Moose Inlay

[Mike Dubber]

My, what strange critters these are, and very challenging to create and inlay!
These photos show the finished moose on the rilfe floor plate and the preliminary excavations of the background and piercing.

The moose is in 24K and the lily pads are 18K green gold.

 

[fegarex]

Really nice Mike!
I like the log in gold as well.
I thought you were a "wire guy"...
Rex

 

[joe seeley]

mike,
looks great. how is the green gold to inlay?


Joe

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Beautiful as always Mike.

The blue on the plate. Is that just part of the transfer method you use, or done so you can see the cavity a bit better?

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Mike Dubber]

Questions:

Rex: yes, I am mainly a "wire in inlay guy" but sometimes on a really big brute like this moose, I want to create more depth. It's hard to see from this face-on view (and my photography is lacking as well) but the antlers are really curved in behind the projecting front tines. The body is significantly raised off the surface of the steel as well. These were things were done at my client's request and he was willing to pay for the work and the nearly one ounce of gold required, so that's why I choose sheet. This photo is prior to blueing the floorplate and without additional inking - it only has "work dirt" and oil in it now. John Bolliger (Rilemaker) will do bluing and inking prior to assembling the gun.

Joe: 18K green is not too bad if you prepare a really good cavity in which to set it. Andrew and I have been discussing these inlay prep issues, and it's my opinon that if you prepare the cavity with good depth, undercut and teeth, and if you properly anneal the gold before you set it, then color gold is not a problem. The problems occur if you are not prepared to set the gold with authority - meaning that once I have the color gold ready to inlay, I really get on it with a magnum handpiece. If you "sissy" a piece of colored gold while setting it, and if it is not properly shaped fit to the cavity, it will harden before it forms to the cavity.

Andrew: the blue on the other photo is a Sharpie pen that I use to visually locate my outlines. I hate spending time mining out areas for inlay and I tend to work fast. More than once I have cut right through fine details like the little 1/2mm strip between this Moose's front legs. Once you do something like that, your prep time inceases exponentially and so does the resulting loss of revenue! Sharpies are cheap, and this method works for me.:yes

Mike

 

[Steve223]

Beautiful work!

 

[monk]

i really like the way you empanel around the main portion of your work. it really sets it off beautifully.

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Beautiful Mike, also thanks showing some progress about the inlay. :thumbs up:

arnaud

 

[Peter E]

Beautiful Mike. I'd say you captured it perfectly. An ounce of gold...wow. I've seen some posts saying gold from Maple Leafs is nice to work with. That's a lot of gold, especially at todays prices. It just hit an all time high!