Help, please: Engraving Brass sundial

[sunter]

Hi... I'm new to this forum, chosen because of such a huge following.
I'm building an Armillary Sphere ( sundial )in 6mm and 10mm brass bar and want to engrave Roman numerals and quotations into the material with a depth varying from 1mm to 2mm.
I have no engraving experience, however can take the time to learn.
I would really appreciate advice on what tools or power tool etc. would be the best options for this task. I'm in Perth Australia.
Because this is a "one off" project, I would prefer not to have to buy very expensive equipment. Cheers Sunter

 

[mitch]

sunter-
High quality lettering is one of the most demanding skills in all of engraving. When you say, "I have no engraving experience, however can take the time to learn.", you'd better plan on YEARS of practice before you're capable of really doing that well and will unavoidably spend at least a couple thousand dollars in the process- at a minimum. Not to mention, there is absolutely no guarantee you will have the aptitude, temperament, fine hand/eye coordination-motor skills, etc., to ultimately succeed. (I'm not being mean or discouraging, but simply declaring you have the "time to learn" a demanding facet of engraving is much like saying the same about microsurgery.) My heartfelt advice is that you stick to the precision machining, etc., and hire out the engraving to someone already competent in the field.

also, "engrave Roman numerals and quotations into the material with a depth varying from 1mm to 2mm." Hand engraved lettering is rarely much more than about 0.25mm deep (0.01") and more typically half to 2/3rds that. if this armillary will be of a size to be displayed outdoors as an actual usable instrument, you're probably better off having someone mill the lettering by pantograph or CNC.

best of luck,
mitch

 

[sam]

Welcome to the forum sunter. I think you'd be better off finding someone to do the engraving for you, and the reason I say that is because it doesn't sound like you're embarking on a career or serious hobby of hand engraving. The learning curve can be pretty steep, especially when learning with hammer & chisel, and the depth of 1-2mm you need to cut is pretty advanced stuff. But if you really want to pursue it, then check the Tips Archive link at the top and start doing some reading. This is going to take a big commitment on your part...nobody can simply say get one of these and two of those and you're good to go. The Tips Archive will have links on recommended systems, hand tools, etc. Be prepared for a lot of practice, which to most of us is the fun part.

 

[tdelewis]

I am currently working a sun dial. It is an universal equinoctial ring dial. one that can be used at any latitude. It has need lettering that is very small. something I have not done. I will go through many practice plates before I dive in.

 

[monk]

well, given all that you revealed about your needs, uh, good luck.i'd suggest you get in touch with a qualified pantograph or cnc engraver. most hand engravers do not engrave anywhere near the depth you want on your project. etching with ferric chloride is another option for work of this nature. we will always help a newbie, but if you decide to do this on yer own, you're in for a very long project.

 

[sunter]

Thank you all for your sage advice. I'm building this Armillary Sphere as a heritage piece to leave to my daughter and family. Hence the idea of doing it all myself including the engraving. I'll investigate your suggestions, however I feel that I may be biting off more than I can chew with that aspect of the project. I've already had to build a Ring Roller to make the number of brass bands required, one of which is 10mm by 45mm to form a ring 500mm in diam.
Cheers Sunter

 

[Mike_Morgan]

Thank you all for your sage advice. I'm building this Armillary Sphere as a heritage piece to leave to my daughter and family. Hence the idea of doing it all myself including the engraving. I'll investigate your suggestions, however I feel that I may be biting off more than I can chew with that aspect of the project. I've already had to build a Ring Roller to make the number of brass bands required, one of which is 10mm by 45mm to form a ring 500mm in diam.
Cheers Sunter

I own a machine shop, and I have a CNC Mill of sufficient size to engrave your lettering and numerals, plus A staff of programmers that can get the job done for you professionally... if you need to have this done, feel free to contact me. One important detail, though, if the lettering needs to be on the sides of the brass bands, make sure you have them machine engraved BEFORE brazing them into the rings. If it's on the top flad of a ring, then we'll have to look at that for fixturing first. But we do prototype and one-off jobs all the time.

 

[Steve L S]

Monk said “ etching with ferric chloride is another option for work of this nature.”

Much of the armour of the late middle ages was etched rather than engraved because it permits the most exquisite and ornate decoration in comparison to the simpler and more rigid designs achieved by hand engravers of that period . Here is a link

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/acid-etched-metal-in-renaissance-and-early-modern-europe/

Same today in printmaking– its very rare to find intaglio printmakers who engrave plates with a burin, most use an etching needle through the ‘resist’ medium.
I think it is a good thing that you want to make it all yourself and etching would be more achievable and it is also more achievable to go into an etching with gravers afterwards to clean up any ragged lines.

 

[mitch]

it sounds very cool! please post some pics as work progresses.

 

[Roger B]

I own a machine shop, and I have a CNC Mill of sufficient size to engrave your lettering and numerals, plus A staff of programmers that can get the job done for you professionally...

Mike,
I think Sunter is probably going to find someone closer to home - cost of transporting the rings is going to get rather expensive.
Roger