3D illusion engraving

[rweigel]

Hi folks,

ready for some abstract engraving?

Normally I don‘t dare to post my work, as it‘s jewelry and I‘m not gifted on the (hand drawing) artistic side. But with the help of Procreate‘s Liquify option I created a pattern that surprised myself when it was engraved.

If you look at the first picture, it‘s clearly a 3D surface. But, quelle surpise, if you look at the second picture, it is flat…

I will engrave more in this style, I just have to make more silver sheet before.

Please feel free to post criticism or helpful tips…


Cheers

Ralf

 

[SamW]

That is what I call an optical delusion. Neat!

 

[oniemarc]

Very cool...

 

[monk]

lovely to look at. how will you adapt this type of design to the variety of objects engravers are asked to embellish ? it may look fabulous on a zippo lighter. how would such look on an expensive firearm, knife, revere bowl, and a host of other objects with compound curves ? i think for flat work there would be a real market. for traditional work that many engravers do, uh, i'm not so sure. don't be angry, jmho. good luck.

 

[ByrnBucks]

Rweigel, intriguing to view and something to explore. I personally like any design that beckons not to look away until its been understood. Sometimes the initial wow factor may be the difference between someone scanning over several pieces and moving along or picking up a piece and deciding to make a purchase on a whim. Hope you have a wonderful day. BB

 

[rweigel]

Hi Monk, I engrave only the jewelry I make in my studio. I haven‘t given it a thought yet. I did not intend the 3D effect, I was surprised by it. It is suitable for things that move, like earings and pendants… For a start….

 

[wowilson]

That’s great

Hi folks,

ready for some abstract engraving?

Normally I don‘t dare to post my work, as it‘s jewelry and I‘m not gifted on the (hand drawing) artistic side. But with the help of Procreate‘s Liquify option I created a pattern that surprised myself when it was engraved.

If you look at the first picture, it‘s clearly a 3D surface. But, quelle surpise, if you look at the second picture, it is flat…

I will engrave more in this style, I just have to make more silver sheet before.

Please feel free to post criticism or helpful tips…


Cheers

 

[mitch]

Hand engraved guilloche! Very nice.

 

[monk]

Hi Monk, I engrave only the jewelry I make in my studio. I haven‘t given it a thought yet. I did not intend the 3D effect, I was surprised by it. It is suitable for things that move, like earings and pendants… For a start….

yes. for jewelry that could prove to be a real eyecatcher esp. with certain cutting techniques such as the flare technique. the landlord sells a dvd on flare cutting. it's worth a look to adapt to yer particular area of interest

 

[mdengraver]

It might make me dizzy, trying to engrave something like that.

 

[mitch]

Please tell us some more about this, Ralf. What size are these? From the photos it appears you used relatively few, fairly heavy lines? What shape graver? Are the lines cut somewhat ‘neutral’, or did you tilt the graver as one curve transitioned to the next? It’s quite a stunning effect.

A few years ago I did kind of an abstract engraving and just needed to fill in some areas. It’s a little hard to describe, but I cut one sinuous curving line next to the last, laying the graver over a lot in the tighter turns, making wide flare cuts connected by narrower lines. Each successive pass pretty much touched the previous one, leaving almost none of the metal surface uncut. I just let the pattern fill in itself, like a doodle drawn in a notebook during a boring class as a kid (or at least I did!).

When It was finished I noticed it had some of that reflective guilloche or moire look, prismatic?, but it was in steel and lacked the real brightcut needed to enhance the effect. Then it got a matte black DLC finish and killed it entirely, but I’ve wondered about how it would work on more suitable metals.

 

[PjLeigh143]

I love the detail! It really looks to be wavy in the first picture! Excellent!

 

[rweigel]

Here are the details:

germanium alloyed sterling silver sheet 0.5 mm thick, cold rolled down from a 4 mm ignot with annealing after every 50% thickness reduction, this alloy cuts very well and stays bright for a long time

annealed while the jump ring was soldered in the corner

flattened after soldering with a Haemaetite burnisher on a flat steel plate, with a laser transparency sheet on the steel block to protect the already burnished side while working the second side

ground flat with 3M 30 um and 9 um Al2O3 sheet stuck to a flat support

buffed and polished, last finish with low speed and a slightly wet buff for highest polish

25 x 25 mm (about 1” square)

120° carbide graver, 55° face, 17.5° heel, heels 0.25mm wide, last finish 0.5 um diamond paste on a brass disc on my 50 mm MiniHone, using a GRS Dual Angle fixture

20 lines, 0.2 to 0.5 mm wide, I did not concsiusly lean the graver in the corners as the radii are wide enough, I had planned to lean the graver to the outside in a second cut, but was so convinced by the look that I left it like it is

I made silver new sheet yesterday and will now tackle the next piece. This time I cast a 26 mm wide ignot and rolled it strictly in one direction, to get a long sheet that has already the desired width. It will save me sawing work.

Cheers

Ralf

 

[rweigel]

one side done…

 

[rweigel]

This time I cut 35 lines at the 1” square surface. In the places were the lines are compressed, this seems the limit of my printer as well as my cutting abilities.

Cheers

Ralf

 

[monk]

fantastic to my eye! did you use a scope? that would be fabulous in the center of a large silver serving tray or some large flat object. tyvm for the info and fotos.

 

[rweigel]

Hi Monk, Thanks a lot! When I find out why my iPad doesn’t let me upload the pictures in origignal size, I’ll post them again, you’ll see the imperfections were the lines getting close together then…

I use a stereo microscope, the field of vision was about 1.5 cm. When I set the magnification lower to see the whole piece at once, I could cut every line in one go, but I do not see enough detail where the lines are close together. With higher magnification I have to stop, shift the piece, and start cutting again. That leaves sometimes discontinuities in the lines.

Cheers

Ralf

 

[rweigel]

Second side done as well, some pictures with natural light taken (grey sky), I hope they look better than the last pics

Cheers

Ralf

 

[monk]

Hi Monk, Thanks a lot! When I find out why my iPad doesn’t let me upload the pictures in origignal size, I’ll post them again, you’ll see the imperfections were the lines getting close together then…

I use a stereo microscope, the field of vision was about 1.5 cm. When I set the magnification lower to see the whole piece at once, I could cut every line in one go, but I do not see enough detail where the lines are close together. With higher magnification I have to stop, shift the piece, and start cutting again. That leaves sometimes discontinuities in the lines.

Cheers

the lack of continuity will become less as you practice

 

[monk]

those look really nice. they are mindful of sketches i made long before i ever began engraving. i found this one in a folder. all were different and done with no idea how they would look when done. i'd simply start somewhere on the paper with a small shape, draw a border around it, and just keep doing that till it was done. that is to say when i grew tired of drawing.