Beginner Engraving Tools

[Danomite]

Hi Everyone,

First post here. I am interested in getting involved in engraving. I don't have the kind of budget to buy a graversmith or anything, yet. I know it's a little more difficult, but I was thinking of trying it out by hand anyway before I start laying out big bucks.

Since I'm just beginning, I know I don't need a lot of different tools. I found this set on Rio Grande, Engraving and Texturing Kit and I thought that might be a good set to start with.

I don't plan on engraving anything large to start with. I actually don't plan on engraving anything of value at all for quite a while (ha), just maybe some brass or steel plates.

I also plan on making a bowling ball vice. I know this is probably going against the grain, but I have some experience sharpening knives from doing woodcarving previously, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get by doing it by hand until I can afford a powerhone.

I was hoping someone could take a quick look and give me their thoughts on these tools. Would this be a good starting point? Is it too much? Should I just buy a square graver and start adding tools one by one?

Thanks for any help,
Dan

 

[monk]

bowling ball vise way better than none at all. i have one that i use to this day for very large, flat plates and such. if you email me , i'll send you fotos of how i modified the ball to make it useful
jayismonk450@gmail.com. any question you'll likely ever ask, has already been answered here on the forum. welcome to this forum, and i command thee-- start reading ! good luck

 

[Danomite]

Thanks, Monk, I just sent you an e-mail.

As it always works, immediately after I posted I found the tips archive above. If anyone would still care to weigh in on that set I previously mentioned I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[dlilazteca]

When it comes to push gravers, in my time on this site I have not seen much activity concerning that style of engraving. Search youtube you will see you must work with really soft metals, silver, gold. Im sure there other cheaper metals but I dont think there are many options to pick from. Use the search button read, read and then when your tired read some more. There is a wealth of information here. Now there is also hammer can chisel work, then you jump to the powered tools.

Lo barato sale caro, old saying "when you buy something cheap it turns out to be really expensive"

In my opinion dont buy for the now, buy for the future, what are your end goals. Buy for that and you not only save money in the long run on tools, but you will cut your learning curve by many, many years.

Your best friend will be this site, read many have had the same questions and have been answered. There is not clear answer for what you ask, you can buy the set and then realize very quickly that you want to do more but cant because of the tools, then there you are buying more, usually buying the tools you should have bought in the first place, or maybe you'll be happy working with the tools you have and never pick up air assisted tools.

Like I said before your end goal is what should guide you.

I almost forgot for the non air assisted route, you will need more guidance from someone with experience, as this art form in my opinion takes longer to master more variables to control.

Now I know I would not be where I am today with out Gerry. He as taken me under his wing (pun) and really helped place together what I have learned form READING and watching dvds. Then with his guidance It all comes together, well at least some of the time..hahaha.

If you look at the GRS website their new class schedule is up, and I have yet to see a class for push gravers, not to say it has never or will never happen. Just something for you to consider.

Read the tips section there is a list for tools there

 

[Roger Bleile]

http://www.engraverscafe.com/showthread.php?13891-Tool-List-for-Beginners

 

[zzcutter]

Just get yourself a hammer and chisel and your good to go

 

[Terrezar]

When I wanted to start engraving I was told to learn to walk bofore I tried to run. A friend of mine has got an air assisted graver, and he does most of his work without it. I am not saying that the air assist is a bad idea, but it will not kill you to wait with it. I will however give you the following advice:
Get a good sharpening system. A power hone is not essential, but something to make sure the graver gets the rightgeometry is. http://www.grstools.com/tool-sharpening/sharpening-fixtures/003-570.html This fixture is worth every penny, and can be used to sharpen every kind of graver there is. Instead of a powerhone you can try reading this and starting from that http://www.engraverscafe.com/showthread.php?14579-My-homemade-stuff&highlight=homemade+stuff.

When it comes to the graver itself it doesn't realy matter much what you use, but if you are planning on starting with air-assist later you may want to use a system that allows you to use the same gravers with the palmpush as with air-assist. Take a look at these two sites http://www.grstools.com/ & http://airgraver.com/. They both offers some of the best tools on the marked.

Also, beeing as you are starting with palmpush I would advice you to start off by engraving flat plates of copper. Both brass and steel are hard to start with and the cuts get wierd and uneven. Copper, on the other hand, is just like engraving silver.

 

[dlilazteca]

I just put this you for sale.

I really helped me, it was the first book I bought, recommended by many here.


http://www.engraverscafe.com/showthread.php?t=15654 Engraving Historic Firearms By John Schippers
Carlos De La O III

 

[Southern Custom]

Take a look at the basic hand engraving set sold by Steve Lindsay. Learning to sharpen is half the battle and this set will do you little good without that knowledge. Learning to sharpen 6 different styles of engraver by hand would be a nightmare. Stick with one type. 90% of what I do is done with one basic shape.
http://www.airgraver.com/Hand_Engraving_Tools_Overview.htm Scroll to the bottom and look for the manual push graver set.
Good luck!
Layne

 

[Danomite]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to do a little more browsing around here probably before I purchase anything.