Cast iron engraving HELP

[Gunsmith]

Hi folks
I’m newbie been engraving for about 10 months, has anyone got any advice for engraving cast iron I’m just going over a percussion double barrelled pistol and finding it very sticky engraving it , so advice on face angle heel length ect any advice would be welcome
Regards Andrew

 

[mtlctr]

I would guess a longer heel , 45/50 face. Never heard Or seen any gun meant for actual firing made of cast iro unless it’s for decorative purposes.
kent

 

[Gunsmith]

I would guess a longer heel , 45/50 face. Never heard Or seen any gun meant for actual firing made of cast iro unless it’s for decorative purposes.
kent

Thanks will give it a go, the steel has lots of impurities in it fine black lines and seems to chip rather than cut attached an image of the type of pistol it is

 

[monk]

any cast iron i ever engraved was crumbly. never made a curl. i doubt yer gun is cast iron,, but never say never

 

[Mike576]

I agree with monk, I engraved a few cast iron micrometers and all were very crumbly to cut, no chips just a chunky flaky powder as it cut due to the high carbon content.
Try using a light amount of cutting oil. Keep a sponge damp in a bowl and occasionally dip your graver tip.

 

[mtlctr]

Engraving an antique? Ain’t gonna look right imho. I wouldn’t. No disrespect, its my opinion.

 

[Gunsmith]

I’m just going over what’s all ready there

 

[mtlctr]

Understood, if it had historical value it (re-engraving) will greatly reduce it. See this type of thing all the time, rebluing historical rifles, knives, you name it. Removing dings & dents sometimes sanding stocks & removing cartouches etc. in an attempt to make it look good/ new.would be like trying to redo a Parker or LC Smith shotgun. many of these firearms are peddled as original condition possibly bilking a potential customer.It’s not supposed to look new it’s probably 100 yrs. Old & been used. I live in ohio, I’ve seen &. Examined 100’s of original flintlock / percussion arms. I had the pleasure of helping restore n Ohio Vincent rifle , half the trigger guard return was missing. Another gunsmith fashioned the return & I engraved the simple Line engraving matching the rest As a restoration. The lock triggers & other furniture weren’t altered. Looks like you started might as well finish it now. again no disrespect my opinion only.

 

[Gunsmith]

Understood, if it had historical value it (re-engraving) will greatly reduce it. See this type of thing all the time, rebluing historical rifles, knives, you name it. Removing dings & dents sometimes sanding stocks & removing cartouches etc. in an attempt to make it look good/ new.would be like trying to redo a Parker or LC Smith shotgun. many of these firearms are peddled as original condition possibly bilking a potential customer.It’s not supposed to look new it’s probably 100 yrs. Old & been used. I live in ohio, I’ve seen &. Examined 100’s of original flintlock / percussion arms. I had the pleasure of helping restore n Ohio Vincent rifle , half the trigger guard return was missing. Another gunsmith fashioned the return & I engraved the simple Line engraving matching the rest As a restoration. The lock triggers & other furniture weren’t altered. Looks like you started might as well finish it now. again no disrespect my opinion only.

Agree with what you are saying, the customer sent this pistol to us and wanted it restored I have two hammers to make and fit and the action to work on , we mentioned to him he has a few options just getting it working mechanically with minimal finishing or a complete re finish engraving , chequering , colour, hardening blueing the works , he decided on the full re finish, we told him the investment in the work wouldn’t make the pistol any more valuable , but some collectors just want it to look in good shape

 

[Gunsmith]

Agree with what you are saying, the customer sent this pistol to us and wanted it restored I have two hammers to make and fit and the action to work on , we mentioned to him he has a few options just getting it working mechanically with minimal finishing or a complete re finish engraving , chequering , colour, hardening blueing the works , he decided on the full re finish, we told him the investment in the work wouldn’t make the pistol any more valuable , but some collectors just want it to look in good shape

 

[mtlctr]

Customer is almost always right!

 

[Rannis]

I wonder if the part was originally color case hardened? The colors may have faded out but the thin high carbon layer is still present. Dr Gaddy wrote an article regarding his study of case hardened double guns and he reccomended annealing to retouch engraving/polishing and of course re-cch after the work was complete. I dont have first hand knowledge on the particular peice in question but I believe that could be a part of the problem.
Dr Gaddy's article was in the Double Gun Journal in the late 96/early 97 volumes Reccomended reading (if you can find them) for anyone restoring firearms.

 

[Gunsmith]

Thanks for the info , the frame and barrels are in one piece and relatively soft compared to the plates , I annealed all the pistol in the furnace packed in a charcoal packed box to minimise scale , I guess the lock plates must be ruff castings hence the black flaw lines in it , back in the 1830 s the steel wasn’t as great as it is today

 

[Rannis]

Sounds like you have covered it. Yeah its hard to tell what was done or used back then. Best of luck on the project

 

[edgrabow15]

Hi folks
I’m newbie been engraving for about 10 months, has anyone got any advice for engraving cast iron I’m just going over a percussion double barrelled pistol and finding it very sticky engraving it , so advice on face angle heel length ect any advice would be welcome
Regards Andrew

Try rotary, it's not the same obviously but you might get better results. Just a thought.

 

[Gunsmith]

Turned out not too bad

 

[AJB]

Nice work!

 

[allan621]

Actually a lot better than I expected. The photos you initially put on showing the gun before any work was done looked really porous. But the after photos looks great and the engraving really doesn't look touched up. Really great job on a difficult canvas.

Allan

 

[Gunsmith]

Actually a lot better than I expected. The photos you initially put on showing the gun before any work was done looked really porous. But the after photos looks great and the engraving really doesn't look touched up. Really great job on a difficult canvas.

Allan

Thank you Allan much appreciated fitted two new hammers and blueing and colour case hardening just tones it down a bit

 

[Travis Fry]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure that was wrought iron rather than cast. It's kinda streaky or fibrous in nature with a lot of silica impurities. Which makes it look AWESOME when used as knife guards or outer layers of san mai blades and heavily etched. It forges like butter at higher heats, but can split along the grain kinda like wood. Neat stuff. I've never seen it etched like that on a firearm.