Coat of Arms

[Michael Doyle]

Here is another one of my engraved pens. I modified the coat of arms to get a nice carved affect. There is a lot more detail in this design than on my earlier post of the Claddagh pen, so it is tough to go as deep. I think I have most of the bugs worked out.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Mike;
Very nice work. What is the wood and were you able to get this with one pass?
Assume you also used a rotary.
Best regards;
George
LaserArts

[Dee Gallo]

Michael, your pens are absolutely beautiful, both the pens and the engraving! I am a pen addict myself, so I appreciate the pen designs, they look like they would feel great in your hand. The engraving is gorgeous, just the right amount of detail to make them rich and elegant - a far cry from the typical engraved name you see on "gift pens". I'll bet companies like Levengers would jump at the chance to sell your stuff!

Thanks for sharing, dee

[Michael Doyle]

Thanks George, this is Olive wood. I use it a lot. It works really well, and smells pretty good too.

I have an Epilog Helix 45w and I use a rotary device on these.
This is one pass - I have done multiple passes on the rotary with pretty good results, but am always uneasy when I do.

[Michael Doyle]

Thanks Dee. I have been making pens for a few years now. There are so many talented people out there and I have been trying to come up with something that would set me apart from the pack. I am hoping this might do it.

[Sandra Force]

Both pens are gorgeous. What do you sell them for and are you going to do custom engraving on them? Look like they would make great corperate gifts.

[Mike DeRegnaucourt]

Yet another example of your fine work. Keep the posts coming, I personally appreciate seeing them very much.

I turn pens myself and have turned several in Olive wood. Like you mentioned, it turns beuatifully and smells pretty good too. I know the Olive wood pens I've sold myself were pretty good sellers.

Through your experimentation with the engraving the pens, have you ever accidentally gone too deep and ended up revealing the brass tube inside? You said you've done these in one pass, what were the setting you used?

Keep up the great work!

[Michael Doyle]

Sandra, I get 55.00 for the Claddagh and 65 for the coat of arms. I have done some corporate logos in the past that were well received, but it is tough to compete with the stuff flooding in from China. Despite what they say, most people will choose price over workmanship.

Ok I'll get off of my soap box now.

Mike, I haven't gone that deep yet, although it is tough to know how close you actually are. I ran this at 80/100/1200. I have been controlling the depth more by percent of black than power and speed.

And thanks for you comments

[Mike Null]

I am impressed with everything but nothing so much as your artwork. Would you mind sharing some detail as to how you did it. ( I read you earlier remarks but was looking for more)

I imagine Epilog will be all over this.

[Michael Doyle]

Thanks Mike,
For starters, I didn't draw this one up from scratch like the Claddagh on my other post. I actually bought a library of drawings. They are full color and roughly 3.5" x 4.5" . I reduced them down to pen size and engraved a few. While the looked ok, It just wasn't what I was looking for.
Idecided to deep engrave the background to make it look more like a carving. I have done a fair amount of wood carving, so I had a look in mind. I converted the drawing to shades of gray to control the depth.
The specific shade was determined by running a matrix of shades vs power and speed settings. In some cases I had to do a blended fill to keep the area on the edge of the design lighter nearest the deepest background, or it would just engrave to nothing.
Anything that was too busy after reducing was modified for less detail.
I think those are the major points.
I hope that was what you were looking for

[Frank Corker]

Super job. Coats of arms look good on wood at the best of times, but the contrast on your work is ideal.

[Mike Null]

Thank you Michael.

There are more and more times when I regret not having the rotary attachment.