After starting the topic of breaking onglette tips, the answers got me thinking about working sharply convex surfaces. (ie. the ivory pen I wrote about and gun barrels, cylinders etc.) Are there any tricks to keep the tip from "skidding" out of control. How do you hold the work piece in the engraver's ball and still turn the piece on IT'S OWN AXIS to keep scroll lines looking continuous, without visually rough interuptions?

Just wondering,

Mark Sedlak

Mark Sedlak
7/14/2006 3:15:02 PM

Larger items like cylinders aren't too bad but things like pistol barrels, ink pens and fly rod ferrels are tougher. Usually it requires some sort of "centers" you can put the item in and then turn them. A lot of this stuff takes some creative talent or a machine shop buddy. Any engraver that's been at it for a while will have drawers full of fixtures and holding gadgets. Do yourself a favor if you make any of them. MARK THEM as to what they are for! Twenty years down the road you tend to forget....

Rex Pedersen
7/14/2006 4:45:41 PM

this sounds crazy, but gives one low cost practice. i used to take old plumbers elbows, reducers, and such- clean them and smooth as much as possible with sand paper. the metal was soft, easy to work which gives one the "feel" needed to do the curves. lots of practice at first on the soft stuff, get a bit of feel for executing thru your designs. once the "feel" is acquired, learning ways to anchor the parts usually comes to one. practice, and lots of it. good luck
monk @ custom engraving by monk

j.d. swartzfeger
9/27/2006 12:34:19 AM