Gun Grip Engraving

[Gordon Kircher]

I want to thank Dee for her inspiration and threads on 3D wood carving. That got me going on these grips. Just finished the gun grips for my Ruger Bisley Vaquero.

And yes, my Alis for the Cowboy Action Shooting is "Jack Aspen"....wife came up with the name.......hmmmm..... couldn't figure out how she came up with it soooo quickly. :D

No that's not a fish scale pattern (not good marketing for western revolvers), it's rattlesnake skin!

Thanks again Dee!

[Anthony Scira]

Great job ! Did you make the grips or engrave the existing grips ?

[AL Ursich]

WOW !!!!!! That is Sharp !!!!!!

Did you use a few different files to make this and do some a few times to get the depth?

AL:D

[Dee Gallo]

Those are beautiful, "Jack" - nice rich color enhanced by the scales and lettering - great combination! Good, clean and deep carving job, I'm honored to have inspired something like this!

:) dee

[Frank Corker]

Nice job, they look really nice with the inserts embedded in there.

[JAIME PUJOL]

I really like the job. Very Nice!!

[Deane Shepard]

Jack - Very nicely done.

Deane Shepard
aka Colonel Shep, SASS # 393

Universal M-360

[Chris DeGerolamo]

well done sir!

[George Beck]

I like those a lot! Very very nice. How did you account for the slight curve in the grips while engraving?

George

[Gordon Kircher]

Thank ya'll.

Now, I just engraved the existing grips. Spd 50%/Pwr 35% on the "60 Watt" laser (but this machine runs hot). 2 passes. I was thinking 3 passes but after checking it after the 2nd, it was agressive enough for me.

Since the bottom part of the grips are higher that the top. I made a templet to hold the grips at a angle. Then accounting for the slight curve on the sides. I checked the high and low and shot the middle.

I did some practice with a piece of walnut. One, hoping that rosewood had similiar characteristics as walnut and Two, tweeking the pattern.

Thanks again to Dee and everyone elses posts.

[matt heinzel]

A customer had us engrave the front of a pistol barrel. That was interesting.

[Bill Cunningham]

I haven't got involved with the cowboy stuff yet, but did these a while back.. Some just want the name crest etc..So I made up a set of templates for the Ruger and just pop them in when needed, the rifle stock was for a raffled off Winchester.
Attached Thumbnails http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73060&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1191552544 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73060&d=1191552544)

[Gordon Kircher]

Bill, If I could ask you about your templetes....
1) What did you make your templete out of? My templetes 1/4" plywood but because the grips are not level, I'm using tape on one end to raise the top edge (My daughter confiscated the playdoo).

Their logo on the Stock looks really cool.

Thanks for showing!

G

[JAIME PUJOL]

Very Nice!!

[Sandy Henry]

Very Nice! Not the "burnt out" look I see on most diamond patterns. Did you create the 3D artwork yourself? - And is it for sale?

[Bill Cunningham]

Bill, If I could ask you about your templetes....
1) What did you make your templete out of? My templetes 1/4" plywood but because the grips are not level, I'm using tape on one end to raise the top edge (My daughter confiscated the playdoo).

Their logo on the Stock looks really cool.

Thanks for showing!

G

Hi gord.. I make all my templates from Scrap 3/16" Acrylic, Usually white.. My neighbor is a sign maker, I think she has the Castrol contract for most of Canada.. Anyway, She saves me her scrap, most are fairly large pieces, but too small to use for her signs so I take them off her hands and make templates, and when needed I use it to build holding fixtures for other jobs..

[Chuck Stone]

Nice job on the grips! I was wondering how you'd account for the
difference in height, but you covered that..

Coincidental timing .. I have to thank Dee also. She posted her heart
pattern on here and I downloaded it and looked it over. .then went into
Photoshop (sorry.. I'm a raster head.. :p ) and created something similar
to the under/over look using the gradient fill. Came out great.

since then, I started producing 3D pen blanks that are reverse engraved
in 360 degrees. Other penturners seem to like them a lot. In fact, they
sell faster than we can make them.

In fact, I'm delivering a pen to Bill Ruger tomorrow. (hoping a shameless
bribe will allow me to use the logo :D )
The only pic I have is the first one I did in walnut (hated it) but I re-did
it again this afternoon in zircote with a tung finish and it looks much
better.

