At somewhere around eight hundred to a thousand dollars a rifle, the hobby gun maker, for the most part, doesn't take on one rifle after another. So, as an occassional builder, time required to become proficient with hammer and chisel or push engraving isn't practical, that is unless this style of engraving is an interest and an end in itself.
However, when it comes to engaving on or off the stock, this style of hand engraving, to me, has the great advantage of enabling the builder to move around the stock with all parts installed and the stock stationary in a fixture. I don't have these skills, so it's no help to me. Although, having the freedom of movement around the work piece with everything smoothed and fitted is to me the ideal.
I had finished a Bedford style rifle and wanted to do some first time engraving. Using what I could learn from Meeks' book and some practice, my first attempt was not a total disaster, but was very very amaturish. I knew this was not going to work. After a number of phone calls and internet searches, I bought an Ngraver, the least expensive of the powered engavers and priced within the reach of the hobbyist. It's an electric powered hand engraver with the power applied by a foot pedal. Powered gravers, electric or air, are supposed to shorten the mechanical skills of engraving from years to days. Granted, rudimentary, but with a some practice a person can do an acceptable job on a long rifle. It's faster than the other methods, too.
Everything comes with a trade-off. Now that I think I can do an acceptable job, I'm tied to the foot pedal, can't move around the stock. So, now it comes back to engraving off the stock, and how to get every thing to the finished state, remove them, hold them for engraving and replace them in the stock as nicely as they were when removed. The tinier the inlay, the more difficult in every respect. My Bedford had all the inlays permanently installed. I wanted to try to clean up the designs on the patchbox and side plate, which was all I had previously done, and to engave the other enlays. Having the stock in a vise that I could turn 360 degrees, I arranged the pedal for the attempt. The drawbacks to this arrangement and the greatly limited movement almost turned this into a disaster if I had not quit. No additional damage was done, but I could see this method is not practical, so did not attempt further engraving. I'm sure a palm control air powered engraver would solve this problem, but now we're talking thousands of dollars, way beyond the range of a hobbyist.
So for me, here's the bottom line. I really like my Engraver, foot pedal and all. My next project will be another Bedford, aside from being my favorite style, there's plenty of brass to engrave. Everything will be removable but finished on the rifle. All inlays and patchbox will be hot glued or screwed to a wood backing and placed in my engaver's vice in its finished state, for engraving. Things like sideplate, toeplate, and lockplate will be screwed to a wood backing in the vise. There's just no easy way.
One last thing. The Ngraver, (I have NO financial interest in this thing.) although three to four time less expensive than the air powered systems is still a substantial outlay. But when you learn of all the other things you can do with any of these systems, engraving can become an interest and an end in itself. I don't build rifles every day, but I engrave on something almost that often, it's fun. And with this practice I might be a little better at it on my next Bedford.
Scrimshaw is next.
Jack
