How to Engrave Bronze

Bronze can be engraved with a hand tool or an air graver.

Engraving is the art of making marks on a material such as wood, glass or metal. If you want to engrave bronze, then what you need is an engraving tool, a pattern and some metal sandpaper to clean up the final image. If you can get all of that, then you have most of what you need in order to engrave bronze. The only other thing that you may need is practice.

Things You'll Need

• Engraving tool
• Metal sandpaper
• Black marker

Instructions

1. Clean the bronze and make sure that it's prepared to be engraved. Once the bronze is clean and dried, draw the pattern you want to engrave on the bronze with a black marker to use as a guide.

2. Press your engraving tool along the bronze and make smooth marks on the metal. If you're using a hand carving tool, then you will need to use your muscle or a small hammer to make your marks. Air gravers are pneumatic engraving tools that use compressed air to operate like a miniature jackhammer. Both tools must be used to make marks and to follow the basic design you outlined.

3. Sand down the rough edges of the bronze with metal sandpaper. Once you've smoothed out the rough patches, you have a completed bronze engraving.

References

• Airgraver: Introduction to Engraving