become a Certified Professional Engraver

this weekend. Whew! What a big job that was. I had stuff cram packed from wall to wall and almost floor to ceiling. To move a bookshelf from one side of the room to the other I had to unload the bookshelf. Oh no! Where do I put all these books I’m taking off the shelf. Now I can’t move the shelf because there is a credenza where it’s supposed to go.

It was madening but I finally got it done.

I also cut down my way to large work bench so it could fit in a corner. When doing my engraving I don’t need a lot of bench space. The piece I work on is clamped in a ball vise that sits under my stereo microscope. The tools I use are tiny so another reason to reduce the bench.

I’m happy with the way it is turning out. I’ll take some pictures after it gets finished. I’d be embarassed for anyone to see it in the middle of the cleanup.

I’m working on a design now for an engraving on a belt buckle knife I picked up at a custom motorcycle show recently.
http://belt-buckle-knife.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/buckle_plain1.jpg

I have an idea for a goth girl holding a Celtic dirk, Celtic knot tattoo on her bicep and knot border around the entire image. As soon as I get the design down on paper I’ll scan it and put it in my Flickr gallery.

A couple of years ago I attended a basic metal engraving class where I learned how to get started with scratching a few lines into guns or knives. I’ve completed a few items and put a gallery on my website at http://stanenglandengraving.com . Thanks to a wonderful instructor and the encouragement of other members of FEGA, the Firearms Engravers Guild of America I’ve continued to practice. I hope that some day I can spend more time doing this, perhaps after I retire from my current job.