As above I use a scribe but there are conditions for its use. First, the metal needs to be polished to a well worn 600 grit polish. This is to let you scribe the lines in very lightly and still see them under good lighting. This will let you easily burnish out areas you wish to correct. If...
John, I got the impression he meant that in getting teeth and undercuts strong enough to hold the silver he had made the cavity too wide/big. I suggest using gold for testing which I find much easier to inlay than silver and use a fine scribe point to undercut (scratch) the outline and make...
Pap, I never used steel wool on ivory or its synthetics. I gave it a high polish, layed out the design then waxed. Starting with the darkest color (usually black) then waxing before moving on to the next darkest color area. Waxing after each color is added. The wax keeps you from wiping off...
Try a coat of Renaisance wax before scrimming. After each color is added to the design, coat that as well so that the ink is not thinned wihile working on the next area. I used to have trouble with the design fading away as I added each area of color until I used the wax. A trick I learned...
I don't know how thick the plate is but I have found that mounting plates to a block of wood or other solid backup material stops any vibration during cutting...making for much smoother and easier cutting.
I just finished a set of knife scales in Argentium silver with sculptured scenes and some minor gold inlay. Was very easy to work...especially easy on tool points.
I saw a post on the ACGG Forum today to the effect that Tom Turpin has died. Tom was a great friend to all of us as he put many of our engraving photos in the Gun Digest every year. I will miss Tom!