Im very new to the engraving scene.One of many questions to be asked is:
I have a square bit sharpened at a 45 degree face and 15 degree heels. When resharpeninng what do you sharpen? All the bit 45 degree or the 15 degree one.??

mark hall
2/13/2007 2:36:26 PM

Mark, for cutting steel I use about a 65 degree face on a square carbide tool. I use a heel of about 7 degrees but this depends on how you hold the tool and what is comfortable for you. Try several angles on a practice plate until you find your own groove. To resharpen, put the face on until the chipped or worn point is gone then add the heel...a very thin heel works best. The only time I put a heel longer than a few thousandths of an inch is for cutting long straight lines.

Sam Welch
2/13/2007 2:59:21 PM

Mark- What Sam said is true. The angles can vary greatly between engravers and also graver material. Throw in another variable like the hardness of the material you engraving. Generally if you were engraving a hard material then you would want a steeper face grind like about 65 degrees, but if it is a softer material then a 45-degree face may work for you. If you find that you are breaking or chipping graver points then try to increase the face angle to give your graver more strength. The heel angle is the angle that you comfortably hold the push graver or the hand piece. When I began engraving I did made the mistake of grinding too long of a heel. Although this will aid in keeping the graver going in a straight line it will fight you if you try to make a curved line and will chatter out the outside edge of the cut especially if using a flat graver. When I began to engrave I think I could have measured the heel I used with a yardstick and now if I can see the heel with the naked eye it may be too long. Heel length of just a few thousands is all that is needed. I hope this helps.

Mike


Robert Bissell
2/14/2007 9:41:36 AM

Hello all!! I finally ordered my ceramic lap to add a heel to my gravers. I followed the directions off of Sam Alfano's DVD, but it seems that I'm still having to push the graver too hard to get it to go after I engrave a few lines. I noticed also that the heel is barely noticable...am I not grinding it down enough or is there a problem with my machine?? Also, I ordered a new hand piece from GRS (the 901) and I think I have to change the tubing to make it fit on my GraverMeister...any tips on doing that??

Thank you!!
Miranda

Miranda Hoffmann
4/19/2007 9:41:37 AM

Hello all!! I finally ordered my ceramic lap to add a heel to my gravers. I followed the directions off of Sam Alfano's DVD, but it seems that I'm still having to push the graver too hard to get it to go after I engrave a few lines. I noticed also that the heel is barely noticable...am I not grinding it down enough or is there a problem with my machine?? Also, I ordered a new hand piece from GRS (the 901) and I think I have to change the tubing to make it fit on my GraverMeister...any tips on doing that??

Thank you!!
Miranda

Miranda Hoffmann
4/19/2007 9:42:38 AM

Hi Miranda,

I think you might be onto something if you can imagine that when you constrict the orifice of a water hose what happens? You get more velocity. These different hand pieces are designed to act upon the stream of air they were designed for. I think velocity would matter, so if you can get a step down and place it very close to the machine, that might solve the problem, but it might be a good idea if you contact GRS to see what their recomendation would be. This is just my opinion and a little physics. I'm not sure it would work at all. It might be worth a try.

I have found that compared to the newer machines, the gravermiester is a gorilla. If you are doing heavy work it is great. If you are doing very light work (bulino)you can hardly get it down to a fine enough adjustment. Maybe I just haven't experimented with it enough. I am relatively new with the pneumatic machines. Hope this helps.

Ron S

Ron Smith
4/19/2007 10:38:47 AM

Mark, I would like to add to the other comments that the width of the point matters in strength and performance. A narrower tool will cut deeper,get into smaller places, but be more difficult to control in a curve, and will have a tendency to drag on the outside of the turn. Imagine trying to make a turn with a knife blade in a slot or groove no wider than the blade. A wider point will allow a smoother turn and add strength to the point. It is not too good however, for cutting straight lines unless you increase the length of the heel. These days point breakage is a constant exercise in frustration due to the hard metals we engravers are required to work on.If you set your point width at about 110 to 120 degrees, and very short as the others said, you will get good performance on curves. If you are starting out, this is what I recommend. The drawback to this would be that the scroll edges would have more bevel. In normal work this is okay, but in bulino you want crisp defnition between your foreground and background, so you might have to go over your boundaries or outline again, after background removal, to get that crispness with a wide point. It sort of depends on what kind of work you are doing and what you are trying to achieve. I could ramble on, but maybe this will help a bit.

Ron S

Ron Smith
4/19/2007 11:01:06 AM