Engraving question

[Tim]

I am making inlays out of 18GA dead soft sterling silver.
What would be a good metal to use for practice.
I want to engrave a simple man in the moon and a hunters
Star with a square graver.

[JTR]

Use the back side of your inlays.

If you don't have enough material, you might try practicing on pewter. 

Practice a very light hand.

[Tim]

Use the back side of your inlays.

If you don't have enough material, you might try practicing on pewter. 

Practice a very light hand.

Would aluminum be suitable to practice on.
I can get aluminum scraps from our machine
Shop at work. I can get steel as well.

[Acer Saccharum]

Copper roof flashing would be pretty similar to annealed silver.

[Tim]

I appreciate all of the information you guys have provided me.
All of this engraving stuff is new to me and I am intimidated to say the least.

[Nordnecker]

Copper roof flashing would be pretty similar to annealed silver.

I would definately take this advice.
I'm no expert but have managed to engrave a few pieces. Silver is very nice to work with. I think it is important what you practice on.
On my last gun, I practiced over and over on brass scraps until I was comfortable with my tools and pattern. When I put the tool on the actuall castings, everything was different. The brass was much softer. The graver wanted to dig in. It was a whole different experience.
G'luck.

[JTR]

If you want to just do general practice, buy some Cold Rolled steel from your local metal supply company.
The stuff cuts like butter and is cheap.

[heinz]

The Standard 18th century practice material for silversmith apprentices was copper,  Fairly easy to obtain and it has work hardening and annealing characteristics very similar to silver.  If your silver has been rolled to thickness it may need annealing, or you may need to work harden your copper to match.

[Acer Saccharum]

Once cut, the silver (and copper) workharden. Sterling silver has some copper in it. These are both rolled sheet products, and perform similarly.

When you come to brass castings, the whole game can change. It can be easy to cut, or pudding soft, or just darned miserable to cut.