1st attemps at inlay, HELP! PART II

[Doc Mark]

Ok, I just received my new toys, ie. drawplate and a collection of finishing stones. Now more queations arrise. I'm still only using annealed copper but it's working quite well. I can now do tight curves etc. without tearing up the lines. However, after I smooth the inlayed surface with the stones, what do I do to restore the high shine. The finest stone I found was 1200 grit and it makes a nice smooth, flat surface, but it's dull. The stoneing oil that I got from Gesswein also seems to darken the metal somewhat. What can I polish with that won't round off the engraved lines? Are emery cloths finer than 1200 grit?

The next big question concerns the drawplate. I lubricated the annealed wire and tapered the end to get it to pass through the holes. But when I get down to around 0.500 I can't seem to get the tapered fine wire to even enter the hole without bending severely. I'm annealing before every pass. When I taper the wire small enough to enter the next hole, the tip of the wire breaks as I begin to pull it though the drawplate! I have some fine, smooth beaked pliers ( no serrations) and yet I can't pull the wire without snapping it off just at the point where the taper ends. Am I doing something wrong, or is it that copper is so much less malleable than gold?

Help again!

Mark

 

[jacques herbst]

wire

how do jou start of with your wire,do you use existing copper wire or do you melt you own and start from there?if you are using existing wire and just making it thinner that is probably jour problem.

 

[hmw]

Doc, I have found paper in 2500 grit at paint stores that specialize in automotive finishes and body work materials. Thats what I use for polishing gravers. I have also used 000 steel wool to get a shine back on metal

 

[Ray Cover]

Doc,

Glad to hear about the progress.

Here is what I do with the copper wire.

I take #10 or #12 house electrical wire and I draw down from that. Make sure you are using good quality copper wire. Some of the cheap stuff has other crap alloyed in with it which makes it stiff. Find a residential electrician and he will know what I'm talking about. Ask him if he can get you some of his short scraps of good wire (soft wire).

Here is the trick that works for me on the drawplate. When the wire is large I aneal every couple passes. once the wire gets very small I only aneal once I am to the size I want. I may draw five times but when the wire is tiny it is still easy to pull through. This does a lot to prevent the breakage problems. Also, if your drawplate is not an carbide one you must keep it well lubed.

As for the finish.

Once I get things flushed with the stones (and I usually stop out at about 800 grit) I switch to paper. I generally start with 800 wet or dry. Then I tend to switch to a micro graded paper. The micro graded papers tend to be more uniform in the structure of the abrasive and that tends to lay down a more uniform finish.

Remeber to keep all you final finish strokes going in exaclty the same direction and use a block. this is harder to do than mopst people think.

Ray

 

[Ken Hurst]

Doc, try to pull straight through from the draw plate ( 90* from draw plate) and be sure the wire isn't bent at its juncture with the plyers. Ken

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Doc if your having trouble getting the end small enough. Get a file or sanding stick and roll it over the end of your wire while the wire is sitting on the bench flat. Make sure you have enough wire through the draw plate to get a good grip and pull a little and then re-grip the wire and pull it through. Make sure you wire is dead soft especially when drawing very thin wire.
Mike

 

[Dave London]

Doc
I file the end of the wire about a 1/2 inch and as others have said regrip the dead soft wire after it starts through the die and lot of lube.

 

[Doc Mark]

Thanks guys.

I'll try all these suggestions tomorrow (actually today, since it's already !2:30!), after I get all the darn Christmas decorations off the house. Boy. do I love crawling around on the roof!

By the way, after closer study of several examples of gold inlay, it appears in the photos that several engravers "renew" the outline of the inlay to some extent with a freshly engraved line. Is this normal practice, or am I seeing the photos incorrectly and there really isn't a line engraved over the junction of steel and gold?

Mark

 

[Dave London]

Doc
John B gave me some advise to add another line around the inlay to help set it off and make the gold stand out better. Thanks John B it worked and I like the results.

 

[Sam]

Doc: Get some Burr Life lube from Rio Grande, and hold it with your left hand in front of your draw plate so the wire passes over the stuff as it's pulled through. The heat will apply an even coating of the lube over your wire for the next pull. One of my students showed me this trick, and it's excellent.

A few ways of tapering wire for drawing are to file it, roll it between two heavy pieces of steel (I used 3/4" lathe tools), or simply grind a taper using a 260 grit wheel on the Powerhone (this is my preferred method).

I draw gold down to 30 ga, and the thinner it gets the more difficult it is to keep from breaking. A good carbide draw plate, proper annealing, and lube (beeswax, Burr Life, etc) are essential. When the wire does break, I find that a long stream of cussin' gives me some relief, but has no effect on the wire. / ~Sam

 

[John B.]

Doc
John B gave me some advise to add another line around the inlay to help set it off and make the gold stand out better. Thanks John B it worked and I like the results.

You're more than welcome, Dave.
Glad you liked the results. Maybe Doc will too.
It does help to give a flush inlay a slight 3-D look, especially on gray or stainless metal.
It's not easy to do on line inlay work but worth the effort I think.
Best regards, John B.

 

[Doc Mark]

John B.,

It does look more "finished" with the outline, but your right, it's hard to keep an exact unwaveringly true outline on line inlay. At least for me at this stage of my engraving endeavors, keeping an exact single line-width is tough, and keeping two lines not only the same width but also perfectly parallel is out of the question. Someday, maybe I'll get facile enough with the tools and have perfect "muscle memory", but not yet. Here's hoping!

Mark

 

[Don Cowles]

John, when you cut the line, do you cut the gold, the base metal, or right on the line?

 

[John B.]

John, when you cut the line, do you cut the gold, the base metal, or right on the line?

Hi Don,
What I attempt to do is to cut into the steel next to the inlay and wind up with the inside of the cut just kissing the outside of the gold.
I find it easier to put some cold blue or Magic marker in the area.
This gives me a clearer view of the fresh steel cut as I watch the inside of it develop beside the gold.
Love your beautiful work, Don and your great posts. Thank you.

Doc Mark,
This little cut is not easy, as you say.
But with a little time and practice I'm sure you will master it.
It is by far the hardest part of doing inlay IMO.
If you ever get a chance, look at the way Tim George does it. Masterful.
Hope this is some help, John B.