Drawing on curved work

[pmace]

Ok, here is the problem. I'm working on a ranger style belt buckle. There is nothing flat anywhere on the whole piece. I don't see any way to draw the art on a flat surface then have it fit on the curved one. Drawing directly on the piece works but none of the conventional tools like rulers and circle templates bend enough to work. Everything I've done so far is flat or cylindrical so flat art works. These compound curves are driving me nuts.

 

[Brant]

Welcome to the club.

 

[Matthew Evans]

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

[monk]

drawing, and drawing well is a prerequisite for any quality engraving. learning compound curves requires practice. maybe lots of it. get yerself a few pieces of plumbing fittings. sand down till smooth.. elbows will sort of be like a loading gate or recoil shield on a revolver. the bottom of an old lamp base is also good for practice on larger areas. till you get comfy with this, i'd avoid such work on a client's gun. a scrap yard is a great place to find practicce pieces on the cheap.

 

[jerrywh]

Just get a curved pencil. They work good on revolvers also.

 

[mdengraver]

You must learn how to rollerscate on a beach ball!

 

[allan621]

You want one of the wesco flexible rulers. I get them from Utrecht art supply, they're pretty cheap. I buy them by the dozen because they can be easily cut with scissors to any needed size.

Allan

 

[sam]

Welcome to gun engraving, where you have to do whatever it takes, including drawing directly onto curved surfaces. Easy? Not usually, but oftentimes there's just no other way.

A piece of clear acetate is thin and flexible and you should be able to use it for a straightedge. For circles and ovals, if the curve isn't too drastic you can sometimes take an acetate scratch tracing and bend it around to transfer bits at a time, but it's very hit or miss depending on the shape.

 

[pmace]

Thanks Allan, Sam. My engineering mind is always looking for straight lines and square corners. I had a feeling that there was no simple answer. Darn, this art stuff is hard.

 

[Matthew Evans]

Just get a curved pencil. They work good on revolvers also.

Found it

 

[tdelewis]

I did one in sterling and was bright cut. The borders were easy to lay out with a pair of dividers. I did some individual transfers of flowers to make sure the petals were divided well. There is not much space to work with so the remainder was sketched on the piece and bright cut scrolls.

 

[pmace]

I did one in sterling and was bright cut. The borders were easy to lay out with a pair of dividers. I did some individual transfers of flowers to make sure the petals were divided well. There is not much space to work with so the remainder was sketched on the piece and bright cut scrolls.

I just tried some water slide decal sheets that you print on a laser printer and then apply to the piece. They are more flexible than acetate and conform well to the compound curves. Fussy to apply but they stay stuck and give you a good pattern to scratch through. Plus they stick to my wax models so I can work on those before I cast the buckle blanks.

 

[JJ Roberts]

pmace,If your having problems drawing directly on curved what are you going to do when it comes to engraving on curves? J.J.

 

[pmace]

pmace,If your having problems drawing directly on curved what are you going to do when it comes to engraving on curves? J.J.

J.J.
I have to get out of the mindset that you need a straightedge, template or guide of some sort to draw. It's nice to be able to be able to print something off of the computer, stick it to the work and start cutting but that doesn't work a lot of the time. So far if I can get a pattern on the workpiece it doesn't look too terrible when cutting. It just reinforces the concept that you have to be able to draw on your own, not paste something off of a computer.