lower stroke speeds

[lgrif]

Marcus started a thread a while back that I was going to reply to but it was hijacked in a couple of different directions almost immediately therefore I will respond now in this thread and use it as a segue for a new discussion. The original question posed was both fair and pertinent. What is the feedback on the gravermach. I have found that on fine cuts it is extremely soft and subtle. It is so smooth and soft I do everything but bulino with the magnum handpiece. The bias valve allows for incredible power while still maintaining the gentle engagement and acceleration. I am using it more and more at slow speeds to achieve special effects. At these slower stroke speeds I am getting a nice crisp tap.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Winston Churchill last summer. Most of the discussion involved his method of sculpting. What surprised me was to find out that he does not smooth off his sculpting. It appears wonderfully smooth but under closer examination one can see the tiny tap marks from his punches. He said he likes the tiny marks and that he feels as though it gives the sculpting more life and character. By turning the stroke speed down one can quite nicely achieve a similar effect. (If we had Winston talent it would be a lot easier).

I recently had a nicely engraved gun in a german style delivered for the purpose of restoring some of the engraving. It was originally done by hammer. I have very little desire to return to my hammer days..................hence the need for slower speeds. By turning down the speed, indivdual taps can be seen and the hammer taps closely duplicated.

Over the past few years I have found my stroke speeds drifting down because I like the life and vitality in line. The exceptions are any bright cut work and shade lines which were usually done by hand and on fine shallow work.

So I pose the question- do others feel as I that slower speeds are an important if not crucial part of the engraving arsenal

[Tim Adlam]

I agree on the benefit of slow hammer strokes Lee.
Backing things down a bit allows for a more calculating approach to fine detail work, or anything else for that matter.
The most defining element I find within that "arsenal" is the engravers intuition and practiced touch.
Tooling choice matters little. Use what works for the immediate situation.

My experience in the beginning was to cut heavy-handed.
When I added the stereoscope, my work went to the other extreme.
Today the challenge is on creating a balanced effect.

Tim

[MCirelli]

I agree some what. I use a gravermax, I like the lower speeds (1800-2400) for cutting the outline but I really enjoy my monarch cranked up to 4000 for fine lines. It seems to be effortless. Now all I have to do is put them in right way.
Mike

[Billzach]

here,s how a old ky. hillbilly sets his gravermax, i always run at 4000 with my monarch and fine tune my air with a valve i added between the foot pedal and main unit.., i tried running lower impacts , but it didn,t feel or cut right for me..i never change my impacts just my air going from pedal to unit..the air valve i added was a $3 valve from the local hardware store...this may be the wrong way to run the gravermax, but i love the way it works for me..

[MCirelli]

Bill what are you doing up so late. I thought you Kentuckians went to bed when the sun went down

[Billzach]

Originally Posted by MCirelli

Bill what are you doing up so late. I thought you Kentuckians went to bed when the sun went down

we used to, but the tva came in and gave us power and now we,ve computers instead of coon dogs...

[Marcus Hunt]

Bill, I rarely used to run my old max under 1500 or over 3500 SPM and I used to use my Monarch for just about everything bar chequering bolt handles and top levers.

The new Mach can really get down there and use much slower speeds if you want to use them. The Magnum handpiece really works well although I personally find it a bit on the heavy side after using the Monarch for all these years. However, it can do a great job of replicating hammer and chisel work.

The main reason I never used lower speeds on the Max was it used to fade out but the Mach doesn't seem to have any problems whatsoever. I'll probably be using the lower end much more in the future.

Marcus

[lgrif]

I will be a bit more specific. If I want to simulate hammering or need to sculpt I will drop as low as 900 spm. For regular scroll I'm often 1500-2000, for the fine shade lines, jewelery, or bulino 3000+. Stippling backgrounds is it's own creature. Slow speed gives a different look than higher speeds and one needs to try both and decide which texture is best for that application.

[Christian D.]

Lee If you use the old 710 hand piece you can turn it all the way down to what would be basicly zero and you will not be able to tell the difference between hammer and chisel. The 710 has more power with the gravermach that even the magnum on the ultra slow speeds ,give it a try and let me know what you think Christian