#but also they're old so i can grab a cheap copy basically anywhere

[revvethasmythh]

decided to stop being a fake urban fantasy fan and actually read the antia blake vampire hunter series 😔✌️ (<- woman who knows she's about to get herself into something she can't even begin to anticipate)

[trickstertime]

Heey, sorry if you already got this question a bunch of times, but which machine would you recommend for people who want to learn metal engraving?

Hey, no worries at all. So, it's a common misconception that hand engraving is done with a rotory machine, like a dremel to take away part of the metal kinda like how a cnc milling machine would.

I use things called gravers (also sometimes called scourpers). They look kinda like wood chisels but real small, and come in a variety of shapes.

When starting I'd recommend googleing a local jewellers suppliers and getting yourself a No. 2 flat graver in steel (youll occasionally see it marked as HSS which stands for High Speed Steel) and a wooden handle like the pictures below.

The steel graver bit should cost somewhere between $6-15 and the handle should be somewhere between $3-6. Just need one of each starting off.

DO NOT CHEAP OUT ON THE STEEL BIT OF THE GRAVER!!!

I've seen the cheap ones shatter. And when they do you'll seriously injure your hands. DO. NOT. CHEAP. OUT. ON. THE. STEEL.

You'll also potentially need a hand vice or at least some way to hold what you're working on. A very basic hand engraving vice looks like this:

They run anywhere from $25-35.

And grab a copy of this book:

It's from way back in the day so it's out of copyright. Don't pay for it, just get a pdf copy. The writing is kinda old fashioned and hard to follow but the information is still as relevant today as it was back then. Again, great book, don't pay for it. The person who wrote it and their kids are dead and only amazon or whatever will get the money.

With those you can get started. The information you need is in the book. You don't need the fancy ball vice like in the book and you don't need to bend the graver like it says in the book, just put the steel lengthwise in a vice with maybe an inch sticking out, and use a hammer to drive the wooden handle on to it by hitting the wood. Don't leave it sticking miles out cuz it could shatter when you hit the wooden bit with the hammer.

Start with copper or silver, other metals are too hard or expensive. Silver is nicer than copper.

MOST IMPORTANTLY YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY ANYTHING 'GRS' BRANDED.

They sell pneumatically assisted gravers, they're good but astonishingly expensive and the price doesn't match the quality. (if you ever do go work up to pneumatically assisted gravers you should go with Steve Lindsay stuff).

I use pneumatic assisted gravers so I don't destroy my elbow and shoulder by engraving all day, I've tried both GRS and Lindsay gravers and the Lindsay stuff is far better, both are about the same expense. At the professional level your equipment can be up in the $5-15k range cuz you're using microscopes, special vices/work holding, gravers made of special metals etc. However you can get started for about $40