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Old 02-12-2006, 06:53 PM
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Steve Lindsay Steve Lindsay is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Kearney, NE
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Default Inexpensive way to give it a try

If you're interested in giving hand engraving a try without spending a lot of money an easy method may be to purchase a wood graver handle and a graver (probably $10 total). Clamp a scrap piece of brass, copper or steel in a bench vise and begin. With the stationary bench vise it will be hard to make curves or scrolls but it will work to make straight line cuts. In fact, you can try it without a vise if palm-pushing light lines in copper. For deeper engraving use a small hammer and tap on the back of the graver or graver handle and drive the point through the metal. You'll need to have the work in a vise for use with a hammer though. If you're familiar with carving and sculpturing wood with chisels, engraving in metal is basically the same idea except the cuts are smaller and the chisels are sharpened differently.

Below is an example of what can be done palm-pushing. Lucie Krulickova from the Czech Republic has engraved several large maps on copper plate using palmpushing only and without a vise. She later began using a foot pedal AirGraver and now she is with a PalmControl AirGraver. Lucie's web site is at www.engraving.wz.cz She makes prints from the plates and sells the prints.