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    Watch Engraving

    I’d like to try engraving a men’s wristwatch case and bracelet band. For you guys that do this professionally do you use a jeweler/watchmaker to disassemble and reassemble the crystal and inner workings or are you set up to do it yourself. It seems like that’s a rabbit hole that could swallow...
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    A60 Adjustments

    I have a Leica A60 on a flex arm. My complaint is that when my graver is in the center of the field of view I am not looking directly down on it. In order to view the graver straight down I have to move it down into the bottom 1/4 of the field of view. This makes it uncomfortable since I’m...
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    Illustrator Question

    Most of the info on Adobe Illustrator is centered around illustration, not line art like used in our work. For you pros out there that use Illustrator a lot I have a question. I want a background fill where there are no scrolls or leaves, just like the real thing. It’s easy if you make the...
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    Background

    How fussy do you need to be with the finish on the background before you stipple it? I notice that if there are any tracks left by the flat gravers it will show through the stippling. Am I doing the stippling wrong? I’m using a needle sharp round graver and digging the background up pretty well...
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    Illustrator for ipad

    My Adobe Illustrator subscription includes a version for my ipad. I’ve been playing with it and while it does not have all of the tools the regular version has it does work fairly well. Does anyone use this or is Procreate still the go-to ipad app? I like Illustrator because it is already vector...
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    Apple Pencil

    I just found out the hard way that you have to keep Apple Pencils charged up or the battery dies and cannot be recharged. I had two pencils that I quit using for a year or so and when I went to recharge them they wouldn't take a charge. An internet search tells me that the little battery goes...
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    Magnification for drawing

    I’ve spent the past couple of months working on developing my skills at drawing scrolls and leaves. Doing larger work on a 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 sheet of paper is relatively easy to see but as I reduce the art to get down to a 2x4 or 2x2 practice plate things get more difficult to see. I have a lighted...
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    Bench Pin

    I don't have a jewelers bench but I need a bench pin at a level to do hand work with an Optivisor at a comfortable angle. Setting my engravers ball on my benchtop and putting a bench pin in that is still too short, plus it's a PITA to have to move the ball. What do y'all use to get hand work up...
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    Refreshing a diamond bench stone

    I was watching a machining channel on YouTube yesterday and the presenter "restored" a diamond bore bit by running it with a bit of silicon carbide grit for a while to wear away the nickel plating a bit to expose more diamond. His theory was that once the diamonds wore down flush with the...
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    Favorite Sandpaper

    I'm finding a great variation in the performance of different sandpapers when sanding a steel practice plate. The best performer so far for me is a generic "shop roll" emery cloth from Amazon. What is even better is a 3M diamond hand hone which is a piece of diamond coated foil attached to a...
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    Lighting

    An LED ring light works great for most things. Sometimes you need a light off to the side to light things like pencil lines, etc. What do you guys recommend?
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    Stones vs Sandpaper

    I messed up and put some lightly scribed border lines where they shouldn't be. It's a steel practice plate so they can be "erased" with no harm. I don't want to take it to the belt sander and start over, just make the offending lines go away. Sanding takes quite a while but leaves a nice...
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    Dividers and Calipers

    I want to lay out 1 mm divisions along a curved line. Shouldn't be a big deal. Pick a starting point, set your dividers to 1 mm and march your way around the line. I've got digital calipers, spring dividers and a drafting compass with points in both legs. The problem is that the spring calipers...
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    Drawing on the work

    I know this has been asked and discussed many times before but my search isn't coming up with anything. I know Chinese white is the go-to medium for applying to a metal surface to give some tooth and some contrast for your pencil drawing work. When I use it I have difficulty with it scratching...
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    Drawing on curved work

    Ok, here is the problem. I'm working on a ranger style belt buckle. There is nothing flat anywhere on the whole piece. I don't see any way to draw the art on a flat surface then have it fit on the curved one. Drawing directly on the piece works but none of the conventional tools like rulers and...
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    Hermaphrodite Calipers

    I picked up a set of Starrett No. 243 Hermaphrodite Fixed Joint calipers on E-Bay the other day. They work great for scribing a border around the edge of a workpiece. They are a one-trick pony (that's all they do) but they do a good job at it. The fixed (friction) joint is not as stout as the...
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    More work on copper laps

    I use Lindsay templates with 1/16" copper practice plates built up to 1/2" as lapping plates. Plates are sanded in a cross hatch pattern with 400 grit emery paper then finished with a 40 micron diamond hand pad to get rid of burs and any residual abrasive. Diamond paste cut with whatever...
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    Progress on copper laps

    I use Lindsay templates for sharpening by hand. I've been using copper practice plates for laps for a while now with excellent results. I've tried lubricants of all types (silicone oil, WD-40, mineral spirits, alcohol, Windex) and have come to the conclusion that dry is the best. I have one lap...
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    Using Dot Punches

    Ok, I bought a set of dot punches from GRS. Before I start whacking on them with a hammer I thought I'd ask a few questions. First, I assume you tap them with your chasing hammer. They send a little wooden handle but it doesn't look like it does much. I've tried a few and a couple of taps...
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    How Deep To Cut?

    Are the castings sold through FEGA an accurate representation of how deep the cuts on "regular" engraving typically are done? I'm not talking about sculpting or engraving motorcycle parts but the run of the mill firearms, knives, watches, jewelry, etc. that is done. I know I've been cutting way...

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