Scrolls in large areas

[Bill Brockway]

Here's a recent effort, on an old Browning A-5. Biggest problem has to do with composition. That receiver is a full 7" long! The factory "engraving" consisted of a sharp-ended lozenge shaped patch of scrollwork centered in the panel, surrounded by wriggle borders, which I never liked. It's a huge area to be dealt with. My solution was to use a rather large scroll, and keep it in the corners and ends of those big slab-sided panels, with very little engraving in the middle, except for a banner or line of lettering. The lettering could be better, as could the photograph. The gun is blued so that it can be used in the salt marsh of south Louisiana with a moderate amount of protection from rust. Any and all comments are welcome.



Thanks for looking.

Bill

 

[John B.]

Sweet looking Sweet Sixteen, Bill.
That should make the ducks take notice!
Thanks for letting us share.
John B.

 

[Kerry Bogan]

Bill
I like the way you made the scrolls proportional in size to the area it has to fit. I've always liked that Browning but it has a shape that is unique and the engraving has to contribute to that massive area. I can't tell if it is the picture or not but it looks like if you recut the lettering it would help with the ballance. Nice job!
Kerry

 

[Swede]

I like the way the scroll flows, and the treatment of the area around the bolt. I've always liked a quality partial coverage like this, and I think you've done a beautiful job of it. Anyone would be proud to own that shotgun!

 

[Karl Stubenvoll]

How about letting me try it next fall in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? If the weather is just right (snowing with a NW wind) it could get a good field test. I definitely like the look of your partial coverage--it is tasteful and not overpowering. Please take your A5 out hunting and make your partners in the blind see how much better that engraving lets you shoot.

Karl

 

[SamW]

Bill, that is a near perfect design for the A5 and it really looks grand. Back in my Kodiak days I used to pull my rifle apart and coat the metal and wood with Johnson's paste floor wax. I never had any rust problem hunting in that salty environment. S

 

[JJ Roberts]

Bill that has to be one of the sweetest sixteens I've ever seen..just enough coverage...Happy Hunting!!!
Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Beautiful Bill....Just beautiful

Cheers
Andrew

 

[KSnyder]

Bill, nice squareback, just the right amount of coverage.
Kent

 

[Bill Brockway]

Sweet Sixteeen

Thanks everybody for the kind remarks. The shape of this receiver is a challenge, and all the examples I've seen (there are a couple of them in Jack Prudhomme's book, as I recall) seem to utilize an oversize banner or belt framing a game scene, which I didn't particularly like either. And Kent, you are right; the lettering is the weakest point. Someday, I need to do that over.

Thanks again, Bill

 

[Bill Brockway]

Oops

Sorry, guys. I meant to say Kerry, and somehow it came out Kent.

Bill

 

[Glenn]

Bill,
I think you and I should swap sweet sixteens. This way you could start all over with another sweet sixteen and I could sport your lovely engraving. Thanks for sharing your work.

 

[Tim Wells]

I used to have one of those and now I wish I had it back. I don't think it could have been handled any better to my taste anyway on such a big flat canvas. I traded that old thing and a banjo for a Combat Commander Colt.

You did a great job on it and I like the Vaquero you did also.

 

[Gargoyle]

When you said "Scrolls in large areas" this is what I thought you had in mind.

These are on a high school at the corner of Ashland & Western avenues in Chicago.

 

[Tim Wells]

Gargle,
You come up with the coolest stuff! Just poking a little fun with your handle though ... Have you been to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC? They have a lot of italian stone carving there, the whole darn place is covered in it. If Sam had a "drool" smilie I'd insert it here. I took a lot of photos of it if you're interested. Mr. Vanderbilt imported a bunch of Italian stone carvers straight from the old country to do the work; he didn't fool around.

There's also a lot of carving in old downtown Butte, Montana. My son and I were moving cross country and I had rented the Ryder truck from hell and the tranny melted right at the top of the continental divide, I mean I could sit up high in the seat and peek over the crest we were so close to making it all the way over at 2 mph.

Well the clutch pack went just inches from the crest and we slid backward in a 24 foot mover all the way back to Butte with me hanging my foot out the door and my toenails dragging the asphalt being the only thing keeping us from losing control and spilling all we owned down into that open pit copper mine. What a book I could write on this experience! If I'd had a banjo along I suppose I could have thrown it under a tire and chocked us to a halt; it certainly wouldn't have hurt the 5 string.

Ok, so I exaggerated a little; but I ain't a kiddin', there's pretty stone work on several of those buildings and if you are ever stuck there for 4 days with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do, you should take a look. Heck, even my childhood hero Evel Kneivel had moved away so I didn't even get to meet him.

 

[Gargoyle]

Never been to Biltmore, but it's very high on my list. I do have tools which belonged to a carver who worked on it when it was built (1880's or 1890's?). His granddaughter had them in the barn, gave them to me.

I'd love to see the photos. You can e-mail me through my site, http://stonecarver.com

I've been carving some faces which could be cousins to the hobo nickels, I'll have to put up some pix when they're done.

 

[Tim Wells]

Never been to Biltmore, but it's very high on my list. I do have tools which belonged to a carver who worked on it when it was built (1880's or 1890's?). His granddaughter had them in the barn, gave them to me.

I'd love to see the photos. You can e-mail me through my site, http://stonecarver.com

I've been carving some faces which could be cousins to the hobo nickels, I'll have to put up some pix when they're done.

I'll put some of the better ones together and email them to you. That's a neat story about those tools, and a lucky one. Now if I can just find a benefactor to give me their grandpa's old 1923 Gibson F-5 Lloyd Loar signed mandolin my life will be complete...