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FoxWilde

Fox's Quick Engraving Tutorial

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FoxWilde

Not really a tutorial. Sorry.

More of just sharing my experiences so far with engraving. It's not too hard and anyone with a few days and a steady hand can do. 

So anyways I found a way to procrastinate with all my work due dates coming up soon for the holiday season. Just enough time to do a quick project for myself. I wanted to customize my old Thommen pocket watch. Bought it from an Estate sale back in the summer. Apparently it was a field watch the family had from a relative who served in the Great War, and wore it through his experiences. I love history, and pocket watches so I threw money at the nice people and bought it. 

 

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Now the piece still works! Not the most accurate but I doubt it has had a servicing in over a decade so, that's on my list to do as well. Anyways it has two casebacks and I decided to use the second one, so you can open it like a book to see the engraving. I started drawing up a rough sketch I could resize and print out. Given the day and a half to work on this between projects this is all I did. If I ever decide to gift it, I could engrave names or initials or whatever.

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Next up I printed and taped up the drawing on the caseback, which I disassembled from the watch. There are many ways to get the design on the caseback, I used the pinhole method. Which is basically poking dots on the surface and connecting the lines. A lot of the tools I make. Usually scraps of steel and titanium are great for engraving tools. You could buy full sets of tools but on bigger projects you'll burn through a handful and they do mostly the same as what could be accomplished by tools you make on your own. 

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Engraving isn't hard. Really. Just carving the outline and fleshing it out. 

After a few hours of work, voila. 

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I'm going to continue adding details to the skull and what not. But this piece is almost done. In the end I rubbed some varnish on it and after a few hours of drying, you can rub the excess oil off, giving it a vintage look that closer matches the rest of the case. I wish I had more time to work on it but someone wants a 1911 engraved and inlayed with gold by Christmas, so wish me luck on that project. If engraving interests you like it does to me, I'd be happy to answer questions about the process, it's really not hard. Just takes a damn long time.

Also for those who about my art, yes I do sell them. Prints and what not, though I don't have many at the moment I'm waiting on my next order. But I've been meaning to post more art with the pictures I take of my watches! So, stay tuned those who are actually interested. 

 

 

Edited by FoxWilde

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Glaude

:clap:

That's very nice ! 

Showing the tools used could be a plus to the thread ! 

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repmaster1234
33 minutes ago, FoxWilde said:

Engraving isn't hard. Really.

Wow Fox, something like this might not be difficult to someone with your artistic talent and skill, but for the rest of us it’s bonkers! The design suits the watch really well and your engraving work is second to none. Really great, I’d love to see more. 

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Luxuracer

Great talent ... @FoxWilde

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ape

I was a professional tattooer and when I needed some ornamental reference I used something like this. 

https://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Ornament-Designs-Pictorial-Archive/dp/0486452298/ref=mp_s_a_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1544307575&sr=8-27&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dover+books

Think you might like it, Dover makes many books similar to this

Great work! 

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NCRich

That is really cool.   Love the watch too.

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MetalMickey

You clearly have a far steadier hand than me!

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PostMaster

Great work & I bet some patience is needed. Maybe some RWG customs in the future ;)

Thanks for sharing. 

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FoxWilde
2 hours ago, repmaster1234 said:

Wow Fox, something like this might not be difficult to someone with your artistic talent and skill, but for the rest of us it’s bonkers! The design suits the watch really well and your engraving work is second to none. Really great, I’d love to see more. 

Thanks and will do! I'd love to get further into these designs and make some more elaborate decorations. If only I had the time....

 

2 hours ago, NCRich said:

That is really cool.   Love the watch too.

Thanks Rich. Cheapest pocket watch in my collection since I wouldn't dare place my lovely Patek under the knife. But it still has such an awesome story I couldn't refuse :) 

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FoxWilde
19 hours ago, ape said:

I was a professional tattooer and when I needed some ornamental reference I used something like this. 

https://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Ornament-Designs-Pictorial-Archive/dp/0486452298/ref=mp_s_a_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1544307575&sr=8-27&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dover+books

Think you might like it, Dover makes many books similar to this

Great work! 

Thank for that resource mate! I just purchased it. It'll be a nice christmas gift to me LOL. I always thought of what it'd be like if I became a tattoo artist....

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cvp3

Amazing work. 

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Piccolo

Great work..!

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