Kurt Horvath ( Kguns ) Tutorial #2

[kguns]

(If you would like to comment on this submission, you may do so by posting a reply in this thread. Thanks! Kaitlin)


Congratulations winners of the 1st tutorial contest. :whoo:
I wish I could have been there to give ya’ll a run for your money. Maybe next time. What do you know, next time is now!
I’ll be submitting for your viewing pleasure a Kolar O/U Skeet Gun. By the way these puppies are machined from pre-hardened steel so they are not really engraver friendly.
These guns are great, but due to modern manufacturing techniques the are not as shapely as they could be so I have sculpted the bottom of the receiver along the line of a Perrazi/Fabbri style receiver. I used an NSK, air grinder for most of the rough work and finished out the rest by hand.

Before anybody gets their slip tied in a knot, this is just an example of the flat bottom on a Kolar. This is not the gun to be engraved



The screaming Kolar Griffin has been removed and the sharp edge that transitions the sides to the bottom of the receiver have been rounded for that classical look. The removable trigger group as seen in the first photo is not fitted well. It is slightly raised and you can see a gap between the trigger group and the receiver. This was peened and filed flush for a better fit and appearance. In time this joint will become more apparent as the trigger group is removed and reinserted into the receiver. Fortunately this isn't our concern, it is normal wear. One thing to remember is what type of gun you are working on. This shotgun will be shot and knowing the client 15,000 rounds a year is not an exaggeration



The opening lever on these gun are little on the small side and the client is a big guy with large hand so I welded up the tang end and will shape and filigree that area. You’ll note that Heat Stop from Brownell’s was utilized to keep the working part of the opening lever from any heat damage caused by welding up that area to be reshaped.



There will be no gold work on this one and there will be a small amount of border scroll. It will mostly be Puntinni style, ( dots ), lots and lots of dots, maybe a few cut line here and there but we’ll be doing a lot of dots. This is where the Lindsay Foot Control really shines.



With a little due diligence there will be lots of photos and explanations along the way. You mite even get a glimpse of the old mobile studio to boot..

Kurt Horvath

[kguns]

Now that the first contest is officially over and the winners decided, I’ll get started.

A great effort by all!

If we keep doing things like this the fact that we are geographically separated won’t be much of an issue in our ability to help each other. In Belgium and Italy I know first hand if you are stumped all you have to do is go to the bar and talk to the other engravers or have lunch together. They all more or less within a short distance of each other. The Internet is shrinking that problem down to being irrelevant……………………………………

I’ll start out with a re-post from my first submission just to get the basics out of the way.

Here's a photo of the essentials for a layout. Clay from Walmart. Blackboard Chalk. This will last for years, Take a piece and rub it on a coarse file into a little tin container to make a fine powder. Just dab your finger in it and dab on to the metal, after rolling the clay over the surface you want to draw on. The clay leaves a slightly greasy surface that the chalk sticks to. A good mechanical pencil, I like Pentel 0.05 some fine sandpaper to sharpen the lead. Transfer paper from Tandy Leather Co. and your model to work from



Tandy http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/products.asp

Stock Number 3500-10

Tracing Film 10 yds x 20" 1 roll $24.99

There is a smaller size I think its 1yrd x 20" for about $3.00 bucks plus shipping and tax.

I will add photos to the text below ASAP

You can draw on either side of this type tracing paper. Which is helpful in transferring your design to either side if the receiver, or if you have a figure that needs to be facing the other direction. It has a resilience that I have only found in this product. It's more plastic than paper.

This is really basic, It's only used to rough in a design, you will have to go back over the transfer with a pencil to correct and enhance the design, then scribe onto the surface to be engraved. The above photos show this progression.

Get your subject ready to trace. It can be a picture from any source, or a tracing of the pattern just cut from the opposite side of the gun for example.

Once the pattern has been drawn on the tracing paper you must then apply the modeling clay to the surface of the metal by balling up a piece of clay and rolling all over the metal surface. Make this rolling motion as even as possible. A nice even film, it will be thin and somewhat sticky/greasy. If you have clumps of clay on the surface you didn't do it correctly. This is what the chalk sticks to.

Apply the chalk by dabbing your finger in to the powdered chalk and dab it onto the greasy surface. With a little practice you will achieve an even white film on the metal surface.

Fix the tracing paper to the metal by using tape to hold it in place.

If possible use tape to hold down the tracing paper in every operation, it will help to keep you from realigning the tracing paper every time you stop drawing for whatever reason.

Try not to slide the paper on the surface with a lot of pressure. It will leave phantom marks and or lines on your powdered surface. These marks are easily fixed buy reapplying the chalk by the finger dabbling method.

This is one of the best attributes of this system. Once your design has been applied to the surface you can reapply some chalk easily to fix any design errors. Your original design will still be lightly visible under the newly powdered surface, for a good reference point to adjust your design.

Once you have positioned your pattern on the surface take a dry point or scribe and lightly trace your design on the tracing paper, which will leave a light line on the powdered surface. With some practice you can leave very heavy lines on the powdered surface. Too much pressure you can scribe the metal surface.

Another very helpful technic is to use your scribe to leave a trail of dots in place of the lines on the metal. Afterward you can connect the dots with the scribe of if your careful and the dots are visible, rub a little pencil dust with a drop of oil into the dots and you'll see them clearly, then you can cut the pattern. Katherine Plumbers tutorial has a beautiful example of the dot layout technic. A picture is worth 1000 words. Thanks Katherine, looking good

A word of caution this is usually a one shot application. If you are sure of your placement, size of the figure, in general this is where the subject is going to be placed, then this technic will save time because it is almost permanent. There is no chance of the figure being smudged, which will happen no matter how careful you are, but with practice you'll learn not to drag your hands, fingers, wrists, etc., across the newly laid out surface

It may seem to be a fragile surface to draw upon but it is very versatile and forgiving.

Once you have your final layout, use the scribe to lightly scratch the design into the metal. As you are doing this operation it give you another opportunity to correct the design.

Of course the final correction is when you are cutting the pattern.

Kurt

[kguns]

The client has requested Labrador retrievers and scenery from his native state of New Hampshire. The White Mountains to be exact. White Birch trees, Ducks, Pheasants and a log cabin in the scenes. Well never having been to the White Mountains it’s time to surf the net! I found several models to glen some ideas from. I’ve pasted some of these pictures below.

















[IMG]http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk397/kguns/1-T-Hill-OMM.jpg

[/IMG]





















[IMG]http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk397/kguns/herochampion-1.jpg

[/IMG]