Practise Plates

[drmgcm]

Just a quick one, i'm a new member and very green in the ways of engraving, non the less here goes. Okay it's a little tricky to get hold of copper, or brass practice plates where i live at the moment. So due to this, i've been practising on hard plastic as i can get plenty of that, will this cause major problems in the future with my engraving skills? when i finally get hold of copper and brass plates.

Regards

Danny Mac

 

[jacques herbst]

try to get some cold rolled steel.i am sure it is easy to get and would work better than brass and not so expensive.

 

[coincutter]

I have been diving where you live (where the wreck is off shore) so i know just about what you have to work with down there.

A couple of things come to mind.

You have a lot of banks there and they work in a wide variety of foreign coins - you can get some pretty large coins that are bronze or copper based for little to nothing - with a bit of sanding you have a plate to work on. If you just throw a penny on a diamond wheel and hold it for a while you have a nice flat plate and while a penny seems small it looks like a football field under the scope (if you have one).

If I remember right there was a small automotive junk yard there. Get old auto parts!

Hard plastic will not hurt your skills at all, neither will doing work on sea shells - right there you have a market for the tourist trade. And a pretty good one at that. You can do shrimshaw/carving on those shells and come up with some very cool things. The only differnce would be in the faceof your graver. You might want to make one or two with a sixty degree face so the shells dont chip.

I know you can get anything you want shipped there in time. You might take a look at buying a pair of powered metal sissors/shears. They run about 125 or so in the states. Great for cutting down car fenders, oil cans, etc.

Keep your eyes out for crapped out air conditioners. Anything made from sheet metal. You can engrave on some pretty thin stuff and still get the practice you need. You might have to glue it to a block of wood or something to keep it from bouncing and flexing but it will work fine. You might check the dive shop there and see ifthey have any trashed hardware. Most of the stuff which is not chromed is cuttable. Hit the trash cans !

Were I you, I would get good real fast and then hit the strip where all those watch and jewery dealers have their shops. Engraving watches rings etc. is seriously good money and everytime the ship comes in to port you could be personalizing something for them at a high rate fast turn around basis. Or have a shelf full of Caymen art pieces. A lot of people deal beads down there. If you can get a good glue gun theyare wonderful little jewels to cut.

Even though you are trapped in paradise you will find someting to cut. Even if it's a bean can.
Other good practice materials. Spoons, knifes, kitchen ware. pots pans. If it holds still long enough engrave it.

What you engrave and the niche you end up in is largely dictated by the local and the populace. You are in avery unique place and it offers a wide variety of things to do whch we could never entertain doing here in the states. In short, I think you are going to have a lot of fun.

Take care and enjoy the beach for me.
sle

 

[Marcus Hunt]

GRS supply some great pratise plate materials; copper, brass, steel, etc.

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Try this site. http://www.onlinemetals.com/

 

[drmgcm]

Ok thanks for the replies, i'll try the online approach for the plates.

Regards

Danny Mac

 

[pilkguns]

forget metal practice plates. use any old tools that you have laying around, sockets, wrenches, hammers, lots of surfaces that more closely imitate real life engraving projects. Do a search on this site, this topic has been covered already with some good suggestions. But plastic plates are Okay to use, just realize that sooner or later you will be pushing a litter harder to accomplish the same thing!

 

[drmgcm]

Tks Scott, i have plenty of tools for that, great idea too,

Danny

 

[drmgcm]

Wow Coincutter,

Tks so much for all your points, it realy opened my eyes to what i could be getting into, i was not aware you could engrave on shells for one thing, and i know i'm going to be giving that a try.

Once again many thanks

Danny

 

[monk]

practice plates

Wow Coincutter,

Tks so much for all your points, it realy opened my eyes to what i could be getting into, i was not aware you could engrave on shells for one thing, and i know i'm going to be giving that a try.

Once again many thanks

Danny

be aware, this is a mayday on steroids: seashell carving is easy but the dust is dangerous. the dust of the abalone and mother of pearl in particular, will trash your lungs in short order. work this stuff wet, and wear a respirator. if the abalone dust gets in your lungs, it , like asbestos, will not come out. very bad stuff ! if you're in doubt, check it out on the internet !!!! the abalone dust and debris that gets on your clothing is very bad as well, and measures are to be taken to avoid this dust, period !

 

[AllanFink1960]

I found some brass washers that are thicker than any coin, about 1/16th inch, and about an inch and a quarter in diameter. They do have a hole in the middle but I found that a bit of a challenge. Its a lot of room to engrave on. Less than a dollar a piece too. Got them at a hardware store.

 

[Marrinan]

I started out using steal fender washers-about 1.5 inches and $0.79 for ten-I used to cut them then put them back in the bin-A store clerk mentioned to me when I was buying them that customers had showed her the beatiful washer they found.
Fred

 

[drmgcm]

Hi Monk,

Thanks for that information, i had no idea that the dust was harmfull. I havn't done any shell work as of yet, so i guess that was good luck on my part, i could have done some real damage to my lungs otherwise

Regards

Danny Mac

 

[Harold Blackorby]

Go to your local scrap dealer and use a saw to cut to fit.

 

[msar24]

If you a have a fabrication shop in your area ask them if the have a scrap bin you can go through. I asked and they even cut some 1/8 steel plate scraps into 2x2 and 2x4 practice plates for me at no charge (took less than 10 mintues and I have a pile of them). Most of the time the fab. shops purchase full sheets of steel and charge the customer for the full sheet. When the job is finished they throw what's left into the scrap bin for recycle. I got my bench top the same way (4ft x 4ftx 1/2in thick steel). Just be nice to them and maybe engrave a little something for the owner/foreman.