Saxophone engraving advice

[Doctorslava]

Hi, I have a client that wants to put a name on his saxophone. Since i never engraved on such a big item I try to gather information. My first plan was to transfer the image and engrave it normal way with air assisted tool. I realized then it is too tight for handling. I addition holding a saxophone is another problem. I put the saxophone to the small bag and filled the space between the instrument and the bag with sand. Before working on real expensive instrument I got a sacrificial saxophone from friend a mine. During experiments I found the saxophone comes up like an air bubble in water so my solution is not working.The client showed me what he wants, and it looks that the work was done with rotary tool instead. I think I am going to make just a sequence of small dots with my NSK rotary tool if nothing better will be found. Seems like client is fine with this.He wants his name on two saxophones. One has 5" diameter horn and the other is 3.75". Here is a picture of what I got from the client and another one with my design.
What you guys think?
Thanks
Slava

 

[monk]

first order of bizzness: you must figure a way to safely cradle the sax. all the keys must be protected from damage. 2nd: go to yer local junkyard. get a couple brass lamp bases-- and practice the "wriggle" cut. 3rd: make bags of rice, sand, or whatever to protect the instrument whilst wriggling. this protects the inside from crumpling or denting. 4; i'd learn the wriggle rather than relying on any dreml type tool. why?? the wriggle is the traditional method used to embellish brass wind instruments. getting in a hurry can lead to disaster.

 

[dhall]

+1 for what Monk said, and the real reason for wriggle cutting is that in many cases the brass is fairly thin and wriggle cutting is quite shallow. Conventional cutting might go too deep, and that's a whole big load of not much fun.

 

[tdelewis]

Wriggle yes and the text should be smaller.

 

[rweigel]

I visited a wind instrument fair last year and they had an engraving demonstration stand there. YES, the manufacturers use the wriggle cut, the one where the flat graver ist hold high (or steep, if you like) and it‘s tip „walks“ over the metal, leaving a row of traces.

 

[horologist]

John Schippers recommended a wriggle tool (wiggle?) made from the ball of a trailer hitch when I took his engraving class at Connor Prairie. The shape is easier on your hand (he was having trouble with nerve damage in his hand) and the mass made it more comfortable for extended use.
I made one for a classmate but never got around to making one for myself.

Troy

John's tool the cutter is made from a 1/8" square lathe tool bit.


The one I made.

 

[BCan]

Yamaha makes some of the finest saxophones on the planet. Here is a link to a video of a factory tour, which includes some detailed information on their engraving process (right around 9:45 on the video). Hope this inspires. How Yamaha Makes Saxophones (Mostly) By Hand (Factory Tour)

 

[monk]

i forgot to mention the brass is very thin. that's why one should put protective bags inside the instrument. it can prevent unwanted dimples here & there. look up "jason" saxophone engraver. his vid is spot on. sorry, his name is jason du mars. a careful look at his video will show some strange lookin tools. sometimes one must adapt to the needs of the job, not the other way around

 

[Doctorslava]

Many thanks to everybody who shared their experience. I just finished the work and returned the instrument to the owner. He is happy. If it was me I would make everything smaller, but the client defined the size. I expected the metal much thinner, but it was thick enough plus I was not cutting deep. My first approach was taking the bag of sand and submerging the instrument into it. The saxophone was in other plastic bag. I found it is not convenient because the instrument floated up. Here the result.

 

[Doctorslava]

Yamaha makes some of the finest saxophones on the planet. Here is a link to a video of a factory tour, which includes some detailed information on their engraving process (right around 9:45 on the video). Hope this inspires. How Yamaha Makes Saxophones (Mostly) By Hand (Factory Tour)

This person uses saxophones individually built for him.