Practice Plate Preparation Question

[slanders@netchief.com]

Anyone,

I am a beginner to engraving, I have stuided various videos, books and searched the forums, but I am not able to find any information on how to correctly prep a pratice plate?

The only information I found was in the Bulino Thread that the place should be highly polished

How fine of a finish should the pratice plate or article be polished to prior to layout?

For a Bulino or Banknote style engraving piece, should the polishing be higher or finer?


Thanks in Advance


Steve

 

[JCP]

I am a beginner also and I have just started sanding my practice plates (Black Iron steel flat bar ) on a belt sander . It works pretty well for cutting with hammer and chisel.


Glad you asked this question as
I need to learn more also.

 

[fegarex]

I'm guessing some may have different opinions on this but I think the practice plates need to be finished around 600 grit or higher. For just scroll work, a worn 400 grit is fine too. When I am actually doing an engraving job, I request the finish even higher. It's easier to bring "down" the finish than it is to bring it up. If the surface is highly polished, it can be hard to do a layout with a pencil. What I like to do is usually rough the surface with a gray 3M scuff pad in an orbital motion. If all the scratches are in the same direction it is hard to see pencil ot scribe lines. Once you are done, it is easy to bring back the finish. However I find the gray 3M pad makes a nice final finish for firearms. If you are doing jewelry or western work, this may not apply as most people want a high polished finish.

 

[Jim Sackett]

One Long Way

Hi JCP

I am what you might call a re-tread. I've been away from engraving for about 30 years. I started out in the Engraved Stationary field, engraving plates for wedding invitations, announcements etc. Also business cards, letterheads & envelopes.

We would get art work from the customer and transfer it on to steel plates or dies for stamping. With the art work the correct size, we would use this transfer method. First tape a piece of clear geletin over the art work. Take a sharp steel point and under magnifacation trace the logo exactley the way you want it. Remember the time and effort you spend here will be repaid when you do the engraving.

When finished take another piece of geleten using it's edge scrape your tracing. This knocks off any burs that were created. Clean the traced side with alcohol. Take a piece of modeling clay and gently roll over your traceing. First one way then the other do this three or four times. Not too much preasure you want the clay film on the serface not down into the traceing.

Now prepairing the serface! This only applys to practice materials or steel plates.
Take a piece of fine emory cloth or paper, in a circuler motion rub the area to be engraved we want to remove scratches and blemishes. Clean with alcohol put a little amount of oil I use oil from around my nose on the piece. Burnish the area first one way then the other. You will get a highly polished are by doing this. Clean with alcohol tape the geleten on the area design side down. Burnish lightly first one way then the other. The clay film will transfer onto the piece.

Hope this helps. Between finding out what I forgot and what I didn't know I am learning a lot.

Jim Sackett

 

[slanders@netchief.com]

Fegarex,

Thanks for the information, this seems to be an area that everyone does in a different or thier own special way, but no one describes anything about it in a general way. I realize every engraver is going to have thier own technique and requirements depending what the style and requirements are for the item being engraved.

Steve

 

[CJ Allan]

I do pretty much as Rex....

It's our job to put all the scratches in..

All work that comes to my bench must be polished "Ready For Plating"..........
Which is mostly Aluminum Motorcycle parts..........
I then take the shine off with fine sandpaper or a grey scuff pad.....so I can transfer my pattern or draw directly on the piece with Sharpie, or pencil.............

Regardless........I want every scratch or nick out of the piece, whether it be practice piece (which I don't do...I practice on customers parts. ), or high dollar bike or other part.

 

[John B.]

The Cronite Company of NJ makes thin steel, mirror polished practice plates.
These come in a pack of a dozen in 2x5 inch size, each wax paper wrapped.
They sure save a lot of time for bulino or banknote practice or demonstration pieces.
Just a thought. John B.

 

[fegarex]

I agree with John. If you want to do a "demo" plate or just do some nice practice, these are the nicest plates around. The finish is realy nice and they cut well too.

 

[James Wark]

Hello Steve,

The way I polish practice plates is the same way I would polish prior to blueing a firearm. You usually start with a 280 to 320 grit paper. Sand in one direction only and have a hard backing for the sandpaper, like a piece of flat walnut or brass stock. When any noticeable nick, scratch or defect is gone, then progress to the next finer grit paper, maybe 360 -380, but it is important to now sand in a different direction. This will show you all the scratches left from the first paper, continue until all of these marks are gone. Then keep repeating with finer grits and different directions until you are at the polish you want, somewhere around 600 would be great.

I hope this may be the general directions you are looking for.
Jim

 

[ED DELORGE]

Hello Steve, I agree with Jim, only usually you will need to go much farther back with the emery cloth, or maybe even a file. In the world of gunsmithing a great filer (one who uses a file very well) will draw file the work piece to a very nice finish. There are two ways to file, generally speaking, the first way is to hold the file with both hands so that it is paralell with your chest, and with both hands move the file forward and backward from yourself, this method is called draw filing. The other method is to hold the file with both hands only at a 45 degree angle and moving the file forward and backward. I don't remember what that method is called.
The most important thing is to keep the chips cleaned out of your file, this is usually done with a carding brush or small steel tooth brush. After all the pits are filed out and scratches you might have put in with a chip in your file, it is time to move on to the next grit. I usually start with 80 grit, then 120, 220, 320, and 400 grit, and Rex is right if you continue on to 600 grit you usuall are sure that you have all of the pits and scratches removed that you might have missed if you stop at 400 grit. This depends on what kind of finish you want when you are finished with the work. If you want a mirror or glossy finish you need to continue on past 600 grit and polish with the buffing wheel with the 1200 grith compound. When I was in Gunsmith school we spent a whole semester on learning to polish, and we got lots of practice.

I hope this helps.

Ed

 

[monk]

i saw a stunning piece recently done on a tomato can lid !

 

[pappy]

Grs sells the cronite practice plates (2"x4") for about $2.95 each. Although 1 side of the plate is protected by paper, the back side of the plate is nicely polished also so you can use both sides. IMHO I would much rather use these than polish up a piece of steel for a practice plate.

 

[slanders@netchief.com]

EVeryone,

This has been a very valuable tool in learning about engraving, rarely do you find so much positive help in the world.

Thanks!

and thanks to Sam for the hosting of the Forum.

I did not know GRS sold those cronite plates.... all I found on the web site is the steel practice plates.

Perhaps a search feature at the GRS web site would help everyone out there struggling to find the right items.

Thanks to everyone out there on the forum,

Knowledge not shared, is Knowledge lLost!

Steve