Beginner Practice Plates Questions

[ShaneMac]

Greetings,

Just invested into the Lindsay Sharpening System (4 basic templates with sharpening stones), and realized I need to get some practice plates. I'm planning on engraving steel (mild and/or carbon). As a beginner, would it be better practice for me to start on harder metals such as steel (since I mostly want to engrave this metal), or start with softer metals such as bronze (since it would be easier to engrave as a novice)? Does the thickness of the metal matter much?

Also, where do you guys get your practice plates? I live in the tri-state area of DE, if there are any affordable places to get practice plates, do tell, I would greatly appreciate it. I don't mind buying plates from GRS for the first few plates, but it might get rather expensive long term.

 

[jerrywh]

The best place to buy practice plates is GRS. I thought I would just go to the sheet metal shop and have them cut some. WRONG!
They are not as consistent in hardness and just don't seem to cut as well. The older I get the less I tend to save on prices. Every time I bought a cheap tool I ended up being sorry.

 

[John B.]

Shane,Check you PM file in the top right corner

 

[papart1]

if you have a home depot/lowes near by, go their steel section and get a strip of mild steel 3 feet long and cut whatever you want for sizes.............around $14.00 thats 2 (two) inches wide ad approximately 3/16 thick, I do it all the time

 

[pmace]

The problem I find with buying from an online metal supplier or a local fabricator is that you need to do a lot of work to the plate before it is suitable for engraving. If you don't mind filing and sanding the plates to get mill scale off then online is definitely cheaper. I picked up a cheap belt sander and dress both sides of a 2" x 4" x 1/4" 1018 cold rolled plate in a couple of minutes. I use speedymetals.com.

 

[Doctorslava]

I used this one

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[tdelewis]

I get my steel at Tractor Supply, hardware store, anywhere I can find it. It comes in strips 2, 3, and 4 inches wide. Buying plates from GRS is expensive. I have a belt sander and use it to bring the steel to the polish I want. It will have some gray scale and needs polished to about 320 grit. It cuts very nicely. I get bronze from onlinemetals, it comes in square foot sheets. They also have copper and other metals as well. The price depends on the market and the thickness. I usually get 16 gauge. You do the pricing. Just look around at places like Lowes and Home Depot as well and any other places like that.

 

[papart1]

I pretty much s use speedymetals also for specialty stuff............say 6" dia. 6061 for power hone backer plates. They cut them within .004 in flattness..not bad for a band say that can cut your car in half............. ............well almost.

 

[Crossbolt]

I get my steel at Tractor Supply, hardware store, anywhere I can find it. It comes in strips 2, 3, and 4 inches wide. Buying plates from GRS is expensive. I have a belt sander and use it to bring the steel to the polish I want. It will have some gray scale and needs polished to about 320 grit. It cuts very nicely. I get bronze from onlinemetals, it comes in square foot sheets. They also have copper and other metals as well. The price depends on the market and the thickness. I usually get 16 gauge. You do the pricing. Just look around at places like Lowes and Home Depot as well and any other places like that.

In my beginner experience I'd emphasize the return on value from finishing the metal to a mirror surface. I've put more effort into this lately and it makes cutting much easier and from the push perspective much more controllable. FWIW as a beginner I focus on steel since that's what I intend to work on. It doesn't seem to make things more difficult.

 

[wdale.bass]

Greetings,

Just invested into the Lindsay Sharpening System (4 basic templates with sharpening stones), and realized I need to get some practice plates. I'm planning on engraving steel (mild and/or carbon). As a beginner, would it be better practice for me to start on harder metals such as steel (since I mostly want to engrave this metal), or start with softer metals such as bronze (since it would be easier to engrave as a novice)? Does the thickness of the metal matter much?

Also, where do you guys get your practice plates? I live in the tri-state area of DE, if there are any affordable places to get practice plates, do tell, I would greatly appreciate it. I don't mind buying plates from GRS for the first few plates, but it might get rather expensive long term.

I actually purchase a full sheet 6x36 16 gage copper from Rio Grande in Albuquerque 7 have it shared into 2x2 squares.Hot glue to a wood block & practice plate ready. To remove use some denatured alcohol Or place in microwave for 25 seconds to release,then saturate with alcohol to remove glue from plate & block.
WARNING: only place 1(one) block in microwave at a time to avoid arcing & ruining the microwave. You can put 1 piece of metal in the microwave on a glued down wood block, 2 or more will destroy the microwave. I use this method for students practice plates & even bracelets. Chips or burrs will cause arcs, plate needs to be free of any loose pieces of material

 

[Grayson]

Horror Freight (Harbor Freight) has a $50 chop saw (often on sale for $30) that makes short work of three foot strips of steel.

 

[mossleycrue]

Greetings,

Just invested into the Lindsay Sharpening System (4 basic templates with sharpening stones), and realized I need to get some practice plates. I'm planning on engraving steel (mild and/or carbon). As a beginner, would it be better practice for me to start on harder metals such as steel (since I mostly want to engrave this metal), or start with softer metals such as bronze (since it would be easier to engrave as a novice)? Does the thickness of the metal matter much?

Also, where do you guys get your practice plates? I live in the tri-state area of DE, if there are any affordable places to get practice plates, do tell, I would greatly appreciate it. I don't mind buying plates from GRS for the first few plates, but it might get rather expensive long term.

I'm sort of new to engraving also. I have roughly 80 hours behind me. (I live in Canada)
I went to a local sheet metal company and had them cut 200 pieces 1-3/4" square...I don't know the gauge...but they are roughly 3/16" thick mild steel.
These cost $40. They over ran production...so I had 208 pieces for $40.00 ( 19 cents each)
I soaked 3 at a time in vinegar for 36 hours to remove the protective coating on them. (I used the bottoms of empty water bottles) I then buffed them with scotch bright pads. This gave each plate a mirror finish.
I'm able to engrave on both sides of the plates.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Jim