What's the MINIMUM set of gravers?

[Weldon47]

"What's the minimum set of engravers?"

.....One

 

[Roger Bleile]

The question is overly broad. If a person intends to do complicated gun work with inlays, bulino, and sculpted relief figures and scenes he or she may need a wider variety of gravers than a jeweler whose main goal is engraving initials and monograms on pendants and rings.

I watched a couple of videos that Dimas Sanchez made where he monogrammed a ring and a pendant. As far as I could tell he only used a simple 90 degree burin and about a 38 flat for all of his work.

When I started I cut almost everything with an onglette because that is what my brother taught me. I found it difficult to sharpen consistently. Not long afterward, I started using a 90 square for almost everything with a set of flats. For over twenty years I didn't know anything about the 96, 105, 116, or 120 until I found out about them on the forums.

I have almost every imaginable graver now but a beginner or someone who only does lettering on jewelry really doesn't need all of that. Aside from gravers, there are many tools in the shop that are needed as indicated in Fred's post.

 

[Flatsguide]

Hi, when you mention gravers like #36 or #37 what do these numbers mean ? Is it % of mm or thousandths of inches? Or something like that?
Thanks, Richard

 

[Brian Marshall]

Near as anybody can tell - that's how many hairs wide the graver is.

And it varies according to whose head you remove those hairs from... (Sam has to use chest hairs)

I've never found anyone who can say for sure how that system works. Nor is it exact between the various manufacturers.

It's certainly not millimeters or thousandths of an inch or any of the other common ways used for measurement.


But once you own a few you can relax.

You'll learn to be able to tell about how wide they are by just glancing at them! (Though when you get older you'll need a microscope to do yer glancing)


Brian

 

[Flatsguide]

Thanks Brian. I revised my post while you were replying regarding mm or inches. I guess you just make what you need for the job at hand and call it good.
Thanks Richard

 

[JOEYS CARVED ART]

Hey flatsguide, these numbers such as #36, #38 and such, they are the identifying numbers for the gravers and the #36 is the smallest flat graver and it is supposed to be 0.2mm wide and the #37 is 0.4mm wide and so on. Not all graver makers are on the mark with the measurements but most are close enough. The round gravers have their own numbers starting at #50 and so on. You can look it up on google and it shows a big chart of all the different numbers of gravers and type and what size they are. I keep a copy of it handy just in case.

 

[Flatsguide]

Thanks Joey, I will hop onto a Google and try to find the chart you mentioned.
Regards Richard

 

[Andrew Biggs]

If you go to the GRS web site and look under gravers it gives you the sizes so you know before you buy. They have traditional shaped gravers in HSS and now both Glensteel and C-Max. They are brilliant to use.

The important thing to remember is to use the size that is appropriate to the actual job. The number is not overly important.

For instance. I have three flats that I use to remove backgrounds.......Small, really small and really, really small. I have no idea what size they are.

For gold wire inlay it's useful to order the wire in the same width as the gravers. It saves a lot of farting about drawing wire or reshaping gravers all the time.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[KCSteve]

Andrew one of my flat gravers is my '24 flat' - I used my wire gauge to make it the same width as 24 ga wire, for ease of doing inlays.

 

[Flatsguide]

Thanks Andrew,
I just completed a beginner engraving class, not to long ago, under Ray Cover. I made a few background removal flats. One of them was really really really small. I'm guessing less than .010"

 

[Andrew Biggs]

One of them was really really really small. I'm guessing less than .010"

I don't understand the imperial language anymore...........I can only speak metric these days.

A case of use it or lose it

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Flatsguide]

Andrew, I guess I should get on the bandwagon. .010" is about 0.25mm. Correct? I wish I was more conversant in the metric system than I am. It IS a much better system. I have been using the decimal system for over 65 years and have to mentally convert metric to decimal to visualize size. Oh well old dogs and such.
Richard

 

[SamW]

.03937 takes care of it all!

 

[Flatsguide]

Or 25.4 or TLAR

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I don't know......you foreigners

I wish you would speak English or at least New Zealandese

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Flatsguide]

Lol ! TLAR = That Looks About Right

 

[McAhron]

Minimum graver count! Geek factor X neccesity + use ÷ money= Minimum graver count.

 

[Sam]

Andrew: The English system is actually quite simple once you learn it. Here's a short tutorial that'll help you.

 

[SamW]

I think there is a zero missing.

 

[atexascowboy2011]

Deja vu!
Sam's ancestor was an Egyptian Pharaoh(TGFSC!).