this is why being bored is bad. I found my grandfather’s old electric engraver, so I decided to take advantage of having put all those celtic knot decals on my pipes.
Actually, it’s coming out really beautifully. I’ve decided not to ink the engraving, but to allow the matte vs polished contrast stand by itself. I’ve got the most difficult and visible parts done. I’ll post pictures when I’m done.
What I’m wondering is who else has engraving on their pipes, and could you post pictures?
Wow. Good luck with that, and be careful. Actually, that sounds like something I would do.
yeah i know…brave…or stupid…actually, I’m almost done now…just another hr, hr 1/2 tomorrow and I’ll be finished. Even engraved the bass-reg-to-mainstock plate with “engraving by Antaine Ó hÓgáin” in Irish using the seancló script…looks good…
I’ve done quite much engravings for pipes. Traditionalway with handengravers tools. Meta ltoppieces , ferrules, sole for highland chanters too.I’ll put pic’s here when learn to use my digicam rigth.
One of my work:
http://kotinetti.suomi.net/sadimi/dagger/
Very pretty work Uilleannfinlander. Antaine stupid, brave, mad or witless are among a few of the words that come to my mind 
…but, you have piqued my curiosity and I can’t wait to see the outcome of your efforts. 
Good luck and happy engraving to ya’.
There’s a pretty well known set from Kirk Lynch that was hand engraved a while back. It was a one off piece done by the new owner of the set and not by Kirk though.
http://www.kirklynch.com/engr1.htm
Some hated it as being goddy and brash, most loved the detail and design. Either way, the workmanship is pretty amazing.
my set was patterned after a kirk lynch set, and so my engravings are patterned after the ones on that set. If you want to see what I’m engraving from, pull up my pics from “pictures of your pipes” i think i’m on page 21 or 22.
Kinda gives it an elaborate ornate 18th century look about it 
. Did they do that to pipes in those days as well as other engineering masterpieces???
I don’t believe they did…
And I didn’t ink the engraved areas, so mine is brass on brass and not black on brass
Should still look good 
…page 22.
argh…I’m 4/5 the way done and my 40 year old engraver gave out on me…i’m letting it sit, hoping that it just overheated, but i can’t leave the pipes partially done…if it doesn’t start working again by tomrrow afternoon it’ll be off to the Home Despot with me
few words about engravings/
engraver work, handengraving is made with tool you push and the sharp edge is cutting metal off, when working with hard metals (steel, iron) guns,revolvers etc. use small hammer with chisel type engravers to get enough power to cut .
I have several handengravertools,different metals needs different cutting angle,surfaces varies (like iniside the ring) etc. also whatkinda “line” you want: round, V-type etc. when engraving text’s and letters (monograms etc) it’s in very important .(lCallicraphy+drawing and engravings are “relatives” with each others).Done this now 20 years.
Peoples often mixed the “repousse” work to engravings.When making repousse, metal is forged with different type of chisells up/down from surface and no “real cutting” is done. this method is used much with higlands pipes metal parts etc.
When scraping metal with electric tools (dremels etc) result is allways
dull comparing smooth and shiny handengraving.(look those Ginsbergs terrible motormade texts on the brasspart of the blocks).
Digital engravingmachines are different story…
Heippa and cheers from snowy Finland (-12 below zero today )
Mikko
Yikes!!! I grew up in a cold environment (Duluth Minnesota), but I am afraid that living here in Florida has truned me into a whimpy man.
Antaine, good luck with completing your project. Post a few pictures when you have fnished.
Mikko, couldn’t the dremel-type tool be used to remove the bulk of the material, and then the hand chisels be used to do the finishing surfaces? I am thinking it would save time for the important stuff.
What is the significance of the digital engraving machines you mention? How do they work? Do you have any links to what machines you are thinking of?
Thx,
djm
Engraving is a wayyyyy cool skill! 35 year’s ago I watched a Belgian engraver, Denise Therion, engraving firearm’s. I bought some graver’s to try my hand at it on some scrap brass, and a worse lot of chicken scratches you’ve never seen. Engraver’s are highly skilled artisan’s. They sort of “skate” the graver around, giving the workpiece those pleasing thick n’ thin line’s of traditional engraving. A company I worked for made tiny carbide cutter’s for CNC engraving…the cutting edge is half-round, kinda like a short “D” bit for drilling chanter’s, but with a flatter end cutting edge angle. I once used a big, honking Okuma CNC mill to make a “pet grievance” candle mold, complete with reverse engraved script inside, for someone marketing memorial candle’s for those grieving the loss of lil “fido”. Oh yeah…we’re sane out in Californee!
wow…this is a pain i mo thóin beyond all words…i’m almost done…i’m in a conspicuous spot, and my “electric pencil” gave out. well, apparently in the last 45 years they’ve stopped making them, in favor of the “dremel type” tools…I can’t find another of my type of engraver, and I can’t finish with a dremel as that will leave a completely different type of mark…aaarrrgh…
Dremel +handengraving is bad combination.Lines usually spread too much and the rough bottom of the groove difficult to cut smooth with handengravers.Dremel etc tools can be use well then, when need to take much material away and then oxidace rough bottom.,
White watercolour on the metal and draw pattern to it with normal pen,
good planning is half of the work.(I made engravings to big silverdish for pope John Paul, 2 weeks drawing 3days for engravings)
Digital engravingmachines uses same tecnique as CNC . Scanner is also combined with it ,so different b/w pictures can easily made and scaled different sizes on metal surfaces.Also cylinders etc. Mc Callum (GHB man.)uses that for ferrules some of their models. Gravograph is probably well known machine now.
Is there a quick way to get to page 22 without having to go through the other pages ?
RORY
Holy crap! I just priced out those Gravographs. Not for the weekend warrior!
djm