My first post, already worried that I’m putting a machine engraving question in the hand engraving forum, but didn’t see a better alternative! Apologies in advance!!!
I‘ve got an old straight line engine I’m trying to get productive, but have run into an issue which I can’t seem to resolve. I’m getting what I would call “chatter” if it was happening on my lathe. As you can see in the photo, there is no smooth line in that one inch brass. The lines closest to my thumb are done with no pattern bar - essentially the SLE is just acting as a mover of the material - and there is a periodic noise in the lines.
I’ve tightened almost everything to remove causes; I’ve sharpened a new graver to a very sharp and smooth face (not mirror finish, but as good as an uncooked amateur could be expected to do); I’ve cut deep and I’ve cut shallow - nothing seems to work - I’ve cut with and without the guide, etc. You can see the engine actually working when using the pattern bar above the first few lines - and how the frequency of the noise doesn’t change. The pattern is hard to see above the noise….
i haven’t locked everything super tight as it’s impossible to operate in that fashion. But that COULD be the issue.
The fact that the problem is so easy to repeat, I’m wondering if I’m missing something. Anyone have a suggestion or a question I could answer to maybe arrive at a guess as to what’s causing the issue? Could it be the shape of the cutter face?
Thanks for any thoughts!
Paul
I‘ve got an old straight line engine I’m trying to get productive, but have run into an issue which I can’t seem to resolve. I’m getting what I would call “chatter” if it was happening on my lathe. As you can see in the photo, there is no smooth line in that one inch brass. The lines closest to my thumb are done with no pattern bar - essentially the SLE is just acting as a mover of the material - and there is a periodic noise in the lines.
I’ve tightened almost everything to remove causes; I’ve sharpened a new graver to a very sharp and smooth face (not mirror finish, but as good as an uncooked amateur could be expected to do); I’ve cut deep and I’ve cut shallow - nothing seems to work - I’ve cut with and without the guide, etc. You can see the engine actually working when using the pattern bar above the first few lines - and how the frequency of the noise doesn’t change. The pattern is hard to see above the noise….
i haven’t locked everything super tight as it’s impossible to operate in that fashion. But that COULD be the issue.
The fact that the problem is so easy to repeat, I’m wondering if I’m missing something. Anyone have a suggestion or a question I could answer to maybe arrive at a guess as to what’s causing the issue? Could it be the shape of the cutter face?
Thanks for any thoughts!
Paul
