Interested in starting engraving

[TerryK]

I am ready to retire, and always thought it would be noble to learn to engrave. So I was hoping that peoples experience could guide me to proper equipment and resources.
I guess I need an engraver tool, vice, learning aids, and a lot of practice. So any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[FishDFly]

There is a good book on engraving from the NMLRA. It's in the $100 range, but it the best I have heard. i

 

[martin9]

A small engravers hammer and square graver are the only 2 tools you need to get started. MBS has nice hammers and gravers. I've noticed a lot of the pro builders just engrave the parts on the gun or use a putty to glue something like a patchbox or sideplate onto a block of wood so they can then put it in a vice. I can't remember the name but it sets and releases with heat so is reusable

 

[oldwood]

While you are gathering some starting hardware , start with a few pencils and some paper. Back in the mid 1980's , I was given an impromptu 1/2 hour course in engraving by Louis Sanchez on the steps of the NMLRA log cabin rifle display building at a Spring Shoot Friendship , Ind.. If you can master some design principles seen on already engraved work , you're started. Muzzleloader engraving can be simple , or insanely complex. Few guns on the frontier were in the latter category. Original guns displaying metal inlays were usually lightly engraved by mostly crude gravers made by the gunbuilder himself , or , the shop had a smith employed to do the shop's fancy work. These thoughts are generalizations from observations over 50 + yrs. of gun work. Get a good small hard Arkansas stone , keep it oiled and clean, keep your tools sharp. Get a proper engraver's hammer , and see if you can make the tools do something that looks interesting. A , 1 mm marker pen that writes on anything , is handy to try a design or two , on a soft metal plate. Get a head mounted magnifier , about 2 to 3 power. and , "have at it"....................Hope this helps..........oldwood

 

[rich pierce]

I recommend the Lindsey sharpening system and taking a class.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Ditto to Rich's comment

 

[LRB]

There is a lot of info here in this forum hosted by one of the best engravers in America, Sam Alfano.
The Engraver's Cafe (engraverscafe.com)

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

The most important tools to start with for this endeavor,

Paper
Pencil
erasers
patience

I'd also look into the Lindsay sharpening template system, being able to sharpen the tooling exactly the same each time will cut the frustration curve by two-thirds.

Both the Lindsay and Alfano Sites are full of information, both sites offer all of the information needed to pursue this affliction as far as you're willing to take it.

Good Luck.

 

[Robby]

Terry, I had a bit of a different approach. I forged out and ground to shape some concrete nails, mounted them in some lopped off 7/16" Carriage bolts. Sharpened them up on some whet stones, tapped them around on a scrap of brass till I got a feel for the nature of this craft, came to the realization that, heck yeah I can do this, and had at it. I'm probably about as good as I will ever be without some formal instruction but I'm okay with that and always strive to do better. The most important thing I think I learned is that the graver must be sharp and sharpened correctly. I'm certainly not in league with many of the fellows that post their work but I like to believe I can hold my own with those guys from a couple hundred years ago, cuz they're all dead, HAH, but I enjoy engraving, that in and of itself was worth the effort.

Robby

 

[davec2]

In 1978 I was a junior officer aboard a Navy destroyer on a western Pacific deployment. We had been in and out of the US Naval base at Subic Bay. One day as I was on the pier, there was a small boy with a little portable work bench doing something for a sailor from another ship. I walked over to see what was up and the lad was engraving brass belt buckles. He asked me if I wanted a buckle. I asked how long it would take... and he said about 20 minutes ! He had a small vice, a single square (obviously home made) graver, a sharpening stone, and a little hammer. This is what he engraved for me…..in about 20 minutes. He wanted $5……I gave him $20. He smiled a lot. I asked him how old he was. He was 9.

Bottom line, it doesn't take much equipment but it does take some dedication and a lot of practice...

 

[Kansas Kid]

In 1978 I was a junior officer aboard a Navy destroyer on a western Pacific deployment. We had been in and out of the US Naval base at Subic Bay. One day as I was on the pier, there was a small boy with a little portable work bench doing something for a sailor from another ship. I walked over to see what was up and the lad was engraving brass belt buckles. He asked me if I wanted a buckle. I asked how long it would take... and he said about 20 minutes ! He had a small vice, a single square (obviously home made) graver, a sharpening stone, and a little hammer. This is what he engraved for me…..in about 20 minutes. He wanted $5……I gave him $20. He smiled a lot. I asked him how old he was. He was 9.

Bottom line, it doesn't take much equipment but it does take some dedication and a lot of practice...

20 minutes, that’s crazy. I’ve been staring at a cigar box of gravers I bought but haven’t tried them yet.

 

[Jim Evans]

In 1978 I was a junior officer aboard a Navy destroyer on a western Pacific deployment. We had been in and out of the US Naval base at Subic Bay. One day as I was on the pier, there was a small boy with a little portable work bench doing something for a sailor from another ship. I walked over to see what was up and the lad was engraving brass belt buckles. He asked me if I wanted a buckle. I asked how long it would take... and he said about 20 minutes ! He had a small vice, a single square (obviously home made) graver, a sharpening stone, and a little hammer. This is what he engraved for me…..in about 20 minutes. He wanted $5……I gave him $20. He smiled a lot. I asked him how old he was. He was 9.

Bottom line, it doesn't take much equipment but it does take some dedication and a lot of practice...

Small world that we got our Buckles in the same place, but I was there in 66 and again in 71 when I got mine.
I retired in 85 after 22 years

 

[davec2]

JIM !!

Yes....Really "small world" story !!! Thanks for the note and the picture. Nice to know there are still a few squids of our era out there floating around.

 

[Flintandsteel]

David,
I was on the USS Kennebec, a Navy oiler in 1969. Back and forth to Viet Nam. There are still a few “Old Salts” left out there.

 

[davec2]

Flint&Steel,

Yes, there are a few of us left..... but 8 bells has called many of my old shipmates out...

 

[frankie]

I am ready to retire, and always thought it would be noble to learn to engrave. So I was hoping that peoples experience could guide me to proper equipment and resources.
I guess I need an engraver tool, vice, learning aids, and a lot of practice. So any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Terryk I have a gravemeister (engraving machine) I would sell. It has all the accessories you need. I went to GRS engraving school for one week and engraved for about one year. I am a stockmaker by trade and i just didnt have the time anymore to do bluing and engraving. Stockmaking is more than a full time job for me. If your interested you can pm me and I can send you pictures. Thanks

 

[Staggerwing]

"Engraving Historic Firearms" by John Schippers is a great book if you can find it. I am the early stages of learning to engrave. A couple years ago I took a 3 day class given by Mike Lee at The Log Cabin in Lodi, Ohio. Wow! As others have said, learning to sharpen your gravers effectively and consistently is half the battle. If you don't get that part right you'll have nothing but frustration. Get to a class if you can. You won't regret it.

 

[Rudyard]

Same message, I think if you can draw you can Scrimshaw,if you can scrimshaw you can engrave . I made files & some Atlas rod bits and any small hammer if better for a big face will 'chase' the steel whatever .I recall Lewis Sanchez giveing lessons but it was in the dusty booth before the Hall was built . I think I still have his drawings from when he finnished the lesson on stock carving .The 'Gentle Giant ' gone long since I believe . Lynton Mc Kenzie also gave talks in the old gravel floored booth . Yes have at it and good luck with it.
Regards Rudyard

 

[frankie]

Sharpening your engravers is the key to engraving. I highly recommend going to a class.

 

[LRB]

Sharpening your engravers is the key to engraving. I highly recommend going to a class.

Learn to draw first. An engraving is only as good as the design no matter how well you learn to cut.