.. but it all started with Dee's heart pattern. Thanks, Dee! :D

[Gordon Kircher]

Sandy,
I just made an oval, then used the fountain fill tool and went from 50% black to white. Outlined it in 80% black. Copy/Paste that Oval across over and over until it covered an 12" area (yes overkill). Then Copy/Paste that row going up overlapping. The Corel Draw transformation tab made it easy (little math).

Grouped that altogether. Made the templete for my grip by scanning it. Used the trim feature to stay in the lines. Put the lettering on top and made it white with a black outline. Love the Urwwood font for western.

Cut twice.

I'm working on a stock pattern for my Winchester '97 now (well late night free time). Pattern for JACK ASPEN....Hmmmmmmmmmm....:D

Thanks for the info Bill. Acrylic, Nice....

[Sandy Henry]

I want to thank Dee for her inspiration and threads on 3D wood carving. That got me going on these grips. Just finished the gun grips for my Ruger Bisley Vaquero.

And yes, my Alis for the Cowboy Action Shooting is "Jack Aspen"....wife came up with the name.......hmmmm..... couldn't figure out how she came up with it soooo quickly. :D

No that's not a fish scale pattern (not good marketing for western revolvers), it's rattlesnake skin!

Thanks again Dee!
Hey Gordon, Any chance you would share your snakeskin artwork? I have a beautiful Henry rifle that I've wanted to engrave & do some ivory inlay but the several 3D patterns I have just don't suit me. Your snakeskin pattern is the best I've seen. If you don't want to offer it, no hard feelings...but it doesn't hurt to ask. Thank you, Sandy

[Sandy Henry]

Thank you VERY much. I'm on it!

[Dee Gallo]

Nice job on the grips! I was wondering how you'd account for the
difference in height, but you covered that..

Coincidental timing .. I have to thank Dee also. She posted her heart
pattern on here and I downloaded it and looked it over. .then went into
Photoshop (sorry.. I'm a raster head.. :p ) and created something similar
to the under/over look using the gradient fill. Came out great.

since then, I started producing 3D pen blanks that are reverse engraved
in 360 degrees. Other penturners seem to like them a lot. In fact, they
sell faster than we can make them.

In fact, I'm delivering a pen to Bill Ruger tomorrow. (hoping a shameless
bribe will allow me to use the logo :D )
The only pic I have is the first one I did in walnut (hated it) but I re-did
it again this afternoon in zircote with a tung finish and it looks much
better.

.. but it all started with Dee's heart pattern. Thanks, Dee! :D

Hi Chuck- You've combined two of my favorite things, laser and pens.

Nice work on the 360 degree engraving, that's always tricky and on such a small diameter, too! How did it work out with your visit, did he like the pen?

cheers, dee

[Chuck Stone]

Hi Chuck- You've combined two of my favorite things, laser and pens.

Nice work on the 360 degree engraving, that's always tricky and on such a small diameter, too! How did it work out with your visit, did he like the pen?

cheers, dee

They love the pen, (employees trying to order them already!) but waiting
on the key person in Legal to give the OK, first.

Pens are the reason I stumbled onto the laser in the first place. I love
making them when I get time, but started in on casting resins and then
making molds for other penmakers. Now I'm mostly doing support stuff
for penturners rather than turning pens. Trying not to run any woodworking
tools where the laser is :eek:

Your heart pattern got me thinking about gradient fills in Photoshop, and
it just took off from there. Now I'm building images in about 10 levels so
I can burn them at different powers. I can do recognizable faces now..
and that opens up all sorts of possibilities for penmakers :D even on such
a small diameter. As long as the file height matches π x the diameter, you're fine.

[Dee Gallo]

They love the pen, (employees trying to order them already!) but waiting
on the key person in Legal to give the OK, first.

Pens are the reason I stumbled onto the laser in the first place. I love
making them when I get time, but started in on casting resins and then
making molds for other penmakers. Now I'm mostly doing support stuff
for penturners rather than turning pens. Trying not to run any woodworking
tools where the laser is :eek:

Your heart pattern got me thinking about gradient fills in Photoshop, and
it just took off from there. Now I'm building images in about 10 levels so
I can burn them at different powers. I can do recognizable faces now..
and that opens up all sorts of possibilities for penmakers :D even on such
a small diameter. As long as the file height matches π x the diameter, you're fine.

Recognizable faces on a tiny pen? Now THAT'S amazing - you've taken this to a new level - post pics!

