Help for beginner on shading

[pappy]

Hi everybody!
I need some help in the shading department. I'm using a Gravermach with a Monarch handpiece with the light spring and an Airtact setup, but I really have trouble getting a fine line for shading. I have tried both the lindsay point and conventional point geometry, but the lines seem to be way too deep and wide. I have seen Sam's video and the shading he does with a 120deg. tool. I am using a 90 deg. right now, but it seems that the machine has too much power. Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Ray Cover]

There are a lot variables there. It could be

1. You are just being too heavy handed.

2. You need to tune the impact power of you machine. Either adjust your strokes per minute or air pressure.

3. might need to adjust your foot pedal if the handpeice is just taking off and burying rather than smoothly starting up.

without watching what yoru doing it is hard to say for sure.

Ray

 

[ddushane]

I've struggled with this alot myself, just reading what you guys have written about shading, watching the different videos Lindsey's posted on youtube and watching Rays DVD has helped a bunch, just playing with different speeds on the stroke and angles, foot feed and everything else I can think to try. Practice, practice, practice, practice, and dang it more practice! I do love it though! Just can't wait till I'm able to make mine come out as sweet as yalls. Dwayne

 

[fegarex]

As Ray said, its sounds like you are heavy handed mostly. Have you ground the tools down real small? If you try to do light shading with a large tool its like trying to park a big truck. Get rid of a lot of the metal on the graver so you can see what you are doing and then go EASY. Lower you angle of attac if the cut is going deep.

 

[finn]

Try a larger heel. it helped me make finner lines.
with my GRS hone i use my 600 grit and make 2 (light) sweeps and it puts a nice heal on it.
if i use the 3000 grit stone the heel is too small and my bits dig in to fast.

 

[Sam]

The first and most critical part of a shade cut is the scoot of the heel across the surface before you lift your wrist and allow the graver to enter the metal. This gives a smooth tapered line which, when grouped together, provides a beautiful transition from light to grey to black. If your shade cuts are too heavy, you're not alone. That's the most common complaint by students and engravers with less experience. Assuming the tools are sharpened properly, it's almost always an issue of control. Shading is one of the most demanding and unforgiving things you'll ever do in hand engraving. Along with control it demands 100% of your attention and being very aware of what your graver is doing at all times.

 

[monk]

help with shading

also you might want to try a 70 degree graver. much narrower, and will produce a more delicate line.
too, perhaps your gravers are kind of large for the type work you're attempting. i'm thinkin a shank of 1/16" dia. or width would work fine for the delicate stuff.

 

[Dave London]

All of the above plus practice, practice, practice shading to me is the most diffulcult skill to gain. One I will proballly never master. Keep Cutting Dave

 

[Mike Cirelli]

One thing Sam shows is to grind the top of the graver off a lot. It makes it easier to control and see when cutting. Also a narrow graver like a 90 will cut deeper making it a bit harder to cut a fine light line a 120 will cut more shallow making it easier to control a fine light line. I have cut the some design many times with both a 90 and a 120 and they both have a different appearance. I prefer the look produced by the 120 but I think you have to take into consideration the metal your engraving also. At least that's what I have experienced. Sam correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[rhenrichs]

First of all shading requires a light delicate controlled touch. I start a cut as if i were using a hand push graver and gently add only enough air to make the graver move forward. With practice your foot and hand will get the feel what the graver is doing. It helps to be able to see what you're doing and that's where a microscope is a asset. Lighting level is important. When I'm doing shading I use only a 12 watt ring light in a darkened room. With this lighting level I find that the shade line looks almost like a ink line as it is being cut. I don't want to see the bottom of the ditch, just the width of the ditch. For shading the gravers must be razor sharp. I use a Lindsay grind on my gravers and the final sharpening on both the face and heel is with a 3000 lap. As of late I have been using 115 graver for shading because I feel that I have better control of the intensity of the shade.

Attached is a photo of a test plate that I just finished. The scroll-leaf was cut with 110 graver and all the shading done with a 115 graver.

Roger Henrichs

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi pappy

Just keep at it and it will come right. It can be a frustrating time but you'll find that one day it'll just fall into place. All it takes is practice and a light hand. It also takes a while for you to get into full sync with your tools. After a while you get the feel of it more than anything else.

I have a tendancy to make most of my cuts with a 90 degree graver and occasionally a 115-120 graver for the main cuts only. Depending on the size of the scrolls.......if they're really small I use a 70 for the shading.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[pappy]

Thanks, everybody for all your help!

This forum is great!!! It is like being a beginning artist and having Rembrandt, Picasso, and other great artists give you tips. Now I have a bunch of new ideas to try! Thanks, Sam for starting this forum! One other question I have is that I saw Sam mention somewhere that you can get an even finer tune on your hand pieces when using the bias control on the Graver Mach. Can someone explain how?
Thanks,
Pappy
(Steve Papincak)