Browning O/U side one

[Brian Hochstrat]

Side one engraving is complete. Side two is now underway.

 

[dbeck]

Can I ask the number of hours this took. It is beyond belief.

 

[SamW]

That is excellent Brian! Looking forward to the other side.

 

[thughes]

WOW!

 

[deazyner]

Brian- all your work is amazing but this one really takes the cake! Thanks for sharing.

 

[monk]

the most amazing thing i see in your creation is the illusion of depth. it looks real !!

 

[mitch]

well now we know why you haven't posted anything for awhile, Brian. you'll be back in another 6 months or a year? looking forward to seeing the whole thing!

 

[Stefan]

I join the request of Mr. dbeck. How long did it take to work?

 

[Brian Hochstrat]

How long did it take? That makes me think of the Picasso napkin story.
In actual working time I have 6 months into it and another 3 to go. This photo is just one side though, keep in mind the action has 4 sides which depict 3 full scenes and a bird portrait on the top side, plus the trigger guard and barrels. So even though it seems like a long time, there is just alot of metal to cover and a lot of detail in every inch of it.

 

[papart1]

nice.......Brian. wow

 

[jerrywh]

Absolutely fantastic. This reminds me of Phil Coggan's stuff. Can't get much better than this.

 

[Roger Bleile]

A genuine masterpiece!

I am interested in your work process. When you indicate that one side is finished do you mean that you went start to finish on this side and the other parts are blank? Conversely, did you cut the scroll outlines all over the gun, then background, then shade then do the inlays, then the scenes, etc so that you now you only have the last steps of the process to do on the other parts of the gun?

It is common on this and other sites to focus on specific techniques but rarely on the entire work process of the top engravers.

Thanks,
RB

 

[Doc Mark]

Brian, this is truly stellar work! I keep thinking that each one is the best that can be done, then you surpass it the next project you tackle. Keep 'em coming!

 

[JJ Roberts]

Brian,Keep up the good work and keep posting your beautiful engraving. J.J.

 

[Brian Hochstrat]

Hi Roger, In general I'll do one procedure at a time. I'll inlay first then cut scrollwork and remove background then line shade the scroll and then dot shade the scene. Though a Superposed is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle the way the barrel and fore end lock in, so I jump around a bit. Side two already has the the scrollwork cut and background removed. I have the scroll and scene shading to complete along with some odds and ends at the end like screws some more on the top lever and trigger guard. Also there are times I'll jump onto something different just as a break in routine if I start going numb from doing the same thing for too many days or weeks in a row.

Thanks guys for taking a look.

 

[SamW]

How are you going to protect the gold on the right side while working on the rest of the action/sideplates?

 

[davidshe]

Amazing work Brian

 

[Brian Hochstrat]

How are you going to protect the gold on the right side while working on the rest of the action/sideplates?

I just cover it with painter tape and flip it over. There is nothing to worry about.

Though I might add, I karat my gold down to increase its hardness. This gets it to cut cleaner and adds the durability necessary to hold detail better and to hold up to the handling it might have to endure at some point in the future. The drawback is the gold is harder and work hardens pretty fast, which can make it more difficult and time consuming to work with.

 

[SamW]

Thanks Brian!

 

[Big-Un]

Your work always amazes me and you are truly a worldwide Master of the engraving art. A question: have you taken any progress pictures along the way and have you thought of documenting some of your projects? I, for one, am very interested in how your work progresses.