Hope you get lots of orders for your Ruger pen, the design work is done, so it's all gravy now.

cheers, dee

[Chuck Stone]

Recognizable faces on a tiny pen? Now THAT'S amazing - you've taken this to a new level - post pics!

Well .. here's one of Mt Rushmore, and both sides of a pen for a friend who
is a Star Trek fan. These are just the pen barrels, but you get the idea..

[Dee Gallo]

OOOOO! Star Trek, pens and lasers... now you're up to 3 of my favorite things! And Mt. Rushmore is my favorite monument. Love them! :)

[Dan Hintz]

Well .. here's one of Mt Rushmore, and both sides of a pen for a friend who
is a Star Trek fan. These are just the pen barrels, but you get the idea..
THOSE... ARE... JUST...SICK!!! One more line item in my "to try before the laser dies" book...

[Bill Cunningham]

Well .. here's one of Mt Rushmore, and both sides of a pen for a friend who
is a Star Trek fan. These are just the pen barrels, but you get the idea..

You could also engrave the back of the pen with the other side of Mount Rushmore :D
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ADl1HiUdohk/Swwbpq_dFvI/AAAAAAAAALw/e2waMTN3LTs/s1600/the+back+of+Mt+Rushmore.jpg

[Chuck Stone]

You could also engrave the back of the pen with the other side of Mount Rushmore :D
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ADl1HiUdohk/Swwbpq_dFvI/AAAAAAAAALw/e2waMTN3LTs/s1600/the+back+of+Mt+Rushmore.jpg


LOL ... ok .. just for you..:p

[Chuck Stone]

You could also engrave the back of the pen with the other side of Mount Rushmore :D
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ADl1HiUdohk/Swwbpq_dFvI/AAAAAAAAALw/e2waMTN3LTs/s1600/the+back+of+Mt+Rushmore.jpg


I dunno Bill .. I'm just not seeing the marketing possibilities, here..

I'm just glad I wasn't making the new Scratch & Sniff pen blanks.

[Bill Cunningham]

I dunno Bill .. I'm just not seeing the marketing possibilities, here..

I'm just glad I wasn't making the new Scratch & Sniff pen blanks.

Ya! That would be a real Bummer:D

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Well .. here's one of Mt Rushmore, and both sides of a pen for a friend who
is a Star Trek fan. These are just the pen barrels, but you get the idea..

Hey Chuck,
Great work!!! I am wondering how long it takes to do a 360 engraving like these from Design time, accurate set up to actual laser time?

Is it profitable to do one ups? or is production a must?

I do some simple 1-2 line pen engraving without a rotary and made a jig so I can do 6-12 at a time but can not do a full 360. I am able to get about 135 degrees with minimal distortion. Sometimes I do have to manually turn but it can be difficult when the clips are glued on and can not be repositioned.

Thanks for sharing and ...

[Chuck Stone]

Hey Michael..

I've gotten the laser time at around 4:10, the setup is a one time thing,
(save the file) but depending on how complex, could be a few hours.. or
might be several minutes. The ones with multiple power levels take some
time, though.

Making the blank is a matter of measuring ,cutting and then drill and glue.
(there's a brass tube in there) then milling the ends to size and finish.
Then turn the blank to the desired dimensions on the lathe.. apply a finish
if you want.

I usually do 30-40 at a time now. When I was making individual pens it
was a couple of hours per pen, stopping to smell the roses along the way.
But production time is cut by about 90% when you batch them. But them
all, drill them all, glue them all ,insert all the tubes, turn them all, mill them
etc. etc. Then you can let all the dust settle before cleaning all the
mirrors, lenses ,vacuuming out the air filters, wiping down the laser with
anti-static etc.
Or, you could always do it the RIGHT way and keep the laser in a different
location than the woodworking tools. :o

I've also found that I can save time by loading all of the patterns into
one file as layers. Turn on or off the visibility of any layer when I want
to print it or hide it. (I'm working in Photoshop)

Once you've done the files, a one-off is no problem.. the work is mostly
done by then. Keep some blanks ready to go.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Chuck,
Thanks for the quick reply. What I meant about design time and Set up time are as follows:

Design Time- Take an image or file and make it to fit the circumference of the pen with out the design overlapping or leaving a gap. Since most pens are not a perfect dowel, meaning they are usually tapered at both ends, means that aligning the design joint could be tedious. If you are making all your own blanks, I can see quality control less of an issue, hence a template, than if you are getting the pens completely assembled from customers.

