chawbeef
40 Cal.
Stellar craftsmanship Mr. Person. I very much enjoy your posts and pics :thumbsup: ........Daniel
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Some silver wire inlay on an English rifle
- Thread starter dave_person
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Hi Jamie,
It is an English rifle from the mid-18th century so the carving is spare, but there is some as well as some more bling:
dave
It is an English rifle from the mid-18th century so the carving is spare, but there is some as well as some more bling:
dave
Staggerwing
40 Cal.
Tremendous work, David. And thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I viewed the sketch of your tool and I had a couple additional questions. Did you have to heat the hacksaw blade up prior to shaping the end or did you do it cold? Also, do I understand you correctly that this is the only tool you currently use not only for straight lines but for the curved portions as well or do you have curved tools you use?
I viewed the sketch of your tool and I had a couple additional questions. Did you have to heat the hacksaw blade up prior to shaping the end or did you do it cold? Also, do I understand you correctly that this is the only tool you currently use not only for straight lines but for the curved portions as well or do you have curved tools you use?
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Hi Staggerwing,
Thanks for the kind words. I am still learning how to do wire work efficiently. Currently, I draw the design on the wood and then use a carving knife and round chisels to lightly score the design on the wood. The round chisels help create smooth curves. Then I use the hack saw stabbing tools almost exclusively. Using the scored lines as guides, I stab the hacksaw chisel into those lines to create the groove for the wire. I use stabbing tools with 1/16", 1/8", and 1/4" long blades. Occasionally, I will stab with a gouge chisel after using the stabbing tools to clean up a ragged curve. Many good wire workers use flat and curved chisels instead of the smaller hacksaw stabbing tools I use. I find that the longer chisels are awkward and I have to move around a lot to see where the chisel edge is positioned on the wood. The small stabbing tools allow me to huddle over the work and I can see what I am doing much better. In addition, the shoulders on the tools set the correct depth of cut for the depth of the wire I use. Finally, I made up a tool from a small screw driver. It has a rounded end and thin blade. I use it to nudge the wire to smooth out curves before wetting the wood and filing the excess silver off. I anneal the hacksaw blades where I am going to cut them off for the tang that fits into the wooden dowel. I don't anneal the blade part, just grind off the teeth and the blade to shape.
dave
Thanks for the kind words. I am still learning how to do wire work efficiently. Currently, I draw the design on the wood and then use a carving knife and round chisels to lightly score the design on the wood. The round chisels help create smooth curves. Then I use the hack saw stabbing tools almost exclusively. Using the scored lines as guides, I stab the hacksaw chisel into those lines to create the groove for the wire. I use stabbing tools with 1/16", 1/8", and 1/4" long blades. Occasionally, I will stab with a gouge chisel after using the stabbing tools to clean up a ragged curve. Many good wire workers use flat and curved chisels instead of the smaller hacksaw stabbing tools I use. I find that the longer chisels are awkward and I have to move around a lot to see where the chisel edge is positioned on the wood. The small stabbing tools allow me to huddle over the work and I can see what I am doing much better. In addition, the shoulders on the tools set the correct depth of cut for the depth of the wire I use. Finally, I made up a tool from a small screw driver. It has a rounded end and thin blade. I use it to nudge the wire to smooth out curves before wetting the wood and filing the excess silver off. I anneal the hacksaw blades where I am going to cut them off for the tang that fits into the wooden dowel. I don't anneal the blade part, just grind off the teeth and the blade to shape.
dave
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Hi Gregg,
I used the Delft clay casting method to make it but I had to do it in 3 pieces. It is too big and intricate for a single pour facilitated by gravity alone. I designed it so the joints would be invisible from the front side and used low temp silver solder to join the pieces. It worked really well. The details were cut, refined, and cleaned up using die sinkers chisels. Essentially, you carve the metal like wood.
dave
I used the Delft clay casting method to make it but I had to do it in 3 pieces. It is too big and intricate for a single pour facilitated by gravity alone. I designed it so the joints would be invisible from the front side and used low temp silver solder to join the pieces. It worked really well. The details were cut, refined, and cleaned up using die sinkers chisels. Essentially, you carve the metal like wood.
dave
Staggerwing
40 Cal.
Thanks, Dave! I agree with your idea of using the shorter length tools. It just comes down to patience. I really like how the wire inlay looks and want to learn how it's done! Time to practice
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Hi Vomir,
Here is the link to the finished rifle if you haven't already seen it:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1596653/
dave
Here is the link to the finished rifle if you haven't already seen it:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1596653/
dave
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eggwelder
40 Cal.
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Dave,
i scrolled thru your photo bucket and you and i do a lot of the same things. that being said, you are a true artist and do some very excellent and detailed work, something which i hope to emulate in the future. you have set the bar high.
i do think that perhaps running a tutorial on your silver and brass casting process may be beneficial to someone getting into that. like me. i currently cast the "easy stuff" like lead, aluminum and pot metal, and do some lost wax at an amateur level with hardware store supplies.
Jon
i scrolled thru your photo bucket and you and i do a lot of the same things. that being said, you are a true artist and do some very excellent and detailed work, something which i hope to emulate in the future. you have set the bar high.
i do think that perhaps running a tutorial on your silver and brass casting process may be beneficial to someone getting into that. like me. i currently cast the "easy stuff" like lead, aluminum and pot metal, and do some lost wax at an amateur level with hardware store supplies.
Jon
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