And they must be kept extremely sharp

Honing edge of tool for sharpness on 2000 grit emory.

scratching a pencil onto sandpaper to make powdered
graphite.

rubbing the graphite into the scribed acetate

This shows a wad of engraving wax that I roll over the
master to lay down a thin layer of the wax onto the
master. This is a part of the transfer of the image
process.

lining up the acetate on brass for the master

This shows a piece of acetate (clear plastic) on top
of the master and my plastic burnishing tool.
I rub the top of the acetate to transfer the graphite from the acetate onto the master

Once the graphite pattern is transferred onto the
wax on the master plate, I engrave it into the master
plate.

Cutting in some of the detail on the master plate

The final master ready for sanding and polishing

The sanded master plate

This is the sanded and polished master plate for
Barry's EagleVox. I use this to transfer the image in
wax from the master plate to the flanges using the
clear acetate to lift the wax from the master to the
acetate and then transfer it by burnishing it on the
flange before I engrave them. The wax is the pattern I
can see and follow while engraving.

This is a structure I designed and made a few years
ago for engraving. I have a flat piece of thick
plywood for a base. A metal flange screwed into it. A
piece of threaded pipe screwed into the flange and
another piece of plywood, cut in a circle on top also
attached to the pipe with a threaded flange screwed
into this piece of plywood. On top I have a lazy Susan
I have cut into a smaller circle that spins around
nice and easy. This helps to move the piece you are
engraving and makes for smoother curving cuts. I place
the piece in my jig on top of this lazy Susan and I
can put the piece into any position I need. The trick
to good cuts in engraving is to move the piece into
the tool instead of moving the tool into the piece.
This is my set up for doing just that.

I made this block of wood with some pins in it. I
slide the flange over the pins to help hold it in
place while I engrave on it. Holding a piece is always
an issue. The less work you have to do to hang onto a
piece the better it is. You use a considerable amount
of hand strength to push your tools into and along the
brass piece. A holding device counteracts the pushing
with little use of energy to expend on it. That saves
your strength for where you need it, on the tools!

This shows the acetate on the flange plate with the
 burnisher rubbing the acetate to transfer the wax
     image to the flange.

 Cutting the first cut on
the flange

The first of the design elements are cut on the first
flange.

This shows the detail of an area on the flange that I
can't remove. It has some of the old plating still
there. I think it was caused by someone tightening a
nut too much and it dented the metal in this small
area. I could'nt sand it off. Most of it should be
hidden by the nut when assembled.

 When I finish engraving the flange, I then final sand
it to remove minor scratches and burrs that occur
during the engraving process. I start with 600 grit
and then 1200 grit and a final sanding with 2000 grit.
Then for a basic polish on my buffer.

Here is the first completed flange with all the detail
completed and buffed out. It might need a final finish
polishing prior to plating. I don't have the right
polishing equipment for that "High Shine"

Here is a close up of the end of the flange to show
the detail of the engraving.

 Do you want to learn how to play the
tenor banjo/tenor guitar?
Get started at my website:
 
 
 

http://www.geocities.com/banjopa1/intro.html

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Write to me at:

vintagebanjo@aol.com