Question: Cheers

mitch

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
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Jul 23, 2007
Messages
2,635
"What would be the best advise from the engravers who do this for a living?"

Take up a good steady trade or profession and pursue engraving as a hobby. That's 40 yrs of experience talking and pretty much exactly what I've told my nieces & nephews in regards to choosing a career. You'll enjoy your hobby more when you're not dependent on it to pay the bills. I could go on and on...
 

monk

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Feb 11, 2007
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10,857
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washington, pa
hi technology makes it difficult to really get a profitable start. most young people today don't give a hoot whether something is hand engraved or stamped by a machine i started out just hand engraving and doing sign work. i saw that the technology was a way for me to earn more bucks. i use a laser, a cnc engraving machine, as well as a plotter. i also do hand engraving.
at this time i'm earning ten bucks doing machine work. 1 buck doing hand engraving. that is because i never had the courage to drop everything and just do hand. had i decided to do only hand, who knows how that would have played out.
the cnc way is rather profitable, and that's good. the hand work, though profitable in one sense, gives me more satisfaction than than mere money. to succeed as an engraver, a rock-solid business plan is required to maintain a liveable income. also it's sort of like an adventure into the unknown. are you brave enough and tough enough to make it work ?
 

FANCYGUN

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Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
1,840
Location
West Grove, PA
I'm with Mitch on this one. Engraving for me started as a hobby while building flintlocks to hunt with. Never figured I would end up doing what I am doing now. BUT and for me a BIG BUT was the fact that I head a normal paycheck paying job as a public school teacher. That took the financial pressure off as I continued to dabble. It also gave me the opportunity to refuse certain engraving jobs I did not feel comfortable doing or working with people I did not like. The steady paycheck and fringe benefits cannot be understated. It took a lot of financial pressure off
 

Pipinchaz

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Joined
Apr 16, 2020
Messages
4
Location
Meadville, Pa 45 Miles South of Erie
I'm with Mitch on this one. Engraving for me started as a hobby while building flintlocks to hunt with. Never figured I would end up doing what I am doing now. BUT and for me a BIG BUT was the fact that I head a normal paycheck paying job as a public school teacher. That took the financial pressure off as I continued to dabble. It also gave me the opportunity to refuse certain engraving jobs I did not feel comfortable doing or working with people I did not like. The steady paycheck and fringe benefits cannot be understated. It took a lot of financial pressure off
Fancygun,
I am a beginner and am getting interested in engraving to be able engrave my own muzzleloader builds. I'm not very artistic so my scrolls leave a lot to be desired but after reading some of the posts and watching videos, I think I am doing a little better. Hopefully! Thanks to all of the guys posting their knowledge it adds sure helps.
 

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