nicglass1
Member
hello everyone,
been awhile since i have posted anything, so i thought now would be a good time seeming how i am stumped. how's my quandry.... i recently decided on a rather ambitious project (for me anyway) and that is taking an 11X8 in brass plate and engraving song lyrics ("i need you" by Tim McGraw) on it for my wife. more or less as a last gift from me before i head to iraq. what makes this difficult is one the sheer size of the plate, and my lettering skills are some what... well lets just say bad. i finally decided to just glue the plate to the top of my vice, it holds it well enough but rotating the block and my hand around at the same time in order to keep my hand in the proper position is taking ALOT of getting used to. and now becuase of the errors that has caused i have more than just a few slips to take care of. i can't believe how long it is taking me to letter this entire song, but i am slugging my way through it. i do not know what kind of finish i want to leave on the plate after i am done. i am engraving it a little deeper than i normally would so that i will have some options later on. my main question is if i sand the surface to remove the scratches what would be the best way to make it look even and not LOOK sanded? and is it possible for me to have the cut letters rhodium plated? i only want the letters done so that when the brass starts to tarnish the letters won't and it will leave a nice contrast between the background and the letters. and if it is possible how much would it cost and where can i have it done. i do have a plating set up, but it is for small things such as rings and such. can i plate it myself with the equipment i have? alright well i think that is about all for me, so i will go ahead and just wait for what the brilliant minds of the forum think about it all.
been awhile since i have posted anything, so i thought now would be a good time seeming how i am stumped. how's my quandry.... i recently decided on a rather ambitious project (for me anyway) and that is taking an 11X8 in brass plate and engraving song lyrics ("i need you" by Tim McGraw) on it for my wife. more or less as a last gift from me before i head to iraq. what makes this difficult is one the sheer size of the plate, and my lettering skills are some what... well lets just say bad. i finally decided to just glue the plate to the top of my vice, it holds it well enough but rotating the block and my hand around at the same time in order to keep my hand in the proper position is taking ALOT of getting used to. and now becuase of the errors that has caused i have more than just a few slips to take care of. i can't believe how long it is taking me to letter this entire song, but i am slugging my way through it. i do not know what kind of finish i want to leave on the plate after i am done. i am engraving it a little deeper than i normally would so that i will have some options later on. my main question is if i sand the surface to remove the scratches what would be the best way to make it look even and not LOOK sanded? and is it possible for me to have the cut letters rhodium plated? i only want the letters done so that when the brass starts to tarnish the letters won't and it will leave a nice contrast between the background and the letters. and if it is possible how much would it cost and where can i have it done. i do have a plating set up, but it is for small things such as rings and such. can i plate it myself with the equipment i have? alright well i think that is about all for me, so i will go ahead and just wait for what the brilliant minds of the forum think about it all.