Need a stiff, reusable substance for practice

[LeMat1856]

.
. june 17 / 3:00pm

this might be a long shot since i don't know if such a product exists, but here goes.

i've been reading lots about wood carving (checkering and weaving), engraving, and using gold/silver fill and ribbon to enhance firearms..

after a visit to the guild of firearms engravers i'm becoming more and more interested in giving this a go.. got some books, some tools and now need something like a super stiff wax, plastic, or such that i can practice on.. i remember a jeweler giving me a piece of red wax one day and wondered if there was something like that which i could "recycle" by melting down again.. the glitch is that i need the material to be as hard as possible yet capable of being reusable..

the books i have simply suggest a tracing of the revolver/stock and using various pens and pencils over and over.. this doesn't actually give me an accurate 'feel' or experience in controlling the tools themselves.

and yes, i've looked into bying old barrels and stocks from auction sites but they're a little too expensive at this stage.

any suggestions ?

~daniel~

 

[rich pierce]

Nothing can duplicate metal, or would require the same graver angles to cut successfully. Your best bet is scrap metal. Locally we have a company that does lasercutting of metal and they fill dumpsters with the leftover pieces after the "cookies are cut out of the dough". They will sell this for scrap prices and there's usually a lot of cold-rolled and hot-rolled steel in there. Polish the pieces to 400 grit and have at it.

 

[Tinker2]

A jewelry supply house would have carvable wax or you can get
machinable wax in different hardness.

If you do a search on the net you can find how to make your own.


Your are talking about two different things right? Wood carving and
engraving?

I don’t think that it will work to your satisfaction but trying it won’t
be hard.

I do agree with Rich Pierce that scrap metal is the way to go, if you
are buying at scrap prices, then when your done with it sell for scrap
prices.

Tinker2

 

[gmww]

Cerrosafe Alloy maybe?

 

[Zonie]

IMO, if one is trying to get the "feel" of making smooth curves and blending radii perhaps a wax or similar thing would help.

If they are trying to get the "feel" of the resistance, the force needed to maintain a constant depth or any of the other things that are happening at the same time the only way to do it is to use a metal that is the same as what is going to be worked on in the future.

Brass and steel have different characteristics and react differently to the tools so there is no way IMO that another substance would give the education that is needed.

 

[ehoff]

While its only semi reuseable you can get hard maple lumber at the Home Depot. Buy a few feet cut it into squares, you now have two sides to pratice on. If you screw up take a belt sander or a plane and clean off the carving and start again.

 

[the11]

For practice carving wood, use wood. Nothing else is like it. Wax does not have a grain, and learning to work with and around the grain is huge in wood carving.

Practice on "found wood". A good source for hardwood is old pallets. You can find them in oak, and sometimes in birch, as well as several tropical hardwoods.

If you want maple, sometimes you can find things like old school desks. At least up here in the Great White North, a lot of them were made of maple.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. june 18 / 10:50am


...wow !! that turned out much better than i expected.

the reason i started by looking for a practice media is this: "...under no circumstances go directly to a gun..." page 1, 'firearms engraving: theory and design' by george sherwood (f.e.g.)

so, i like the idea of starting with the 'machinable wax' for phase 1 - design layout, working models, practice, etc.. this should also allow me to see how each edge is supposed to work.

then, for phase 2 (checkering, 3d carving, inletting, etc. ) it seems that only real wood and metal will do so i'll just have to start looking for used stocks and scraps.. i saw a few on gunbroker com that weren't that expensive and probably couldn't be repaired for reuse in a modern weapon.. all i need is authentic material at this stage.

eventually i'm going to experiment with gold fill, embedded objects, and some simple full sized engravings - but not anything like the garrish stuff i see on so many of the high end pieces.. no hunting scenes, no buffalo herds, no ducks flying, etc.. personally i think these look awful !! maybe it's just me, but they don't *enhance* the appearance of the gun one bit - just the opposite.

well, many many thanks for all the great input.. hopefully one day you'll see some of my handywork..

one final note: i've found a small trove of used and near-new 'hobby' level blackpowder gunsmith books for really reasonable prices on www alibris com.. the sellers are scattered all over the country and prices are set by them based on the quality of their book.. i just got a mint copy of 'do-it-yourself gunsmithing' by jim carmichel for a whopping $8 (list $18). it's very 'old school' and has one entire chapter on muzzleloaders.. check it out !

yes, zonie, untimately it's the 'feel' i need to experience for both metal and wood.. i hadn't thought of brass, that's going to be much more difficult to find in scrap... oh well, if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it, right.

~d~

 

[the11]

Actually, brass might be easier than you think. If you check second hand stores you can often find solid brass candlesticks, ornaments, etc going for cheap.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. june 19 / 2:10pm


another great suggestion. we have lots of second hand shops here so i'll make a list and call first.

the machine wax suggestion gets the prize (i'll think of somethin) for best idea of the day.

a site called machinablewax com has lots of rectangular and even cylinder shaped pieces in the $5-45 range that should allow me to actually make a mold of a real firearm, pour in the wax, and practice on life-sized items.. they even show how to melt it for reuse.

this project is moving ahead much faster than i ever imagined possible.

again, many thanks for the excellent advice.

~d~