Engraving brass after practicing on steel

[billyProps]

Hello,

I’ve been practicing and engraving on steel for a year or so now and have gotten pretty comfortable (unless there’s text lol). I just had to engrave on a brass sheet, and it did not go well. The brass sheet was good quality .125” rolled stock (not sure of the grade. it was left over from a cnc job) and I use a 120° carbide graver. Anyway, I just kept gouging the metal and diving in way too deep then getting bogged down. Do I just need to focus on the angle of the tool to keep it shallow and higher frequency impact, or are there any other tips?

thanks

 

[monk]

too deep can result from an oversized heel along with the power input to yer handpiece.. lotsa power, you can go way too deep. i suggest that you begin searching the tip section on graver angles. how do you sharpen ? your chosen angles should be repeatable each time you do a touchup. a lack of consistency in sharpening can present problems too.
sheet material of any specie must be secured flat so as to prevent vibration. since you're comfy doing steel, research and practice on brass, copper, and aluminum. each will give a different feel to the graver. it's all a matter of spending time at the bench. good luck

 

[billyProps]

Thanks, I’m a firm believer in eliminating variables, which is why I only use a 120, for now. I sharpen it on a Graverhone with the Apex system the same way every time with a parallel heel, probably .25mm. More practice with softer metals…

 

[Ronald Scott]

I'm glad you had some rolled brass to start with. With my work on cast brass parts, I find some very unpredictable textures.

 

[Big-Un]

Cast brass is usually full of voids.

 

[Addertooth]

I worked as a machinist for a few years. We would typically put a " dub" (a small tiny steep edge on our cutting tool edges ) to encourage chip curl and break on softer metals.

 

[Addertooth]

The dub discourage diving.