Help, please: Need Input for engraving product development
- Thread starter Ray Cover
- Start date
ithink she could speed things up and cut her costs by using brass or copper tubing for the ferrules. available at most "big" industrial suppliers, such as mcmaster-carr. cut the stuff as needed. the pricing i think is quite fair, i mean at least for me. not meaning to take her "hand" out of the mix, but depending on your woodlathe, there are duplicators that can be added to some machines to do very quick duplication work from a master part or template. that would really speed things up. the duplicators i'm aware of run in the range of $3oo to 500 bucks. best of luck, girl !
FANCYGUN
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Ray
Having taught wood shop along with my art classes for over 30 years, Monks suggestion of a duplicator for the wood lathe is an excellent one. They are very easy to use and the are fast while allowing for pretty accurate duplication of a design. We used them all the time with my students when more than one item was needed to be turned. The faster and more accurate she can turn them out, the more money she can make. There would be no loss of quality of the finished product. They are pretty generic and you should be able to find one that would work with your lathe.
Having taught wood shop along with my art classes for over 30 years, Monks suggestion of a duplicator for the wood lathe is an excellent one. They are very easy to use and the are fast while allowing for pretty accurate duplication of a design. We used them all the time with my students when more than one item was needed to be turned. The faster and more accurate she can turn them out, the more money she can make. There would be no loss of quality of the finished product. They are pretty generic and you should be able to find one that would work with your lathe.
Her lathe is an old flat belt driven 1800s American Watch and Tool co lathe and there's not much room for attachments. Besides the turning is the part of it that she enjoys. Taking that away from her would be like giving one of us guys a laser machine and saying, "OK now you can engrave really fast". I want to keep this something fun for her. Economics are in the back of the bus on this project.
Ray
Ray
Marcus Hunt
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Hi Ray, great to see your daughter creating something very nice. Just my two penny worth, I think the pricing for what it is is okay but is it a fancy graver handle or a working item? If it's the latter then I'd say steer away from fancy woods and make something practical and cheap as they will get used and abused. But if it's something for hobbyists or as a collectors piece then the fancy stuff is okay but don't expect to sell too many that's all.
What I would say though is that if it's meant as a working handle then the positioning (and size) of that ferrule is critical. In the wrong place it'll keep interfering with the fingers and be very uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons I used to make my own long handles from a piece of broomstick at I could never get on with the copper plate style mushroom handles. And I'd taper them to meet the graver with no step at all, like a pencil meeting the lead.
Like a lot of things, what suits one might not suit another so there may be a bit of trial and error on your daughter's part. My suggestion might be considered boring, but as a working engraver who still occasionally hand pushes, I'd say first and foremost if these handles are meant to be used, keep the design simple and comfortable. If anything, have her experiment and move away from the traditional mushroom shape and see what she can turn up ergonomically. Remember, a lot of traditional handles weren't really designed for steel engraving but came across from copper plate and the jewellery trade and it was all the old engravers had and knew.
Good luck and I wish your daughter every success with her venture.
What I would say though is that if it's meant as a working handle then the positioning (and size) of that ferrule is critical. In the wrong place it'll keep interfering with the fingers and be very uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons I used to make my own long handles from a piece of broomstick at I could never get on with the copper plate style mushroom handles. And I'd taper them to meet the graver with no step at all, like a pencil meeting the lead.
Like a lot of things, what suits one might not suit another so there may be a bit of trial and error on your daughter's part. My suggestion might be considered boring, but as a working engraver who still occasionally hand pushes, I'd say first and foremost if these handles are meant to be used, keep the design simple and comfortable. If anything, have her experiment and move away from the traditional mushroom shape and see what she can turn up ergonomically. Remember, a lot of traditional handles weren't really designed for steel engraving but came across from copper plate and the jewellery trade and it was all the old engravers had and knew.
Good luck and I wish your daughter every success with her venture.
thekoabenchgoldsmith
Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 46
Who ever it was above that suggested signing them was right on the mark. These are art pieces. Art should always be signed by the artist. (And not signed with like a ballpoint pen, engrave it, burn it, stamp it, make it permanent.
There should be a lot of way to make them amenable to the GRS QC holder (put a tab on the end of the ferrel that is then bent over to slip into the notch in the holder, is one way. Thats sort of what GRS does with their rubber coated handles. And maybe just copy the "ferrule" that the GRC QC tool handle has. That simple little tab can't be a patented thing, can it?).
As to price... The GRS QC handle is 30 dollars. And its not beautiful. I have a few of them. If the functionality were the same, I would gladly spend 30 bucks for something beautiful over something that is mundane (who wouldn't, right?). If she gets the QC thing figured out, please let me know.
Good luck to her.
Robert Booth
There should be a lot of way to make them amenable to the GRS QC holder (put a tab on the end of the ferrel that is then bent over to slip into the notch in the holder, is one way. Thats sort of what GRS does with their rubber coated handles. And maybe just copy the "ferrule" that the GRC QC tool handle has. That simple little tab can't be a patented thing, can it?).
As to price... The GRS QC handle is 30 dollars. And its not beautiful. I have a few of them. If the functionality were the same, I would gladly spend 30 bucks for something beautiful over something that is mundane (who wouldn't, right?). If she gets the QC thing figured out, please let me know.
Good luck to her.
Robert Booth
Ray..Here are the pictures I promised you of the antique wooden push tool handles & 2 new handles that my friend Jim Lowe made for me on his wood lathe.
JJ
JJ
Attachments
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Mike Fennell
Elite Cafe Member
Ray, It is good to see that you and Rachel can do projects like this together. I wish you both much fun and success with it.
I saw how much fun it was having all that youthful enthusiasm and creativity around your house. Since my son moved on to Dreamworks I miss that here. Now I have to generate my own senior enthusiasm and creativity. Coffee helps, but is no substitute.
I saw how much fun it was having all that youthful enthusiasm and creativity around your house. Since my son moved on to Dreamworks I miss that here. Now I have to generate my own senior enthusiasm and creativity. Coffee helps, but is no substitute.
Thanks Mike,
I am pretty fortunate. A lot of my friends kids turned into teenagers and they no longer wanted anything to with mom and dad. Fortunately, mine enjoy being a family unit and still like Holly and Me. I have really been trying to spend as much time as I can spare doing things with them. Its not going to be long until they are off on their own.
Ray
I am pretty fortunate. A lot of my friends kids turned into teenagers and they no longer wanted anything to with mom and dad. Fortunately, mine enjoy being a family unit and still like Holly and Me. I have really been trying to spend as much time as I can spare doing things with them. Its not going to be long until they are off on their own.
Ray
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