engraving practice

[D.Ellis]

Just a bit of scroll practice today......that's 1 inch wide flat bar. There are 2 different types of scroll. You could fit all of it on a medium sized guard or butt plate.
Darcy  
 
 

[gudspelr]

That's AWESOME   . How do you come up with the designs? I chatted with Robin a bit a while back about his scrolls in leather. I apparently don't have a brain very conducive to coming up with designs... Thanks for posting this.

Jeremy

[Lin Rhea]

Ron Smith wrote a book about scroll designs that is very good. I have it. I also have a belt buckle that he engraved.

Darcy, your engraving is very nice.

[kbaknife]

That is very cool.

[Roughcountry]

That's very nice engraving Darcy. I'm just starting to get educated about the different engraving styles.
Did you use a graver or hammer method?
I'd like to learn the hammer method.

Just took a layout class from Diane Scaleasee.
I'm hoping it helps my leather carving layout

[D.Ellis]

Thanks guys.
Robin, I use the hammer and chisel method. Takes longer to learn than with the pneumatic tools they have these days, but I like the traditional, low tech approach.
Jeremy,
There are basic rules to scroll layout and once you learn the rules it is much easier. That Ron Smith book Lin referred to, is supposed to be great for teaching scroll design, I have never read it. There are a couple good engraving forums that I used to hang out on and I learned a bunch of stuff there.
Like most things people do, you can take engraving to crazy levels. I am more interested in deep cut stuff that looks good and will wear well with time. Some of the real fine line stuff is pretty delicate. Almost can't handle it or it will wear away some of the detail. Lots of the top engravers are using stereo microscopes just to be able to see what they are cutting   :eek:
Darcy  

[Roughcountry]

It gives me hope when I hear your using the hammer method Darcy. At the class I took GRS co. was there with all their tools. Very nice stuff but it kinda gave me sticker shock. A hammer is more inline with a saddlemaker's budget.

 For silver I'd like to learn the push method.

[Bodork]

That kind of stuff tickles my fancy! I'm especially impressed that it was done by hammer. I love it!

[just_a_hunter]

I have done a lot of engraving with air tools and I can tell you it takes some serious tallent to get pneumatic engraving to look half that pure. That is beautiful...

Todd