Help, please: Getting ready to engrave first gun and would greatly value your critique.

[Don H]

I am getting ready to engrave my first gun which is an Ansley Fox. I have a practice plate done of one side and would very much appreciate your critique concerning design and execution. I know I need to work on the outside work and am will change the scroll work to the right of the duck to match the scroll to the right of the hinge pin. The other side will be the same with a pheasant in flight replacing the duck and the floor plate will have a scroll design and a Labrador Retriever head. The trigger guard will have scroll and the serial number. Please be honest as my feelings won't be hurt. The last thing I need is a casual glance and a "gee that's wonderful!"! I can get that from my well intentioned wife. Thank you so much! Don Hansen.

 

[JJ Roberts]

Don,The back bones of your scrolls look good,no flat spots but need to work on the interior leafs.Do you have a copy of Marcus Hunt's book on English scrolls?if not try to find something he's done and you'll get a good idea of the anatomy of English scrolls. J.J.

 

[rayf24]

Don I will stick my neck out here although you on your way I would suggest you spend more time play with the design refine it till your 110 percent happy its a good start but the fine detail will make a difference in the end keep cutting practice plates and save the gun till you know your ready your work is better than some beginners but dont rush it . Please note I am not saying its bad just practise a bit more .
Ray

 

[sam]

My first impression is that the engraving has been polished with loss of detail and crispness. A definite no-no.

The scrolls are not bad but the banner should be redesigned and I'm not understanding the scrolls to the right of the duck.

 

[Omar Haltam]

I really like the scroll work and flow on the left, but I do not like it to the right of the duck, I don't like the diamond shape scroll work.
maybe making a bigger game scene with the duck flying over a pond or lake, that means less scroll work.
and having the scroll work from half the diamond to the right.
hope that helps

 

[SamW]

I see quite a few elbows and flat spots on the scrolls, and yes the scrolls to the right of the duck do not start properly from what should be a border defining the shape of the frame...and the duck is pointing in the wrong direction. Bet your wife would not have said all that!

 

[GTJC460]

If you are going to use a geometric layout like on the diamond on the right you need to carry that out concentrically from the center.

As already noted I think there's good stuff going on the left, but right side and the banner need some help.

Lastly I agree with JJ. Your pick or second cuts on the inside work need to be practiced more. I'd highly suggest getting a casting of some good English scroll. Use the casting to study the cuts. Moreover, take a wax transfer of the casting, and practice cutting it till you achieve a similar result. There's no better way to learn than by doing and copying for practice/learning is the best way.

 

[monk]

it's really difficult to critique this, as you're surely on the right track i totally agree with what's to the right of the duck. i do see a few flats. i think a bit more added to the inside of the scrolls would be an improvement. best of all, you took the time to work the design on a practice plate first. that is worth its weight in my book. better to have a practice plate to study and improve on. not so good to study the project after the fact. i think you'll end up with a fine looking piece when you begin on the real deal.

 

[Don H]

Wow! A very big THANK YOU to all who responded! It is just what I need to improve. I would like to address each critique and state what I have thought about working on to improve each area mentioned. I do have Marcus Hunt's book and have read it and tried to follow what he has laid out. I'm embarrassed to tell you how many attempts preceded what I posted and that it shows a great deal of improvement from earlier ventures. I will go back to the book and castings and work on the inside work. Before trying to do a whole plate again I'm going to start with a small number of scrolls and get them right first. And Sam was correct - I have sanded some to remove the burs as I've had a difficult time popping them out on a consistent basis. So I will practice that more before doing any more inside work. As to the scrolls to the right of the duck I know the point of origin looks goofy. I cut the scrolls to the right of the hinge pin the same way and was so disappointed in the way it looked that I welded it up, filed, and sanded it off and recut it. If you look you can see two spots I didn't get entirely welded up. (My welding skills are even worse than my engraving skills!) I plan to change the scrolls to the right of the duck to the same idea as the scrolls to the right of the hinge pin (flower). As to flat spots and elbows I will put the plate back under the microscope and really try and see what I've cut instead of just look at it. I had thought I was doing OK in that area as the scrolls looked good before I started the inside work. I will try and remember to take some pictures the next time as I progress to make it easier to see what I'm doing. Am sorry the pictures aren't better. As to the duck being the wrong direction I would have never thought about that as being part of a flow problem. I know this will sound a little slow but I have spent a great many years hunting ducks and blue bills usually come through in larger bunches when it's cold and the wing is howling out of the north. They always land into the wind and the best days are when the birds are landing from right to left. Hence I engraved it that way as it is what's "right". Is this a big problem? I'm not disagreeing, just wondering if I could leave it like it is without raising to many eyebrows.
As to the diamond on the right side I didn't think it looked bad but will try drawing some more designs and present them before engraving another full plate. I will also work on the banner. It may be a week before I get my next pictures up as my sweet wife is leaving to spend some time with the grand babies (twins!) while I'm home baby sitting our spoiled hunting dogs. And my computer skills are not up to putting pictures on the internet so it will have to wait until she gets home. I know my limitations.

Again, thank you all so much for your help and please keep it coming. I think the most important thing I can do is keep drawing and practicing before attempting the real thing. I will keep after it until I get it right. I just need you guys to keep pushing me in the right direction! All the best, Don Hansen.

 

[rayf24]

Don your comment on the number of practice plates (I'm embarrassed to tell you how many attempts preceded what I posted and that it shows a great deal of improvement from earlier ventures)
I myself engrave as a hobby and I have cut maybe 75 practice plates and many other items that I look back on that are crappy to say the least BUT I try to learn with every one done and every cut I think being self critical does have advantages even now I think I have reached a standard that would be good enough to be saleable and have had the odd commission jobs I want it to be better you are on your way but study other work draw daily and cut as often as you can you will know when your ready to do the shotgun then you will have somthing to be proud of and show off.
good luck
ray

 

[SamW]

Don, The direction of the duck is a matter of tradition...all action pointing towards the muzzle. You will see them either way, I just adhere to the tradition.

I have marked many of the flat spots on your scroll as my eye sees them. May help you locate them.

 

[speeedy6]

That odd loop around the right side of the circle makes that look sort of like the shotgun barrel which, might look good if you reverse the image and add a sight bead. Is that the look you were going for? I agree with SaM W. , about reversing the image, it just looks backward.

 

[Don H]

Hello TOS! Thank you so much for showing me where I need to improve the scrolls. To be honest I didn't see it before you pointed it out, but now can and will work on trying to improve my scrolls.

Speedy, thank you for your comment. The "odd loop" you referred to is how the frame of the shotgun is made. So no bead needed! My design is not well done there and if you read my post again I think you'll see how I plan to change it. The "odd loop" is balanced by the stock which you obviously can't see. When making the stock I made sure the stock panel "fit" the design of the action. Hope that helps.

 

[papart1]

Hi......the scroll to the left of the duck looks like an open-ended bullet with the duck flying out of it to me..........