Engraver Buying Tips
Engraver tools comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and they
are commonly made up of a hardened steel called a burin. Burin
is used to cut designs into the surface of metals, most
traditionally a copper plate. Engraving is the process of
incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves
into it. Engraver tools come in a variety of sizes and shapes
that yield different line types. The result may vary upon the
kind of engraver and engraving materials that is being used. It
may be a decorative object itself, as when gold are engraved, or
may provide an intaglio plate when copper is used or even a
simple relief print block when woods are engraved.
1. Engraver Tools
If you are thinking about delving into the art of engraving you
will need a set of engraver tools and some engraver materials.
Purchasing the right engraver tool might be a quite complicated
task for beginners. Before buying one make sure that you have
already thought about what kind of engraver tools you will be
using because there are different kinds of engraver tools that
create different kinds of designs. Have a rough list of them
when you go to your engraving store.
2. Engraving Tool Types:
The Burin The most basic engraver tool and you will surely need
one of them. Burin produces a distinct quality of line that is
recognizable by its steady, deliberate appearance and clean
edges.
The Angle Tint Tool This has a vaguely curled tip that is
commonly used in print creation.
Florentine Liners These are smooth-tipped tools with several
lines scored into them that are used to do fill up works on
large engraver materials.
Flat Engraver These are used for doing filling works on letter
patterns and musical instruments.
Round Engraver These are commonly used on metals that are hard
to cut; they are also used to do bright cuts on silver
materials.
There are numerous kinds of engraver tools out there from square
tipped ones to elongated diamond shaped engravers. When
purchasing your engraver tool you can also bring in a sketch
design of your sample work so that the store that you will be
purchasing your tools can guide and give you tip into what kind
engraver tools you should buy.
3. Engraving Tips
- If you are into laser engraving and uses laser engraver tools
always check the circuit parts of the tool and see to it that it
is the same form as seen on the manual
- A laser engraver usually looks like a photocopier that has a
clear glass or heat resistant plastic over it
- Check the parts of the machine if it is the same as of what
the manual says
- Check for electrical specifications for you might purchase a
110 V laser engraver and plug it on a 220 V circuit that may
cause a great deal of damage on your engraver
- If you are purchasing a computer-aided laser engraver, make it
sure that the equipment is compatible with the computer that you
are using. Because if its not you might just be frustrated on
the end results of your design.
- Don't forget to mail your warranty letter to your engraver
manufacturer
- Check if their customer service number is working so in case
of minor technical problems you can just call their service
hotline for some troubleshooting advices.
4. Test It First
When purchasing your engraver tools, don't forget to test them
on different materials first. Some of them might already be dull
due to the length of time they have been stored in the shop or
maybe there was a manufacturers defect. When buying an engraver
tool kit, usually an all-in-one pack of different engraver tool
make sure that the tamper sticker are still on the box. Also
check if the tools that you are about to purchase are still in
one piece. Various engraver shops have testing booths inside
their stores where you can test your equipments, but if ever
they don't have one there wouldn't be any harm in asking for
even just a piece of wood to test it on.