Carved coin [ Abe ]

[Billzach]

Portrait carving are really hard for me to do, i do them by hanging a picture of the subject i want to carve on the wall in front of me and start carving..i,m thinking about changing to the ink transfer method to get my subject on the coin when i carve a portrait carving..

 

[Randy Hayes]

How did you achieve that lovely plannished appearance around the head?

 

[Billzach]

How did you achieve that lovely plannished appearance around the head?

Randy, are you referring to the background [ field ] around the subject?

 

[Sam]

Bill: That is nothing less than spectacular. Fantastic field, too!

 

[Glenn]

You certainly set a standard for the rest of us to reach for. It's fun to study your work.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Doc Mark]

Bill,

Wonderful as usual! I am intrigued by your comment about transfering a design to the coin. I tried to paint my coin with Whiteout and scratch the basic outline with a scriber. Very limited success. How would you transfer a design to an uneven surface like a coin. Would you try to FLATTEN the existing bas-relived portait already on the coin, so that the transfer would be ledgible? If you did that, would it limit your new design because of the reduced thickness of the coin? Just curious as to you thoughts on the subject.

Mark

 

[Keith]

Hi Bill,
Looks great as usual. Looks like it was minted!
Super smooth fields.
What type of stones do you use on the fields?

Keith Pedersen

 

[Billzach]

Doc, it,s been a long time but i,ve smoothed [ flatten ] a coin,s surface and used the laser jet, acetone method to transfer a outline of a subject onto coin ..I,ve also played around putting a design onto a coin using my new hermes pantograph..If a engraver removed very much metal on a penny, there might be a problem with carving thur the coin, but most of the other coins are thick enough to allow an engraver to remove the original subject and still carve deep ..Steve Adams does a very deep relief on his carvings and could answer this better than i can, in fact, on the subject of carving coins, if Steve can,t answer the question, probably no one can.

 

[Steve Adams]

As usual Bill, excellent work. Anyone who attempts engraving coins knows getting a smooth background is both time consuming and often difficult. You make it look easy. Honest Abe !

 

[CUTTING METAL]

I have had good results using my small new hermes pantograph that I purchased on e-bay a couple years ago. I mounted some washers on the top until the weight was just enough to make a very small line on the nickel, but not enough weight to cause the diamond point to hang up on the raised areas of the nickel. I leave as much metal as possible on the coin before I start cutting the basic design with my square graver. You can aways remove unwanted metal, but you can't put it back once it is gone. All you need is just a simple outline of your design as you are going to be making constant changes as the coin is engraved. You will find out soon enough that Steve and Bill are masters at working a smooth field. Hope this helps some?
Bill, I think this "Abe coin" is one of the best nickels you have done to date.
Keep up the great work!!!!!

Dick Sheehan

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Very nice carving Bill. I think you could get that background a little smoother though, you slacker
It's a great looking Abe. Keep posting. If Steve moves back to PA you and he will have to make a trip to Beaver in August they have a big car cruise, a couple thousand cars usually since you two are old gear heads
I have a couple Hermes pantograph's, I never tried them for a coin I'll have to experiment.
Mike

 

[Randy Hayes]

Randy, are you referring to the background [ field ] around the subject?

Yeah, how do you do that?

 

[Billzach]

Randy, To me this is the easy part of carving a coin, all my field work except maybe some of the metal removal at first is done with a #36 and #42 flat hand push graver [ no heel ]..I get the field as smooth as i can get it with the gravers and then use sanding sticks and a few #600 grit stones and then i beadblast the coin..Remember too, i,ve been carving coins over ten years.

 

[monk]

carved coin abe

I have had good results using my small new hermes pantograph that I purchased on e-bay a couple years ago. I mounted some washers on the top until the weight was just enough to make a very small line on the nickel, but not enough weight to cause the diamond point to hang up on the raised areas of the nickel. I leave as much metal as possible on the coin before I start cutting the basic design with my square graver. You can aways remove unwanted metal, but you can't put it back once it is gone. All you need is just a simple outline of your design as you are going to be making constant changes as the coin is engraved. You will find out soon enough that Steve and Bill are masters at working a smooth field. Hope this helps some?
Bill, I think this "Abe coin" is one of the best nickels you have done to date.
Keep up the great work!!!!!

Dick Sheehan

what did you use for the master template. a paper drawing ? or did you cut an actual template of the facial profile ?

 

[Billzach]

Monk
I hung a photo of abe on the wall and carved him by looking at photo..