Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all!

Im looking for someone to help me learn to engrave pearl.
Any recomendations or classes that you know of?

thanks,

Louis

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

This is a good vedio series

Inlay and engraving

Louis, the custom knife craft field is abundant with high quality engravers and scrimshanders. Perhaps a look into that will yield some choices...

Yeah, check this guy out Lindsay Engraving There's a few links on his site that will probably help you out.

He's asking $110k for this knife:

holy cow that is awesome looking...

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

WOW! And I thought guitars were expensive!

_________________
- Louis Freilicher

Oh No! Not another learning experience!

    I've been a fan of Steve Lindsay for a long time. His work is what makes those items crafted by other artists as valuable as they are. There is no other engraver in the world that can compare to Steve....period...

   It always amazes me that he is not only so artistic, but also so precise and is able to work in such incredible detail through a scope.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Hey Louis. I'm certainly no expert, but I've done a couple engravings that
I think turned out pretty good, so maybe I can give you a couple tips.

First, you need the right "gravers." I have two that I use exclusively: An
N2 Onglette and an N6 Square. Don't ask me how the number systems
work for these things; these are just a couple of the ones that were
available to me and I like them the best. They can be purchased at most
jeweler supply stores, as can the wooden handles.







Sorry the pictures aren't too clear. Anyway, I secure my inlay to the
workbench, and draw on the pearl with a pencil. Then I start engraving,
using both hands to keep 'er steady, with a finger or two of each hand
right near the tip of the graver. I go very lightly at first, and keep going
over the lines until they start getting deeper, then go a little harder. The
onglette graver is obviously good for fine lines, and the square one I like
for digging out larger areas. I've filled the engraving in a couple ways:
One is with 5 minute epoxy, which I dye black. Rub it over the engraving
and scrape away with a credit card or something similar, then lightly sand
flush with 400 grit or so sandpaper. The other method is with Grit
Laskin's filler sticks which can be purchased from StewMac. I really like
that method, as it's fast and easy.

Hope that helps a little!

Mike

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger