Gun Grip Engraving

[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.. ) 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 )
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!

[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....

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.

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.. ) 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 )
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!

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

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 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

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 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

[Chuck Stone]

You could also engrave the back of the pen with the other side of Mount Rushmore

LOL ... ok .. just for you..

[Chuck Stone]

You could also engrave the back of the pen with the other side of Mount Rushmore

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