tend to be lazy to sharpen my graver just to save time. I thought a little dull graver will make the point last longer.

 

[Mike Fennell]

Andrew has given you good advice. I like my shading gravers razor sharp. Also, a longer heel will track better. Try increasing your stroke speed a bit. Add a little more downward pressure as you approach the point of convergence. This may help to avoid wandering into an adjacent cut.

 

[jerrywh]

Just keep your mistakes around to look at. It will make you better next time.

 

[Sam]

As far as my shading goes, I don't know of a way to fix it if something goes wrong. It's not that I can't burnish a line, but once the shading has commenced any abrasive action on metal will ruin the work. I could probably burnish a line, but not in such a way as to make a flawless repair.

Shading must be well planned and cut with extreme precision with very sharp gravers. If something goes awry, then it's probably best to live with it instead of the risk of making it look worse.