Question: Advice on hand stippling

[Mrfinks]

So as you can see I'm still leveling out the back ground of this face.

Thinking towards the next step, the plan is to burnish or maybe stone the background smooth and then stipple it.

I don't have an air powered machine like the rest of you fancy pants engravers. still saving my pennies.

Im not even sure on what tools I would need to do it. Or if I did it how to look for success.

Is there anywhere I can find a guide on how to do this? maybe someone here is practiced at it and has some tips?
Perhaps you have noticed something else about my piece.
All advice/critiques/tips welcome

Regards
Chris

 

[JJ Roberts]

Chris,I remove the background cross hatching with single point 90 degree graver and stipple with home made punch. Your Truly Fancy Pants J.J.

 

[Mrfinks]

Thanks J.J

What do you make the punch out of/ how do you make it?

 

[JJ Roberts]

Chris,I just grind a point on a small piece of drill rod,hope that helps you mate. J.J.

 

[Mrfinks]

used a diamond lap to put a point on a broken drill bit then put it in a long chisel handle, works like a charm.

Thanks so much J.J. I feel a little silly having not thought of this myself

What should I look for when stippling, is there a wrong way to stipple?

Cheers
Chris

 

[JJ Roberts]

Chris,I use a chasing hammer when stippling the background,not all my tools are that fancy.:hammer: J.J.

 

[silverchip]

As JJ says I like the cross hatched back ground method for leveling the background. If you have beading tools , you can now create a beaded background over the cross hatching as well or matte with a matted punch. A matting punch is easy to create by heat treating a small dia.piece of drill rod and snapping off the end then tempering it and grinding it into shape. You might make several shapes and sizes ????

 

[Marrinan]

If stippling is what you want rather than punch dot one very important thing has been neglected in my opinion. that is the use of the hammer. the hammer impacts in stippling are not hard or heavy. They are light taps very rapidly applied. This is done by a light grip and constant moving of the stipple tool. You should be tapping at a rate somewhere between 60 and a hundred plus strokes per min. I have limited skill in this area and have seen several different grips used, all very light. One engraver I recall had a pin through the handle from which he supported the hammer and moved the head with his pinky finger.

Stippling requires very rapid light strokes rather than hammer blows. Dot punch work requires a single strike to leave the finished dot after each blow. Incidentally you are doing a great job of leveling the background, I also use the cross hatch method then onto flats to level up. Fred

 

[mtlctr]

So as you can see I'm still leveling out the back ground of this face.

Thinking towards the next step, the plan is to burnish or maybe stone the background smooth and then stipple it.

I don't have an air powered machine like the rest of you fancy pants engravers. still saving my pennies.

Im not even sure on what tools I would need to do it. Or if I did it how to look for success.

Is there anywhere I can find a guide on how to do this? maybe someone here is practiced at it and has some tips?
Perhaps you have noticed something else about my piece.
All advice/critiques/tips welcome

Regards
Chris

MrFinks, i believe there are a few of us here at the Cafe for whatever reason still work with hammer & chisel, it is however the engraving art is viewed the foundation of all imho. happy stippling.:hammer:

 

[Beathard]

Another thing you might try is single point vs faceted. The object of stippling is to change the direction of the light away from the viewer, thus making it dark. Round holes and faceted holes can give a different result.

 

[Mike Fennell]

Make up several punches of various sizes and shapes to get into the tiny corners. Battered old beading tools are perfect for making such punches, as are broken drill bits of various sizes. You might want to make a few from brass rod or even copper for planishing the softer metals like brass, copper, silver and golds