Engraving Question; Parallel cross hatched line patterns

[Col. Batguano]

I have a question about cutting in parallel line patterns. Many designs call for (or look best with) little triangle areas that have cross hatched patterns in them. They're usually around the peaks of designs. I have a problem setting the lines to be even all the way across the pattern. (There's always a line or two that seem to be a little wider or narrower than the rest of them, and the designs take on somewhat of a "Bubba look" in my attempts. In checkering, you can use a tool with one of the cutters set in your master line, and then it's just a matter of using that as your guide to let the tool continue cutting more lines that come out even. There are parallel line engraving tools out there, but those I've seen seem generally more suited for shading than cutting in a pattern. (They also say that using them is the lazy man's way of doing shading.)

How do you guys cut your patterns to come out so nice and neat?

 

[Greg Y]

A dirty trick I learned is that a tap with the tpi that matches your desired line pitch can be used to start any lines then finished by hand. If you have a mill, 3 sides can be ground off and the remaining relieved to cut as well.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Brilliant suggestion! Thanks!

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I just cut them. No measuring. Look at original work, they didn't worry about spacing much.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I'm sure that works for you Mike, but your experience level of 400+ guns made (like a McDonalds--Billions and billions served) and artistic skill level is far above mine (currently). I'm still in the "coloring book phase" of my artistic education, so having lines to follow is pretty necessary for me to avoid a case of the "Bubba's". The source of the problem is that the graver tip is out there in front of the cutting edge and covers up the work as I'm hammering it, (I hammer the graver away from me the way a right hander writes rather than toward me the way a left hander writes) so I can't really see where it's cutting. I tried that technique as it's described in the book "Engraving Historical Firearms" and it just doesn't work for me. I'm hopelessly right handed.

 

[IanH]

I assume you mean background shading lines, all parallel and evenly spaced?

Milling machine with a ground tool in the collet and spindle locked, workpiece pefectly trammed in, scribe them in with the table. Obviously this only works on perfectly flat work.

Or make a pattern as above and do a wax transfer. Practice practice practice.

 

[PathfinderNC]

How I wish I could discipline myself to learn metal engraving.

 

[Greg Y]

I assume you mean background shading lines, all parallel and evenly spaced?

Milling machine with a ground tool in the collet and spindle locked, workpiece pefectly trammed in, scribe them in with the table. Obviously this only works on perfectly flat work.

Or make a pattern as above and do a wax transfer. Practice practice practice.

That's where the tap can shine. Anything with a constant radius can be trammed in on a rotary table. I learned by watching a 1911 front strap get cut.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

How I wish I could discipline myself to learn metal engraving.

It's all about learning how to sharpen the tool correctly.

 

[Norman Brooks]

A dirty trick I learned is that a tap with the tpi that matches your desired line pitch can be used to start any lines then finished by hand. If you have a mill, 3 sides can be ground off and the remaining relieved to cut as well.

That is a cool idea. I wonder if a pitch gauge or thread file would do the same thing?

I just cut them. No measuring. Look at original work, they didn't worry about spacing much.

It's all about learning how to sharpen the tool correctly.

Mike is absolutely correct on both accounts. The biggest problem I have is in the sharpening.

 

[Greg Y]

A thread file wouldn't be likely to have the root needed....but to be fair, I have never tried it.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Engraving parallel lines is a basic skill for an engraver. There are liners, which will cut multiple lines simultaneously, but they are not necessary if you have the proper skills. Moreover, they are clumsy tools that cannot get into tight corners. Mike is right, as usual, that engraving on most 18th century guns was not CNC, milling machine, computer guided perfect. In the days in which everything was handmade, a perspective we can no longer get our minds around, imperfections in lines and work were just the way it was done. When I advise folks starting out engraving, and I am a skilled engraver, I urge them to not get right into scrolls, letters, and leafy things. I urge them to start by engraving a straight line along a border of something and then when they can produce a smooth line for several inches, to practice making parallel lines. Unfortunately, most folks cannot resist trying to engrave "leafy things" before they can produce any straight smooth lines much less parallel lines. Their work rarely rises above poor or mediocre. To engrave well you must practice and the practice has to be disciplined. One key practice is cutting parallel lines. A trick to doing them is to only focus on the next 1/4" of your line. Make that perfect, and then focus on the next 1/4". You may be able to use a machine to produce better lines, but you will never become a better engraver doing that.

dave

 

[Col. Batguano]

You guys are right again as usual. But it's the spacing part I need help with. Once there is a scratch in the metal, it's reasonably easy to follow the line. The ground down tapping bit is a good idea. Something in the order of 12-16 TPI. Another thought I had is to use my metal calipers as a guide, and set one jaw in the previously cut line and use the other jaw to make a scratch for the next line. That would give you almost infinite adjustability.

 

[Kevin Houlihan]

I took a week-long hammer & chisel engraving class at Cabin Creek Muzzleloading w/ Brad and Shane Emig a few years ago. Most of the first day and the beginning of the 2nd was spent learning to properly sharpen a graver and then cutting straight parallel lines...over and over and over and over. Every day at the beginning of class we'd practice cutting straight lines to warm up.
As Dave stated, most period engraving wasn't great - luckily for me... Get some of the KRA discs and blow up the images - you'll see pretty sloppy engraving on most guns. There were however, some pretty awesome engravers such as Jacob Kuntz.
Practice and good luck!
Kevin

 

[Kevin Houlihan]

You guys are right again as usual. But it's the spacing part I need help with. Once there is a scratch in the metal, it's reasonably easy to follow the line. The ground down tapping bit is a good idea. Something in the order of 12-16 TPI. Another thought I had is to use my metal calipers as a guide, and set one jaw in the previously cut line and use the other jaw to make a scratch for the next line. That would give you almost infinite adjustability.

Don't get hung-up on perfect spacing. Mark out your lines using a set of dividers, ruler or whatever, draw the line w/ a SHARP pencil and cut it. At first it may look like manure, but practice makes it better. We had .5mm mechanical pencils and were taught (told) to sharpen the lead before drawing. The finer the drawing, the finer the engraving.
Kevin