work in progress

[smays]

Very rough indeed!!! here is my question.... to the naked eye, just observing you do not notice but under magnification and close up photography you can see a raised lip on the edge of your cuts. Are my gravers not sharp enough... is this normal? And I did the big no no, I used an emory cloth on it to try and clean it up a little. Besides not knowing how to cut a straight line.... and use a rotary tool.... let me have it!!

thanks for any help

Shawn

 

[Ron Smith]

Shawn, this result is due to the wedging effect of your sharpening techniques I think. Or if you are polishing by stropping the tool? Are you sharpening by hand?

You must be sure that the leading (cutting edge) of your tool doesn't become rounded as this will cause a wedging effect rather than a sheering effect.
Hope this helps, if not ask away?.....Ron S

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Shawn to add to ron suggests, you may be cutting deeper than your heel. Do you find the graver diving in on you when cutting?

 

[smays]

No... its cutting pretty easy... I think. I use a 45 degree face with a 15 uniform heel. My heel is rather small. I think it cuts well but I havent sharpened it in a while. I may need to touch it up. thanks guys

Shawn

 

[smays]

Man... that thing looks like I cut it with a chainsaw

 

[Ron Smith]

Shawn, really the cuts don't look that bad. I don't see any sign of the graver dragging or tearing up the outside edges of the cut. That might indicate that you are cutting too deep. On the other hand, I have seen this effect many times. That is why i asked if you were sharpening by hand. Frank Hendricks demonstrated a sharpening system that always gave me that kind of cut, but it was because i wasn't doing it right I am sure.

I understood the reason for it. I just didn't have the muscle knowledge to create the same effect as Frank.

As I look at your piece, it appears to have a pucker around the sides of the cut which is what you are referring to right? If the face of the tool is narrower than the width of the metal directly behind the cutting edge it will wedge the metal rather than sheer it. Does this make any sense? Don't give up on it, lets find the source and fix it if we can...........we can..........Are you using a sharpening hone and graver sharpening fixture?...........Oh, I just went back and read your post again. the emory cloth is the problem. You stropped the tool which rounded the edges. Did you place the emory on a hard surface or on leather or something?.....If you are going to stropp the tool for polishing, place the emory on a flat, hard surface or a ruby stone, but it is very difficult to keep from rounding the edges of the face. If I stropp a tool it is for very fine polishing and I use 4/0 paper which is as aggressive as jeweler's rouge, but even that will round the edges and take the crispness off of the edges. I'm not even sure you can find 4/0 paper any more, but anything courser than that and you are in trouble........GRS makes a diamond dust in liquid for stropping, or they have a ceramic stone for the hone.The ruby stone i suggested before is another option and good one.......Ron S

 

[chris]

hi
shawn they are not bad if you get the chance to look at l d nimskes photos in his record book theres a close up of a rifle he cut with the same thing he was a master an did more engraveing than one hundred of us put together in our life times
chris

 

[smays]

I do use a duel angle sharpening fixture and hone. the emory cloth was to take some of the "edge" off of my cuts. I sanded it... that was the big no no I was talking about. When I sharpen my graver, I use a full length heel only because when I first started practicing, it was easier for me to run. I was learning how stay at a consistant depth and to me, it was more forgiving with the full lenght heel. The angle and the way I am sharpening my heel may very well be the problem. I will try sharpening it the traditional way.. where the heel tapers to nothing at the top of the face.

thanks for all your info

shawn