Setup time- If you are lasering 1 pen at a time in a rotary device, how long would it take from the moment you turn on your PC and Laser, bring file from Corel Draw to laser, put pen in rotary, align and focus, engrave pen, remove from rotary, QC, shut down system if it passes QC, hand to customer if they are a walk-in or prepare to ship.

I know sometimes its a 10 minute Design/Setup from start to finish for a single line pen that repeat customers get for $5-6.00 each. Laser time amounts to 34+- seconds. Alignment can be another 20-30 seconds, design time to sending to the job control ready to laser can be another 2-3 minutes but the repeat business when they bring in 10-50 pens, at a time, is where it really pays off. But just like grocery stores have their Loss Lead items, we all have something that will bring them in and hopefully keep them coming back.

Those that do this as a hobby may not consider the ENTIRE PROCCESS from start to finish as billable time. Those of us who do this as our primary source of $$ to put food on the table, gas in the car and pay our mortgage MUST KEEP TRACK OF ALL billable time. Otherwise you end up working 10 hours a day for 6 hours of pay.

[Chuck Stone]

Ah.. ok, I understand the question now.

Making the file wrap 360 is a matter of making the height of the file match
π x the tube diameter. The taper doesn't really matter, the only thing it
will affect is compression of the image at the ends. It doesn't care about
the actual diameter, it just uses those two numbers to know how many lines to 'print' within that 360 degrees.

As for the time, I don't have a retail location, so walk-ins aren't an issue.
I make the blanks and send them to someone with an online store. But
opening the file, starting the computer, starting up the laser .. all standard
stuff. Loading the blanks .. 3-5 seconds. (making the blanks is a different
story) Laser time depends on the file, but I'm averaging just over 4
minutes now. It was about 12 per blank.
But shipping 30-50 at a time saves me packaging time and expense..

[Robert Fitzpatrick Jr]

These pens look cool. I live just outside of Concord NH and had bought my laser to engrave the pens I turn to make them even more personalized. I have an epilog radius 30. Would love to see how these pens look in person. Do you sell any locally? I am new to the forum and looks very interesting so far. I have made some signs and done work on slate and marble. Still have not done a pen. Interested in giving a how to class? Thanks and keep up the great works of art.

[Dee Gallo]

Robert,

I can tell you that Chuck's pens look great in person and they are amazingly finished too. He has spent a lot of time working out his system and experimenting with designs, so that now his work is fantastic. It's a testament to someone who studied and figured and tested.. and succeeded!

cheers, dee

[Chuck Stone]

Hi Robert .. (and thanks, Dee!)

It's hard to get my brain around the idea of me giving a class, as I'm still
working out things myself. Dee saw some of the pen parts, but not the
huge bundle of wasted tubes that didn't work out. :p

I've had some pens in a few shops, but I never really had the time to
promote or market them. I'm strictly a hobby turner. In fact, since I got
the laser a couple of months ago, I haven't been able to turn anything
because the laser is right in front of the lathe and I'm afraid of the dust
getting in it. It already killed one computer's power supply..

But .. there's a group of us who meet every other month in Springfield MA
at a local Woodcraft to swap ideas, pen blanks, pens, techniques, tools...
pretty decent bunch of people and a lot of creativity to go around. If you
want to drop me a PA it might be worth a trip for you. Might even be able
to car pool, as I think one of the members comes in from Salem. I'm right
on the VT border so three of us meet up and drive in together. Plus there's
a Harbor Freight next door. :D

As for the 3 blanks, gun grips and such .. Dee posted a heart file a while
back and that's the one that made the little light bulb go on over my head.
The over/under parts of the pattern stuck in my head and I did it in
Photoshop using a gradient fill. Once I lasered that, things started to fall
into place. I think the light bulb is up to 12 watts now.

[Dan Hintz]

Chuck,

Consider cutting out several 1/8" acrylic panels and making a large box to surround the lathe. Hook the box up to your laser exhaust system and run it whenever you're turning. It doesn't need to be completely enclosed, so leave the entire front open... you just want some negative pressure in the area surrounding your work.

That should remove the lathe dust in the shop.

[Chuck Stone]

That's not a bad idea.. the acrylic would allow the light in so I could see
what I'm doing!

Hmm .. maybe that's NOT such a good idea. You haven't seen my turnings.:p