Need some help

[Jbird]

Howdy all

This is my first post and a funny one I am sure, I am a leathersmith in Utah and for some time have wanted to learn to hand ingrave but I am a novice in every way I would like to make hand ingraved buckels and conchos, I need some help were do I start
WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED

WHERE CAN I GET THEM

AND ARE THERE ANY BOOKS I CAN BUY

Any and all help is welcomed and needed

Josh

 

[Les Riddell]

hi josh. my name is les. im a goldsmith from new zealand. like you i am a bit of a novice when it comes to engraving but this site has tips and lessons that will help you improve exponentially. as far as tools and practice plates and buckles go most of my tooling comes from GRS. here is the site www.grstools.com im sure there are many other suppliers out there and you are sure to get a few more answers as the members read your question.
have a happy day and welcome to the greatest site on the net.
les riddell

 

[Tira]

Hello Jbird,

Welcome to the forum! There is a huge amount of information on this site about engraving - and starting to engrave. As far as getting started you can do that with a pencil and paper learning the design of scrolls. The book for that would be "Advanced Drawing of Scrolls for Engravers, Artists, Designers Craftspeople" by our very own Ron Smith. There are many threads on the forum about this topic and Ron as well as many other accomplished people help to hone designs to a finished state.

As for tools, you can get started with a few hand tools (hammer, chisels, sharpening stones, work holding block) or you can get pneumatic tools which are more expensive. The trade off between the two is time. It's less expensive to learn to do this by hand (and possibly more rewarding/satisfying) but the learning curve will be much longer. That is a question only you can answer.

If you are familiar with leather tools you will already have a good knowledge of tools and working with your hands. Your designs for leather will also be similar I would think. If you want to just jump in I would suggest this:

1) Find and engraver near you and see if you can drop by for a visit. This won't be practical in teaching you how to engrave over coffee, but you can see the tools, the type of work/environment and ask questions.

2) Get started drawing and reading. There is so much to learn from the back posts on this forum - a couple lifetimes of information.

3) If you still have the bug you may want to take a class where you can learn the basics in a week - or contact someone who teaches privately - or in your area. That way you can get started more quickly.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Jbird]

Thanks all for the help and the the greeting
Josh

 

[Glenn]

Hi Josh, I am an engraver in Salt Lake City. PM me and we can get together and visit. From experience I can tell you many things not to do. People on this great forum can tell you thing to do. Then you can have the same disease that the rest of us have!

 

[Jbird]

Thanks Glenn PM sent
Josh