Just finished

[Phil Coggan]

Just finished number 1 of a pair, number 2 will take me up until about November.
An unusual pair in that they're shotguns with african big game!

Phil

[rick woodward]

Absolutely Magnificent !
Deep carved and great sculpting. I hope you post pics after its blued or whatever finish it gets. By the way your photography is excellent also. Thanks for the inspiration. rick

[biorkabarry]

Wow! Quite amazing work Phil. I too am curious as to what the final finish will be on this gun, assuming that it will be blued or??
Barry

[Danny C]

Very nice heavy engraving Phil. I saw your last posting and am just amazed at the 3d engraving.

Is it also "smooth" to the hand?

[SVD]

Beautiful Phil!

Hey, if you use your new air graver on the second one you might get done in October instead. :p

[ddushane]

Outstanding work Phil! Your work always amazes me. Thanks for posting, Dwayne

[Phil Coggan]

The gun will be cyanide hardened and then lightly polished, it should look better after this because it gives everything an uniform colour.

Originally Posted by SVD

Beautiful Phil!

Hey, if you use your new air graver on the second one you might get done in October instead. :p

I have'nt received it yet, Steve is doing some modifications for me, ie. twinturbo and afterburner!

Phil

[Sam Welch]

It is such a treat to see your work Phil! Many thanks for posting. When I get "heavy handed" my deepest cutting is maybe .010 of an inch deep. Your sculpting looks a good bit deeper. Have you ever measured it, perhaps with a dial indicator? S

[Phil Coggan]

Sam, it's probably around .025

OT/ Steve sent me his sharpening system a few weeks ago with the second prize graver blanks, I have'nt had time to check it out, but Simon just opened the package and within no time had a perfectly sharpened graver, incredable for such a simple device.....going to check it out myself when I have a minute, well done Steve! :whoo:

Phil

[Vanknife]

Good day Phil,
Out "standing work" has not been used in previous reply's, keep posting them it’s a tonic for any would be engraver and surely a stimulant for those that feels like they want to give up engraving

Thank's

Cheers

"VAN"

[Tom McArdle]

You are right Van. It is work like this that keeps me going, and striving to get better. I don't know how far i will go, but striving get better is easier with a target to aim at!

Phil, that is great work.

This example would serve as my concluding argument that the best engraving work ever is being done right now.

back to the chain gang!

Tom

[Sam Welch]

I got out my trusty dial indicator, a flat plate and proceeded to cut a few lines, each deeper. Boy does it take some doing to get .025 inches deep. I am sure using a square graver is not the best way but it sure gives you a feel for the sculpturing that Phil has done. S

[Andrew Biggs]

Hey Sam & Phil

Could you please put that measurement in plain metric English for us imperial challenged folks at the bottom of the world

Cheers
Andrew

[Sam Welch]

Hey Andrew. One mm is about .039 inches so .025 inches would be about .64 mm, somewhat over half a mm. Or when cutting in steel...
DEEP! S

[Andrew Biggs]

Thanks Sam

Now I understand :yesnod:

.64mm doesn't seem that deep untill you go to cut it. Then you realise it's like trying to excavate a gold mine. What truly amazes me is that it really gives the illusion of looking more like 5mm deep.

Truly amazing work, technique, skill and artistic ability.

Cheers
Andrew

[Danny C]

Phil
How long ago did you switch over to "POWER" engraving?
Did it really make as much difference as you thought it would (looking ahead and before you got it), as to after and you actually used it.

Do you think your work, essentially, stayed the same, or did it change any, after using "power"?

[Phil Coggan]

Steve's tool arriving tomorrow!
Re-deep cutting, a word of caution, when engraving pinless lock plates(picture locks) make sure you don't cut into the hidden pin holes.

I'm Wrong the tool has just arrived

Phil

[Sam Welch]

Hey Phil. I am sure you will enjoy the airgraver. It is really versital and covers a very wide power range.

I had been doing a small scroll study for a project I am working when this thread started and your comment about the depth you go got my courage up and I took the scroll about twice as deep as I had done. Made a very noticable difference and improvement. Now...if I can just get it as clean as you get your work (fat chance). Regards, Sam.

[Tom McArdle]

I got to see some of Sam's work recently, and it looked mighty clean to me!

Tom

[mckeenh]

Hi Phil, I really like your work and I know it is time consuming but could you do a tutorial doing just one leaf so we can see the progression? It would be terribly informative.

Neil:yesnod:

[Danny C]

Imagine - He does all that with a push graver and small hammer! - Incredible!

Can hardly wait to see his response after using it for a few days.

He'll problably go back to the Hammer and Chisel! (ya, right!)

[Tom McArdle]

I've been using an Air Graver for close to 8 years now, i think. i still prefer the hammer and chisel for some work though. Certain angles or certain types of cuts just work better for me with the old H&C.

Take care,

Tom

[Sam Welch]

Thanks for the kind words Tom. It seems to me we are looking at a whole new level of requirement for polish and accuracy when cutting so deeply.

One thing I wanted to mention I haven't seen alluded to yet...doing this kind of deep sculpture on a cusomer's very expensive firearm is not for the faint of heart! It requires a huge amount of confidence as well as competence. S

[Tom McArdle]

Sam,

I have looked at that gun some more. I really understated it in my above post. That is gorgeous work!

Tom

[mckeenh]

Confidence and knowledge for sure are needed. I hope he will do a tutorial on his tecnique. It gives us all something to strive for. Great work.! Tom, How long have you been engraving?

Neil

[Sam Welch]

Tom, what really caught my attention was in the photos in Phil's thread just prior to this one. Not just the smoothness but the fact he was able to keep the crisp "spine" of the scroll and leaves so true to the flow of the scroll. That is hard enough to do with flat cut scroll!! S

[Tom McArdle]

You are right Sam, but you do have that part down. I tried some sculpting when I was in school. I really like doing it, but where i work doesn't require me or afford me the opportunity to do it.

Neil,

It will be 15 years this fall since I first picked up a graver. Seeing how fast you guys progress, i think i should be better by now, but i keep pluggin away. I do have a pretty broad experience to draw on though, and i am thankful for that.

Take care,

Tom

[mckeenh]

I think I should be farther by now too but it ain't so. Sometimes when the light bulb goes off I feel like a moron but it all comes with time and I appreciate all the help we get here. I also think that there is a time in our engraving careers,( Phil or Steve or Ron correct me if I am wrong.) when we need to strike out on our own for our own style and technique. I have and will continue to study other engravers work but I am starting to get a little stubborn about what I like and how I go about it.

Neil:yesnod:

[Phil Coggan]

Originality is the key, nobody is looking for your work which is copying someone else's, originality is good, but it's got to be good originality, if you know what I mean!

Phil

[mckeenh]

That is a tough one as engraving has been going on for so long that it is hard to come up with something new. I suppose we can reinvent the wheel to some degree. Maybe our individual technique will help us create our own style.

Neil:yesnod:

[Danny C]

I think it is more like putting on our own "stamp" on the same thing. There are only so many ways to make a scroll, afterall. But, putting on leaves and filligrees, etc, where they are put on, how many, is "ours". No matter what we do, or how good we are, when we see someone else work, we just go WOW! But others do that to "our" work. Its all reference. "WE" do good work - but there are always going to be some better and some worse. The best thing is to just do good work at our current level - which keeps moving up, the more we do.