Graver Sharpening Help (please)

[Tchurchill888]

I am brand new, I’ve got a standard Lindsay foot pedal graver kit with a GRS magnablock, i unboxed it today and ran the blade dull within 15 minutes because I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m leaning towards the Lindsay templates, but there are so many of them it is overwhelming and I hardly know what I’m reading.

I am looking to do basic detailed scrolling on firearms, knives, and pieces of forged iron, and ease my way into relief work. I have a standard Lindsay foot pedal graver, I have questions regarding air pressure and stroke length, mainly where a good starting point would be for those metals.

but my main question is, what graver tips should be in my arsenal, and what sharpening templates do I need? I’ll start with re-sharpening pre cut tips before I invest in a honing machine.

attatched is my first ever shot at engraving on a ground quarter with the given pre sharpened Lindsay graver until it was so dull it wouldn’t cut anymore. No criticism is needed on the work as I was just trying to turn the damn thing!!!

I’m extremely excited to start down this road and any help is appreciated.

 

[oniemarc]

With your Lindsay, a presharpened 116 was provided. I would start with that template. I tend to use it for almost everthing. That...or the 120 which cuts really nice too. If you are going for the templates, save yourself a massive headache and get the stones too.

As for stroke lengths...I would turn down the stroke length all the way down(smallest stroke length=fastest) and then turn it back up a few half turns. This should give you a controllable speed to start with.

Marc

 

[Tchurchill888]

Thank you for the quick response, I’ll get those ordered with a few stones and get back to it.

 

[allan621]

Like oniemarc said plus few other things. If you are very new with engraving it may take you a bit of time to get used to the tool. Engraving is not magic and takes a bit of adjustment to get your hands and eyes working together.

Second is getting a piece of non-textured metal so you can see your layout lines better. Copper is a good choice to start with and then move onto harder metals like the steel practice plates sold at engraver.com or something similar to the description of the plates.


And try not to get ahead of yourself to see what its going to look like when its finished. If you hurry things along by pushing the tool instead of guiding the tool you run into problems because the rotation of the block and the forward movement of the tool are not in harmony. Plus try and turn the work into the tool if you can, instead keeping the block steady and moving just the tool.

Engraving is something that takes time to get a grip on because in a lot of cases its a completely foreign activity for your mind to get around. But if you've seen beginners learning to play a musical instrument; starting like a screech owl and then slowly start to sound better the more they practice; well its the same kind of thing.

Stay with it.

Allan

 

[AJB]

As a fellow rookie, I‘ll pass on that I settled on stainless steel fender washers for practice. The ones I use are about the size of a half-dollar and the layout generally looks something like this:

 

[Tchurchill888]

As a fellow rookie, I‘ll pass on that I settled on stainless steel fender washers for practice. The ones I use are about the size of a half-dollar and the layout generally looks something like this:

That’s awesome as I have probably 150 of these in my garage and didn’t even think of it. Perfect for hanging onto or finding use with your practice pieces

 

[monk]

the lindsay templates work very well. but---- as you progress in this addictive art you'll spend a ton of money on templates. a different template is needed for each geometry needed. i use the grs dual angle sharpener. a one-time purchase will do any possible geometry one would ever need.
before you spend a lot of money, you should be aware for the need of drawing skills. drawing well is the very basis of all that you will eventually be doing as an engraver.. a good design that is poorly cut may just get by. a lousy design cut well wont fly. there are many disciplines needed to excel at this art. good luck.

 

[Tchurchill888]

the lindsay templates work very well. but---- as you progress in this addictive art you'll spend a ton of money on templates. a different template is needed for each geometry needed. i use the grs dual angle sharpener. a one-time purchase will do any possible geometry one would ever need.
before you spend a lot of money, you should be aware for the need of drawing skills. drawing well is the very basis of all that you will eventually be doing as an engraver.. a good design that is poorly cut may just get by. a lousy design cut well wont fly. there are many disciplines needed to excel at this art. good luck.

I got a few templates and a set of stones, depending on what I run in to I’ll probably grab a dual angle before more templates. I do pinstriping/ sign painting & have been drawing for 20 or so years. After purchasing a new Lindsay standard, a magnablock and now a basic sharpening kit I’d say before I spend too much money is about a month in the past, but if I can work this tool anything like a scribe any time soon I think it’ll be a good investment. And short of that a great hobby and new form of art. Very excited to start understanding the graver