Those rings are not handles. They are only intended to help open the lid.
I machine them from a piece of bronze. First the disk, which is then sawn in half.
Then the U-ring that holds the two half-rings together. One is fixed, the other can rotate 90° on two axes that pass through the U.
A...
Late week I finished the engravingof an 1860 Colt. I needed a Colt label for its future case.
Here it is
I've made a S&W too
And here is a pic with the four major manufacturers
Inside the boxes the mark was sometimes affixed with gilded letters.
I engraved gilding irons with the name Mariette to press the leather and put egg white at the bottom of the lettering.
I made a little brush out of squirrel furr to pick up the gold leaf and put it in place. Once I apply...
Thank you gentlemen for the kind comments, and thank you also to all those who liked it.
I've also always loved the rings for lifting the lids on some of the old English gun cases.
Some were branded with the owner's name.
I made several with a lathe, and then engraved the mark. On this...
I've always be fond of the kind of labels you can see in the web site Sheaf Ephemera :
http://www.sheaff-ephemera.com/list/steel-engraving/
Beautiful lettering with some ornaments around , I spent hours studying similar lettering you can find in SANBORN maps at the end of 19th century ...
Thank you Stephen. Yes, my vise has to be solid enough to hold some guns like this old Chassepot of French Army . I haven't engraved a machine gun yet, but it will certainly hold it ....
@JJ Roberts, Thank You. It’s a pleasure to shoot with these ancient guns isn’t it ?
@707chrisa, Thank You for your comments . These are Belgian blacksmith forging barrels near Liège , but we had the same craftsmen in France around St Etienne.
@monk Thank you very much , I always appreciate...
Bonjour à tous, hi dear engravers:)
The early barrels were made using thin layers of iron wrapped around a mandrel and then forged.
Here is a video of Belgian blacksmiths forging Damascus barrels near Liège around 1920.
Later the barrel were made out of plain steel and the bore was machined...
This staircase was designed by Leaonardo da Vinci for the Chateau de La Rochefoucault in Fance.
I bet Leonardo would have been quite good for drawing scrolls
COLOR CASE HARDENING:
Once finished I took all the pieces apart for blueing the barrels and cylinder and color case harden the frame, hammer, trigger of the revolver and the action, hammer and the butt plate of the carbine.
Hardening was not as easy as I would expect after watching some...
Hi every body:)
Here’s a project I’ve been working on during the whole December , while staying at home due to the pandemic.
I had to restore a pair of guns for my collection : a small garden carbine 9mm smooth bore from 1900
And a pin fire revolver , 12mm calibre, a Triple Action Lepage et...
Certainly a German Loot during WW2 : the nazi's overmarked it with their own punch
Nice job JJ. Not really easy to restore punch marks that small.
What geometry of tool are you using for this job?
I'm with Papart :
You are gifted for teaching. Thank you Sam
Just a question : How can you engrave all the day long with this parrot near your working place?:)
Thank You Papart1, It's a bit large: 32cm, but since I often engrave large swords or heavy guns, I need a large plate to keep my heavy (60 pounds) vise safe :graver:
Thank You Doctorslava:) I did a few tries with prisms and various semi-mirrors.
The best result was with the small glass plates used by biologists for their microscopes. These plates have an high polished face that is reflective and a transparent glass.
You can draw with a point or a pencil...
Hi everybody:tiphat:
A few years ago, my friend Salvi Carracuel , a Spanish engraver who lives in Malaga (Spain) made me a gift : a Neolucida, sort of camera lucida used by artists for drawing after a model.
It’s not easy to use it directly for engraving with a burin instead drawing with...