Question: Practice plates

[jldj]

HI All, I'm new - not an engraver but trying to get started learning. My question is - is 22ga. copper sheet thicke enought to practice on? If not - how bout 22ga. stainless steel? Thanks

 

[Powderhorn]

Jldj;
If it is 300 series stainless, such as used in sinks, and restaurant counter tops, run as fast as you can. The copper is a little thin, but will work. Something that works are cover plates off of electrical boxes. Or go to your home Depot, or Lowes and get 1/8 x 3" flat iron, and cut it off in 2" chunks, and you have 2 x 3" practice plates, A 3' bar will give you 18 plates. Be sure and get the (black) iron, not the silver shiny stuff.

 

[monk]

welcome to the forum. you will probably go to the poorhouse becoming an engraver. you can find lots of interesting pieces of metal in your local junkyard. much can be had for pennies. stainless steel should be avoided, unless a magnet will stick to it. if a magnet will stick, it's usually ok to engrave. plain old mild steel is very easy to engrave. junkyards may have lots of punch press "punchouts" there. most are very clean and ready to engrave. if you engrave on the lighter ga. metal, it will have to be supported by modeling clay or a block of wood if too thin.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I'm going to swim against the tide a bit here.

I would highly recommend that you buy about 2" square plates of mild steel to practice on. Put a bit of effort into sanding them with wet n dry paper and get any pitting and rusting off of them. Finish them with 400 grit.

Mild steel will give you a good resistance to the tool without being too hard. Engraving is something that takes a lot of practice and one of the things you must learn early on is that metal prep is all a part of the job.

It’s all to easy to pick up a bit of scrap metal, hack away and throw it in the dustbin when it looks terrible……….and your first plates will look terrible. If you invest a bit of time into yourself and what you are working on, it sharpens the mind and focuses the attention considerably.

Engraving is a many faceted set of skills. Cutting is only one of them.

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your engraving journey.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[canadian]

Andrew,

I just want you to know that you hit the nail on the head with your advice.

I think that to many people overlook the need to prepare yourself as well as your material for the job. The cleaning and the preparing of the plates will do just that. In the old time the masters would pray to gods or the spirits for guidance and help. That also focused the mind and sharpened the spirit.

I always appreciate you comments greatly because they come form the heart and they are honest.

Keep up the good work.

Best,

Boris.

 

[jldj]

Thanks for the advice guys. Everyone has been helpful - Andrew your advise will work well for later because I was a metal finisher for many more years than I've been a jeweler and can finish any junk metal to a mirror finish regardless of condition - provided the metal can withstand the stress(is thick enough). For right now I'm going to be using a Ngraver Magna-graver vari-pact which belongs to me but is at my job. My microscope is there also. I'll be practicing every chance I get(all day on my off days). I also want to try push engraving at home at night since I can't afford two engravers right now. That's why I was considering copper as practice material. Now I see I can get 20ga. - 12" x 24" off e-bay for a price I can afford. Later if I improve I'll bring my scope and engraver home and practice alot more with it. Hoping to get the Lindsay Classic or maybe the Palm control if I ever get good enough to warrant the investment. Thanks again, jldj

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Here's my 2 cents worth on the subject. Firstly, what kind of things are you intending to engrave? If you are going to stick with soft metals for jewellery, etc., then by all means use copper as a practice plate. But if you intend to engrave anything made of harder metals such as knives or firearms then use steel. In fact, if you learn using steel to practice on you can cut other softer metals with no real problem, but it's a bit more difficult the other way round.

You can start learning all the basic cuts using a push graver or hammer and chisel. It's more difficult than the air assisted route because you have to build muscle memory and graver control at the same time. If you hack away at a copper plate you'll have no problems cutting but won't build muscle memory.

If you end up buying ready prepared practice plates from somewhere like GRS I'd also advise going for cronite steel. The ordinary practice plates are very soft and sticky and should really be polished first to get the most out of them. Cronite is already polished, and in my opinion, gives that little bit of resistance needed to give a good clean cut.

Don't forget that reading material either if you're going the self taught route. Ron Smith's book of scroll design and James Meek's book are invaluable and should be in every beginners library. Remember, tools do not have to cost a fortune but you will have to spend some money to get set up. All things considered though, engraving is cheaper than a lot of other things to get into but the major sacrifice is going to be your time.

 

[Congo509]

It was mentioned above about thinner gauge practices plates and needing to be reinforced ( so it does not become a trampoline) what gauge thickness ( thinness in this case ) do you guys suggest that would start needing the clay or wood or pitch as backing? Or is this more of a play by ear as you work the plate and feel vibration and so on through experience?

 

[John B.]

Thickness of practice plates and support for thin ones depends on what type of engraving you are going to do.
It is advisable to support thin plates at all times as it cuts down graver point breakage due to vibration. and bouncing.
Even thicker plates will benefit from support if you are practicing inlays or sculpture.
Hot melt glue or double sticky carpet the plate to a thicker metal plate or block of wood.
A few drops of acetone will release your plate without bending or prying,

 

[monk]

i never practiced on much thinner than .030. if you want to clamp in the vise jaws without some kind of support, i'd go with .062. thinner stuff may buckle as well as give a bit of bounce.

 

[monk]

It was mentioned above about thinner gauge practices plates and needing to be reinforced ( so it does not become a trampoline) what gauge thickness ( thinness in this case ) do you guys suggest that would start needing the clay or wood or pitch as backing? Or is this more of a play by ear as you work the plate and feel vibration and so on through experience?

i don't think it's a "one-size fits all" situation. experiment. see what works for you and go with it. most that reply here just say what works well for them. such may not work well for you.

 

[tdelewis]

I make my practice plates from the flat steel stock sold at places like Tractor Supply or hardware stores. I cut them to the length on my band saw and sand and polish them on my belt sander. I can use two sides and sand and polish them a second time if I don't want to save them and use them over.

 

[JohnC]

I have to agree with Andrew, sanding your plates give you experience with finishing surfaces. Crocus cloth will make a polished look to a practice plate.

 

[gcleaker]

Holy cow jldj you brought out all of the really big guns with your question, prepping your work is most important but no one talked about filing prior to sanding, good file work will saves hours of sanding.as for practice plates try this rule when you clamp your work into the vise and it flexes then the work needs to be hot glue it to a backing of some kind unless you really need to work on your graver sharpening skills. black iron pipe nipples work nice for a round barrel substitute. copper plex fittings for softer work they are close to silver with their hardness. And there are all kinds of hand tools that can be enhanced, and they will force you to develop your skills on different radius angles and the movement of your tool and vise. FYI like my enormous beer belly is often in the way forcing me to reset my work to allow clearance just a few thoughts that come from the dark cryptic place that I call a mind.

 

[JohnC]

So if you want to take this topic over the top. Use 5/16 or 3/8 steel plates.
Filing off poorly done work and sanding smooth again so better work can be attempted again. This type of metal refinishing teaches the effort of correcting poor work. After a few of these experiences, you will conclude that more careful work takes less time and effort in the long run. the attached photo that improvement comes over time. the plate on the right was done by John Shippers. The plate on the left is mine. Any body think I am ready for gun steel?