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Gary and Jessica Houghton
03-29-2011, 2:28 PM
I am trying to create an etched gun stock that will want to be desired by the gun owners in my area. I have a graphic of some horses pulling a stagecoach with our county courthouse in the background. I'm envisioning this being a western gun. I have played around with idea of etching checkering on the grip part, but now I have no idea what to put on the other side. Any suggestions?

I also have another stock that I wanted to try a 3d image on. Maybe of deers or wildlife. Does anyone have any of these graphics or ideas where to get graphics without spending a lot?

Thank you for your help!

Jessica

Chris DeGerolamo
03-29-2011, 2:57 PM
http://www.gantryco dot com/ has 3D art for sale

Larry Bratton
03-29-2011, 3:29 PM
Jessica:
Be aware that your 35 watt machine might not be adequate for the Gantry graphics. I think they say 50 watts or maybe more. They will send you a free test graphic to try before you invest in their artwork, which ain't cheap.

Dan Hintz
03-29-2011, 3:47 PM
Larry,

If they use a really soft wood (basswood, for example) they should get a decent depth (possibly with more than one run).

Gary and Jessica Houghton
03-29-2011, 4:03 PM
Thanks Chris and Larry, I have seen their art. It's a little too much $$$$ for my pocketbook.

Dan, these are going on gun stocks. They aren't basswood. So, if 3D won't work good, does anyone have any suggestions for graphics?

Chris DeGerolamo
03-29-2011, 4:15 PM
I would suggest searching around the 'net and seeing what other people have done. I've seen from bears to ducks, to deer to bison...try Dover's site too, you may find some art that will suit you.

Dan Hintz
03-29-2011, 7:30 PM
Ah, missed the gunstock part... I was paying more attention to Larry's direct statement :(

Tammy Melton
04-07-2011, 9:34 PM
Gary and Jessica,
If your good with editing, you can find plenty of free stuff just by googling. It works for me almost everytime. I usually just use photoshop to make a pattern in a shape (oval, diamond, etc), add stroke for outline, then take a clip art of a deer or whatever and white it out, make it a strong outline around it and put it in the center of my (crosshatch) pattern. Much like you would see in the Epilog picture below. (I did not do that one, just a sample of what can be done)
190637
Although I am new with the laser, I have had wonderful success so far. Since I am also new with Coreldraw, I just import my stuff from Photoshop into corel for transfering to my laser. Works like a charm. If I put more work into the design once I am in Corel draw, I can add depth for the 3D look.
Hope this helps.

Bill Cunningham
04-07-2011, 10:09 PM
One thing to beware of, many gunstocks are walnut, and if the customer wants a photograph of grandpa on his old gun, it won't turn out all that well.. Walnut Gunstocks, particularly the older ones, do not usually provide enough contrast for good photos or artwork with shade transitions. Line art on the other hand usually engraves very nicely.

Gary and Jessica Houghton
05-05-2011, 11:11 AM
Thank you to everyone for your input. I am not finished with this stock, but I finally decided on the butt of the stock. Here's the first part finished.

Chris DeGerolamo
05-05-2011, 12:40 PM
nice work...have you sealed it with anything yet?

Larry Bratton
05-05-2011, 1:04 PM
Nice job. It looks nice with the lighter colored wood.

Gary and Jessica Houghton
05-05-2011, 2:58 PM
Chris,
No sealer yet. Thank you for the compliment. I have to work on the graphic some more. I wasn't jumping up and down with how it came out.

Bruce Clumpner
05-05-2011, 9:25 PM
most of the samples we've seen have a filled area surrounding an image. It would still be possible to retain detail in the stagecoach, but with a larger area filled, it would stand out better...

Just a suggestion.

bc

Gary and Jessica Houghton
05-09-2011, 5:32 PM
Thanks for the suggestion. I too think it would stand out a bit more with the area around filled. I kind of hit a block with my creative super powers.