the top two fotos appear to have been rotary engraving machine cutters that have been modified. without detailed closeups, i couldn't say they would serve as manual gravers or not
as above: the tool of choice matters little. what does matter is determination to prevail with practice using whatever is on hand. learning control with practice is what leads to success. all the while, it's nearly mandatory to learn drawing/ design skills. a competent execution in metal is for...
push woek shouldn't require a lot of "strain or muscle" if your engraving is done at a normal depth-- just a few "thou" deep. pushing deeply, yes, problems will arise. on deep work, a slip can dang near amputate yer left thumb. i didn't read this in a book, i discovered this concept the hard way.
familiarize yerself with heat treating/annealing steel. you'll likely be able to engrave once the graver shaft is suitably curved to allow for clearance. you can also buy curved gravers. you may get a bargain on ebay.
the power toys just save time. most any jewelry work i've done was small enough that power assist simply was not needed. matter of fact, on small work i woud simply turn off the power while using the handpiece.
i'd tell any newbie that learning to do push work without power would be better...
there are many ways to do transfers. check the tips section. if the base is wax, i'm not sure you can spray the stuff. i'd think the spray solution would wreak havoc on the wax.
dani :i fiddled with coloring titanium. easy to do. a variable dc output power supply, electrolytes, and a table top to work on are all that's needed to start. a variety of quite beautiful shades can be obtained simply by controlling the output voltqge. it can produce some very unique jewelry...
welcome. for me, it would depend upon will i engrave seated or standing up?? for standing work, most any heavy vise will work if mounted in such a way as to allow one to walk around the work.
in my early days, i used the magna block by grs. for h&c work. altho the largest objects i worked on...
there's literally scads of info here and on the net. grs sells quite a few dvd's on engraving techniques. get handy with the search bar. it can unearth much info. also check the classified section of the forum. lots of goodies for sale there by the members.