Earlier today, I saw a request for a source for ordering practice plates, but I cannot find it now. If you go to www.SendCutSend.com, you can upload your own part drawing or use their PART BUILDER program. You can pick your metal and pick a shape style. It will tend to come up with a default set...
Many people are told to use some fraction of a millimeter for heels on gravers used for specific functions but they have no clue how to gauge that length when looking at the heels under a microscope or with a loupe. The easy way is to keep a few pieces of wire of known gauges of wire at hand to...
confused with dot punch sizes because some are in thousandths of an inch and some are in fractions of a mm, here is a comparison. A No. 2 NgraveR dot punch used by many who still have them [no longer available] is equivalent in size to a No. 5 Vallorbe beading tool. A No. 1.5 NgraveR dot punch...
I have been subscribing to American Gunsmith Magazine for decades. It is a rare issue that doesn't contain something of interest. The February 2023 article CORROSION BASICS FOR GUNSMITHS hit me between the eyes because it showed me why I have seen rust issues on some firearms in the past and how...
Here is a set of notes that I made to help me remember where tools were located on my Windows computer in Affinity Designer 2 and how to use them. If you use a computer instead of an iPad, you may find them useful. Many of the tools are in the same place on a iPad but, because of the smaller...
A traditional triangular heel is made with the graver rotated at the same angle that was used to shape the sides of the vee angle. As a result, when the graver is raised to the heel lift angle, only the point touches the hone and the heel is made only at the point of the graver and does not run...
Attached are my notes on the video PREPARING LINER GRAVERS by Jeremiah Watt. He has graciously given permission to provide the notes to fellow engravers. Included is the URL for his video. If you use a multiline graver, it is worth your time to review the video and learn how to trim a curved...
Most engravings that I see feature erect deer. Here are a couple that are resting. The photo was taken by my childhood friend Grover Wrenn in his back yard and is used with his permission
The question of which inks work and which do not comes up often. To print on transparencies for transfer to metal, pigment inks are required; sublimation dye inks do not work. Many of the color inkjets use pigment black and dye colors, but all do not. Some use all dye and a very few use all...
In a couple of recent posts, the subject of graver rotation angles needed to produce parallel heels has come up. A while ago, I worked out the angles and put them into tables. The required graver rotation angle is a function of face angle, included vee shape angle, and heel post angle. These...
What do you use to clean wire after annealing?
I assume that it is always best to clean it before either drawing to a smaller size or inlaying. Correct?
Do cleaning issues/solutions change between gold, copper, silver, and brass?
If starting with new wire of the correct size, do you bother to...
Good news! The EPSON Ultrabrite ink works with Tom White's Transfer Magic and the transparencies that he sells, i.e., the same transparencies included in the Dubber/Schowe design transfer series.
Bad News: office supply stores don't seem to keep ink in their demo inkjets like they do toner in...
I recently saw a question on an engraver forum concerning 24kt gold being turned to a rose color by a nitride process. I became concerned about a multi-metal inlay project I was planning and I corresponded with Turnbull Restoration, LLC to inquire about bluing processes that did or did not...
When heated, some metals used for inlay will oxidize more than others. When you anneal inlay metal, do you clean off the oxide before inlaying it. If so, which of the following metals do you clean and how do you clean it?
Gold?
Fine Silver?
Copper?
Brass?
Some time ago, I saw a reference from an engraver that made flats for removing excess gold from wire inlays, but there was no reference to what type of bronze was used or if it required additional hardening. Do any of you use a hardened bronze flat for this purpose? If so, what bronze did you...
Sam, a few days ago you mentioned that you use the light spring in your 901 handpiece. Would you mind discussing what you get and what you lose by using a light spring versus the standard spring in your 901? Is the answer any different for the Monarch? I'm not sure if there is one for the Magnum...
I am beginning to question something that I have always been taught, so I would like a reality check. There are two basic reasons for grinding on a graver; one is to reshape it after the point has broken off (or to another shape entirely) and the other is just to make the cutting edges sharper...
Does anyone know of a millgrain tool that will work on steel using a GraverMax? There are lots that are intended to work on softer metals, but I haven't found one available that will work on steel. Is this the unicorn of the engraving world?