Sako Floorplate - Engraving Forum.com - The Internet's Largest and Fastest Growing Engraving Community

WVEngraver · #1 02-08-2009, 08:54 PM

Here's a floorplate for a custom rifle built by Steve Cale here in West Virginia.

It's built on a .300 UM Sako and this is the first piece I've finished for it which took most of the week. The border is 24K and the letter "C" is fine silver. I was gonna do it the other way around but I had difficulty inlaying the silver into such a wide and weird shaped border. This rifle is one of his personal show guns so the "C" is for his family name.

The photo could be better and I'm still contemplating on filling the top hinge area with something leafy-scrolly.

Enjoy and thanks fer lookin'.

Chris

Vanknife · #2 02-08-2009, 09:04 PM

Good day Chris,
this looks good man, i like the border and the "C". I am busy with a knife for my daughters wedding to cut the wedding cake and will be inlaying silver on the titanium handle, i hope it will look as good as this.

Cheers

"VAN"

mtgraver · #3 02-08-2009, 10:12 PM

Hi Chris, beautiful job, will it be blued? a little highlighting by softening the blue? That's kind of the vision I see that would embolden the silver "C",Just a thought. Always a pleasure to view your work. The bunker must've been warm last week!?
Mark
www.MarkThomas-graver.com

Steve Lindsay · #4 02-09-2009, 12:15 AM

Hi Chris, Looks great. I like the shading! Beatuiful Job.

carl bleile · #5 02-09-2009, 12:17 AM

Looks great the way it is, don't think it would help to add more unless your going to do the rest of the bottom metal. What kind of trouble did you have with inlaying the border with silver?
Carl Bleile
southwest,Ohio

tonytigerhk45 · #6 02-09-2009, 09:46 AM

That's some nice work you got there.:whoo: If you do the top hinge area you might want to try a S in the leaf script it can stand for Sako. That's if you need any help with designing but I don't think you do.

ron · #7 02-09-2009, 11:22 AM

hi Chris .. you did well that looks fantastic .. keep it up .. ron p

WVEngraver · #8 02-09-2009, 01:07 PM

Hi Van, thank-you. I'm sure it will be great and a great honor to be used in the ceremony ... congrats. You can get a nice 3-D effect by shading one side of the inlay.

Hi Mark ... thank-you. Yes, this will be blued. I've considered the possibility of selective french gray to lighten that spot. I won't really know for sure till it comes out of the tank.

Hi Steve .... thank-you. Shading gold still makes me a little nervous. There's no eraser!!!

Hi Carl, I had trouble using thick fine silver wire as it work hardened. Just using the wire method for this type of inlay was a pain in the butt altogether. It was just easier to manage with soft gold. The rest of bottom metal will have modest embellishment including the screws.

Hi Tony, very good idea - almost kind-of a hidden S, I'll probably leave the area for now. Sometimes a design doesn't always come together until it's all together. It looks good on paper but sometimes needs a little more here or there and that's why I'll leave it alone until I positively sure.

Thanks Ron. I know that when you use the word "fantastic" that you really like it

I'm going to get a better photo and re-post it. If the light doesn't hit it just right then it either washes the gold or the scroll.

Chris

UPDATE: Some cloud cover rolled in and I was able to get a better photo outside. Still not perfect but a heckuva lot better than the last one. The shading lines around the letter are much clearer.

SVD · #9 02-09-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WVEngraver

UPDATE: Some cloud cover rolled in and I was able to get a better photo outside. Still not perfect but a heckuva lot better than the last one. The shading lines around the letter are much clearer.

Oh my!

I thought the original picture was looking good but yeah, that is better.

You need to make yourself a light dome so you can get this quality all the time. Scrounge up an unused plastic tub - the semi-translucent kind - and cut a hole in one end just big enough for your camera's lens. Set it over the piece, arrange lights outside (or take it outside in the sun) and fire away.

Daniel Houwer · #10 02-09-2009, 04:50 PM

Hi Chris,
I love the plate. Its looking very classy.
I take it from Steve's message that your Update photo was posted, but I can't see it. Seeing Steves remark I am curious

WVEngraver · #11 02-09-2009, 07:06 PM

Hi Steve, a simple light box would do wonders.

Hi Daniel, I've noticed that sometimes Photobucket images don't load. I thought I would save Steve some disk space as well as bandwidth.

I'll post it as an attachment but the resolution will not be as high.

SVD · #12 02-09-2009, 09:49 PM

Daniel

The update overlaid the original - on the image that was there at first I didn't even notice the shading lines around the C. It was good, but not quite as clear and detailed.

Daniel Houwer · #13 02-10-2009, 04:26 AM

Ah, that is clear now.
Great picture of great work!

Kirby B · #14 02-10-2009, 06:13 AM

Nice work Chris!

