r/engraving

Image 1 — First few engraving projects
Image 2 — First few engraving projects
Image 3 — First few engraving projects

First few engraving projects

Just wanted to share my first attempts, open to any tips on where things could have been done better

u/Lil_jewsh — 15 hours ago
▲ 1.4k r/engraving+197 crossposts

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u/GaryNOVA — 3 days ago

Searching for some more tools

Could someone tell me if using the Lindsay Sharpening System is going to be a great benefit to someone just starting in hand push engraving, and if so, is there a cheaper version than the original one?

Thanks

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u/lastn06 — 2 days ago
▲ 584 r/engraving

Should I leave it as it is?

Of course first of all it has no rounds or mag in it in the first picture it’s just to show the hammer is engraved aswell now I was thinking of leaving it with the background normal not doing anything to it but the more I see other peoples engraving on 1911 I think of doing a stippling but then I think it won’t be as polished or the stippling could look dirty

u/No-Adhesiveness6921 — 4 days ago
▲ 4 r/engraving+1 crossposts

How to Engrave Very Small Text on a CNC?

Dear CNC experts, could you please advise how to engrave text like this?

The text size is 85 mm × 8 mm, with an engraving depth of 0.02 mm. I tried using a 3.175 mm, 30° V-bit with a 0.1 mm tip, but I couldn't achieve the desired result. Any recommendations on the best tool or settings?

u/Parsiway — 3 days ago
▲ 12 r/engraving+2 crossposts

Applying a coat of paint after treating the wood will make it much better.

Even with an air pump, there will still be black edges, but a coat of paint can cover the original color.

I feel that placing a layer of gauze or something similar on the spray paint could help achieve a more natural gradient effect.

u/Carverall_Akon — 3 days ago
▲ 28 r/engraving+1 crossposts

Insight/Advice

Hey everyone, I just wanted to input/advise.

I recently ordered a lot of wax seal stamps, and many have arrived with this type of poor quality/poor finishing work.

I've rarely (if ever) encountered this level of damage/poor work. I've only included a few examples here, but I have quite a lot from this order that display varying levels of these issues.

At most, I'd get a few little pieces of metal in my wax after the first few impressions, and then it's fine. These are usually in pieces which visually look ok, but as you can see, this time things seem a bit different !

I've never received (nor seen) quality like this being passed off as "normal for cnc engraving" (the sellers stance)

I wanted to check with unbiased and experienced people, as the seller is trying to tell me this is normal.

Yet my 200+ collection of wax seal stamp heads, and tacit knowledge informs me otherwise

The last 2 photos I've included a comparison stamp which I'm happy with (from the same seller and the same order).

Thanks for your help!

u/E-Skullery — 5 days ago

Shell casing engraving

I got this casing as a ceremonial souvenir during my time in the military. I was thinking about getting it engraved as it was part of the gun salute for the queens passing in 2022.

Any ideas on where to take it? Is it even safe to engrave? It’s brass but there is a blue residue on the inside. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

u/Morganjj01 — 4 days ago
▲ 7 r/engraving+1 crossposts

What's the most economical way to set up graver sharpening for my home studio?

Hello!

I've fallen in love with engraving over the past six months or so. I've been using my local studio's setup of a couple of grinding discs (not graver holders, angle is set by eye), but I want to get a setup going at home, both because I'm trying to do more in-house work, and because I don't really want to travel across the city with a few very sharp tools in my pack.

I've looked at a few options, and they seem to vary widely from flexshaft diamond discs to whole sharpening setups.

I'm a jeweler first and foremost, so I think I'd mainly use this for decorative flourishes, to clean settings, and raise beads.

What's the most cost-effective way for me to get started?

Thank you!!

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u/Lamping — 5 days ago
▲ 29 r/engraving+2 crossposts

A new attempt: Spray-painted metal cards

I tested a new engraving process on metal cards today. I use metal cards as the base material, spray a full coat of black paint on the surface, then blast off the paint layer with a laser to carve patterns.

I ran into plenty of troubles during the test, let me talk about all my failed attempts!

My original idea was to stick masking tape around four sides of the card as a cover, so the carved pattern would stay perfectly centered.

My first trial was a total flop. I didn’t use the card outline as a positioning reference, so the exposed carved area turned out crooked. Also, I’m not familiar with spray painting. I ripped the tape off right after spraying. The fresh black paint peeled off together with the tape, and the first card was totally ruined.

I learned my lesson in the second test and avoided peeling the paint off, but positioning was still tricky. Vertical alignment was fine, yet there was around 1mm horizontal offset. Besides, my laser speed setting was too high; I need to slow it down further to fully reveal the golden metal underneath.

Anyone who’s tried this laser & spray paint craft? I’ve got two questions to ask you guys:

1. How long do I need to wait after spraying before removing masking tape to prevent paint peeling?

2. Do you have any handy tricks to center metal cards accurately?

Feel free to share your practical experience in the comments, I’m looking forward to your advice!

u/Carverall_Akon — 7 days ago
▲ 357 r/engraving+3 crossposts

Hand engraving knife

I have finished engraving the remaining knife scale. The first side features a koi fish with scrollwork, while the second side showcases a peony flower combined with scrollwork. Both sides are accented with 24k gold inlay.

u/Sung_Engraver — 14 days ago

Working with different metals

Happy Friday all,

Quick question , Can stainless steel be hand pushed, or does it require a pneumatic tool for this to be done?

Everything I've read said it's pretty much impossible to hand push it.

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u/lastn06 — 10 days ago
▲ 4 r/engraving+1 crossposts

Darkening engraving without the surface around

I am engraving some Brass Plates with a diamond tipped drag engraver, the engraving itself looks good, but to make it more readable I use brass black to tarnish the engraved pockets, I used no a bit of nailpolish on the surface applied before the engraving to mask the restof the plate, but a bit of the brass black still gets through from time to time, how can I get that of without also removing the tarnish in the engraving. The picture isnt great its more to illustrate how the finished product should look

u/chair-1972 — 13 days ago

Practice pieces

Could anyone advise as to where the best place to buy practice pieces of copper is, and is there any other metal you all would recommend, or would copper be the best to start with?

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u/lastn06 — 12 days ago