graver lubrication

[Robert W Waters]

What kind of lubrication do you use on your graver?

I have tried using Kerosene (really smells), Magic*Tap, Rapid Tap (bad smell), Liquid Bur Life, but lately I've been using Bur Life (the solid type) with the advantage of not losing my layout lines. I can't say I have any objective measure that any of these lubricants have made much of a difference in the lettering I do with push gravers on copper.

What do you use and why?

 

[cowboy_silversmith]

Robert~ I mainly do push engraving as well. I used to use Kerosene too but about 10 years ago, I ran out of Kerosene and I used WD-40 to get buy. Been using it ever since. No reason for sticking with it. Works just as well.

Best regards,
Greg Pauline

 

[Sandy]

Robert,
Give baby oil a try. Does not smell to bad. I have been using it as a stoning lubricant for years. I tried it one day on a practice plate cause it was closer to me then the magic tap. Worked pretty "slick".

Sandy

 

[Crazy Horse]

You don't need much lube for hand pushing. You really don't need very much for air assisted tools either. Often when I draw scroll using a tallow/beeswax base to draw on, it's more than enough lube. (Natural also.)

The fact is, most any oil, baby oil, 3 in 1, any gun oil or even penetrants such as Kroil are good. I would not consider oil in hand engraving a "major" factor.

 

[beegee]

lubricants

Baby oil is just perfumed mineral oil, isn't it? I was told to use oil of wintergreen on brass plates. It least it would smell good.

 

[Sam]

E.C. Prudhomme used kerosene when engraving aluminum. I use Tap Magic and it works fine.

I've tried just about everything at one time or another and never found the holy grail graver lube.

 

[jlseymour]

I'm not an expert engraver but I have been doing Jewelry for 30th something years and I have used alot of diffrent lubs for burs and saw blades. I just started using Oil of Wintergreen for engraving, I had used it years ago and decided to try it. I seems to work OK but so does cutting oil, wintergreen just smells good...
Jerry

 

[fegarex]

I know a lot of engravers swear by some sort of lube but I rarely use it. For cutting gun steel with the modern gravers I just find it to be a wasted step. Perhaps it makes a difference for bright cuts but I find engraving "dry" for me works fine and isn't as messy. Your mileage may vary.....

 

[mdengraver]

Oil of Wintergreen

Side effects
True oil of wintergreen, distilled from wintergreen leaves, is very rapidly absorbed by the skin and often causes severe skin irritation and painful, hive-like skin eruptions. From a website on side effects, although I've never experience this problem while engraving but I imagine if you had a cut this might be more likely.

 

[BrianPowley]

Rex, I share your same thoughts on graver lube....
I use it rarely,but for a different reason---I never really got in the habit of dipping my graver into the lube in the first place and now that I'm getting older......well, let's not go there. LOL
Theoretically, a little lubrication makes sense ,but....whatever works,right?

I do recall using a liberal coating of Tap Magic one time and for got to clean it. The chlorine in Tap Magic corroded my copper inlays to the point where I actually loved the color change. It turned the copper a rich red-brown.

Brian

 

[Weldon47]

Elbow grease works pretty well for me!

Weldon

 

[jimzim75]

I usually just dry cut. If I am going to use something, I have tap magic for steel and aluminum on the bench ready to use
all the time.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

I must admit I never use lube either. For no other reason other than I've never developed the habit of dipping the graver tip.

The other reason being it can destroy the transferred lines from a computer print or transfer wax.

I've often wondered if it would make a difference of any kind. Usually that thought occurs after the job!!! (sigh).............maybe on harder metals?

Cheers
Andrew

 

[ddushane]

I haven't been engraving nearly as long as most of you guys. I haven't used lube at all until I struggled with the bolsters made out of the meteorite a while back and found that the lube helped me in that situation. But one thing I have noticed is when looking some of the knives on the websites it appears that when wiping some of them down getting fingerprints off they seam to wipe out the paint or coloring in the engraving. When you cut dry the cuts do seem a little rougher and I would think it would help grab and hold the paint rather than a slick surface that you'd have by using the lube. My thoughts, doesn't mean a whole hill of beens, Dwayne