KDavid · #15 02-10-2009, 07:00 AM

Absolutly beautiful work Chris, please keep posting it gives me inspiration

WVEngraver · #16 02-10-2009, 06:39 PM

Excellent .... glad that worked Daniel.

Hi Kirby .... many thanks.

Hi David, thank-you .... I'm hangin' in there, as long as I know there's at least one out there that is inspired by the work or finds humor in my jokes. Up next is another one of Kirby's knives.

Daniel Houwer · #17 02-10-2009, 07:18 PM

Quote:

as long as I know there's at least one out there that is inspired by the work or finds humor in my jokes

Make that two on both acounts! Looking forward too your Kirby knife.
(I am engraving a Hammer now

they don't trust me with knifes yet)

Ddbltrbl · #18 02-11-2009, 02:19 AM

Nice job Chris. I think it worked quite well with the gold framing the letter versus the other way around. Looking forward to the Kirby!

BrianPowley · #19 02-11-2009, 06:49 PM

Nice work, Chris! I just got a few floor plate jobs this past month.
What are you holding them with?
I'd like to get a floor plate fixture like the one Barry Lee Hands has.

I can't remember if he had it made for him or made it himself, but it sure was the best way I've seen to fasten 'em in the vise!

Carry on!

JJ Roberts · #20 02-12-2009, 05:59 AM

Chris...That floorplate looks beautiful. Did you engrave anything else on the rifle..like the trigger guard, and the scope rings? When I get a request to engave a bolt action rifle this is what I try to talk the customer into it gives a gun a nice touch without a big investment. Keep up the good work.

JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA
School of Artisic Engraving
www.jjrobertsengraver.com

WVEngraver · #21 02-12-2009, 04:20 PM

Hey guys ... sorry for the late reply. Lost power out here in the stix for about 24 hrs and only had enough extension cords for the generator to run essentials - heat, freezer, FOX News and coffee maker.

Thank-you for the support Daniel and Ddble .... thank you for the e-mail.

Hi Brian, first I'd like to say congratulations on achieving FEGA nirvana with professional status and a great job on your National Match Colt.

I used simple, low profile pins to hold this in place. Thermolock works well too and that would have been better for stoning the inlay flush but I can't seem to find the bundle of Themolock sticks I misplaced in this mess. Some of these floorplates have a nice edge on the back of them for the box leaf spring and I've used that to clamp on to with some other plates. Doesn't always work well on cast plates like this Sako though.

Hi JJ, Thank-you very much - yes, I'm working on the all of the bottom metal including a skeleton grip cap as well as the scope rings. There's no buttplate on this rifle to engrave and for cost reasons, gold is being limited to the floorplate, scope rings and possibly the trigger guard. For that same reason, I'm sticking to simple scroll designs but with higher quality shading. It's all gonna be blued so how and where I use gold (conservatively and effectively) is important to tie this all in.

Thanks again guys,
Chris

Herman Knives · #22 02-13-2009, 02:40 PM

Chris, nice job overall but I really noticed all those horizontal lines around that C and thought of that same 3D look Francesca Fracassi gets doing that same technique. Makesw it look very deep cut an 3D yet its all flat. Very nice job overall.

WVEngraver · #23 02-13-2009, 07:37 PM

Hi Tim, Thank-you very much and I'm glad you noticed the detail work inside the border.

I admit that I haven't seen the Fracassi book yet .... I know, my bad.

I actually studied a couple of old stock certificates. The certificates were bank-note engraved and I merely simplified the cuts to achieve a similar 3D effect. This inlay is completely flush with the metal. The scrollwork was originally much more complex but I simplified the design as the monogram and inlay took much longer than expected ..... kindof a trade off to work within a budget.

Thanks again Tim,

Chris

Here's one that's a little closer-upper of the monogram. All line cut, no stipple/dots. I'm slowly trying to learn and get a feel for all line shading.

Herman Knives · #24 02-13-2009, 09:27 PM

That looks really good. Those horizontal lines make a big difference. Again nice work. The all line work looks great.

Vanknife · #25 02-15-2009, 01:56 AM

Hey Chris this close up shot is stunning and one can’t merely believe it is only line used for the shading.
Keep up the good work.

Cheers

"VAN"

BrianPowley · #26 02-15-2009, 08:27 PM

Chris, the close up is nice.
If you're ever up this way, I'll share a few tips about inlay and shading techniques.

WVEngraver · #27 02-15-2009, 10:53 PM

Van, I used a 70 degree bank-note graver to cut the lines which I added a very small heel to be sure it wouldn't nose dive into the soft gold. I used a 90 degree in the steel.

Hi Brian, you sure got that inlay technique down real good from the Godfather. I'm embarrassed that I haven't been out that way yet but I will.

Many thanks.

BrianPowley · #28 02-16-2009, 07:27 AM

Chris... The door is always open.