How to Do Fine Nail Awl Engraving
An awl is a puncturing tool that when sharpened and shaped becomes a engraving tool, known as a burin. A burin can be fabricated from heated concrete nails that are formed and mounted into a shaft. Engraving by hand is known as push engraving or chasing. It is done on many surfaces including silver, gold, ivory, stones and animal bones. Scrimshaw is the art of engraving on bones and ivory. Beads are some of the first daily objects engraved. Silver and gold jewelry and silverware were often hand-engraved into the 1950s.
Things You'll Need
- Pencil
- Paper
- Copier
- Acetone
- Tape
- Rag
- Clear lacquer
- Engraver's vise
- Nail burin
Instructions
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1
Draw your design on paper with a pencil and make a copy of it. Adjust the size by enlarging or diminishing the dimensions on the copier, as required by your work surface size.
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2
Clean the metal with acetone.
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3
Tape your copied design onto your engraving surface.
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4
Rub the back of the paper design with a damp rag, saturated with acetone. The paper will look translucent when it, too, becomes filled with acetone, and you will be able to see your design lines through it.
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5
Rub a dry rag on the lines for 60 seconds or until it is dry.
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6
Peel the paper off the work surface and make certain the whole design is transferred.
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7
Spray with clear lacquer to keep the design stable and durable.
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8
Place your engraving material in an engraver's vise.
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9
Use your sharpened and finely shaped nail burin to create uniform and equidistant, parallel lines that curve around the design.
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10
Push harder and more gently to gouge lines that move from thick to thin along their length. This will establish light and dark areas.
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1
Tips & Warnings
You can clean the metal with acetone and redraw your design if you are not happy with the first attempt.
You can also transfer a design by coating the work surface with wax and scratching into this layer.
When using acetone, work in a well-ventilated area.
References
- Photo Credit boîte & couvercle (2) image by fotogisèle from Fotolia.com
