Search results

  1. mitch

    Carving grapevine on a limestone cross

    I was curious about that. I could see maybe wetting the surface for polishing, or even soaking an area of detail with a wet rag overnight, but wondered how such a small amount of moisture would make any difference in carving. Thanks- I learn so much around here. Very little I can use, but...
  2. mitch

    Carving grapevine on a limestone cross

    That's very interesting. It reminds me of reading about Michelangelo spitting on the marble as he carved details to temporarily soften a spot in the stone. So do you prefer carving newly quarried stone or should it be 'seasoned' like wood?
  3. mitch

    901 and Graversmith question

    kinda sounds like something is sticking. have you tried taking everything apart and giving it a good cleaning? reassemble dry- no oil? with the symptoms, could also be a defective regulator, but I'd try cleaning first.
  4. mitch

    Cleaning up metal chips on floor

    After you've been in a shop/house for a few years, you'll start finding those %$#&ING engraving chips EVERYWHERE. Your clothes, furniture, carpet, pets, you name it. It doesn't matter how careful you are. Not exactly my favorite part about the art...
  5. mitch

    new wildlife thread

    Are those your cats? I love robins. We get big winter flocks around here. Maybe a month or so ago I walked thru one for a full city block- dozens of them on everyone's lawns, both sides of the street. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were 500 of 'em.
  6. mitch

    Gravermeister handpiece question

    Gravermeisters are a 'negative pressure' system, with the spring behind the piston in the handpieces. The motor pulls an intermittent vacuum that draws the piston back, then the spring drives it forward. Gravermaxes and their variants are 'positive pressure' systems where pulses of compressed...
  7. mitch

    Question for advanced members.

    hard to say from just the one photo, especially with it in the stock...
  8. mitch

    Cleaning up metal chips on floor

    i keep a small shopvac near my bench, but sometimes i just use my bare feet. :rolleyes:
  9. mitch

    Graver sharpening question

    i sent the Dyas Farms link to several fellow JRT fans with an offer to pick up & deliver any 'purchases', but haven't gotten any takers. $1200 apiece. yikes. they all were wowed at the handsome little dogs, tho...
  10. mitch

    Graver sharpening question

    I'm steadfastly resisting the urge to 'restock' on any sort of dogs, let alone the highly addictive JRTs (used to have SIX, yes, at one time), but some days my will wavers. They pretty much owned my life for 35 years and now I'm kinda enjoying being able to walk out the door for an hour or a...
  11. mitch

    Graver sharpening question

    I see you've already got the essential Jack Russell Terriers, so you should be ok. I ran out of those about a year ago and my engraving has suffered since.
  12. mitch

    image transfer

    Nope. I have the transfer ready to go as soon as the varnish is smeared on. Keep in mind, you want a very light coat which will dry to tacky in a just a moment, but that helps hold the transfer in place. You didn't ask, but I use the varnish straight out of the bottle, not thinned with...
  13. mitch

    image transfer

    you don't have to use superglue. damar varnish works fine, with a very light application of acetone to fuse the toner to the varnish. then rub away the paper with a few drops of water. this technique has been around for at least 6-7 yrs. the superglue method probably works better, but i...
  14. mitch

    Question: How to center work under the microscope

    Search the archive. This topic has been thoroughly covered, including pictures & diagrams and more info than you will know what to do with for just about any scope & vise set-up combination imaginable. Have fun!
  15. mitch

    Heavily engraved snuff box

    I'm wondering how many different engravers worked on that piece. The photos aren't clear enough to make an accurate assessment, but there's definitely enough variation to the style & quality on the panels to see it wasn't all done by the same hand. For my money, the interior of the bottom is...
  16. mitch

    Wire drawing cheat sheet

    There's a funny story as to why I made up a chart for drawing wire down from 18ga/.040" diameter stock. In the mid-1980s somebody was going to do a huge series of custom rifles (let's just leave out the project & people involved) and I was asked to do much of the engraving, which included...
  17. mitch

    Wire drawing cheat sheet

    I was probably just doing the math in even numbered B&S gauges. My small drawplate only goes down to 0.0047" (0.12mm), which would be about 37ga. Yeah, I've used that hole from time to time, but not in years. The hard part isn't the drawing*, it's inlaying anything with it. Which is a royal...
  18. mitch

    Wire drawing cheat sheet

    I ran across that chart while collecting the surprisingly large array of tools needed to draw wire and in the process of performing that task a couple things occurred to me: 1) It may well be THE engraving-related chore I hate the most; 2) I could do a fairly extensive instructional video on...
  19. mitch

    Critique Request Tiffany money clip

    Hi Matthew- I've been following this thread and the only suggestion I'd make is either keep all the leaves inside the scroll or have one or two more spill over into the next. You've got just one leaf doing that in/over the first scroll (ok, kinda two if you count the leaf structure where the...
  20. mitch

    Wire drawing cheat sheet

    i was so meticulous in my younger days. sigh...

Latest posts

Sponsors

FEGA
Top