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Old 10-24-2009, 03:45 PM
Faux Faux is offline
Copper
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Stafford, TX
Posts: 1
Default Re: Inexpensive way to give it a try

Hello everyone!

At the risk of providing a painfully long introduction let me simply say I'm a recent graduate school graduate who is less enamored with his recently-attained 40hr/week desk job than he was planning so he's looking for a hobby. :D

I was considering gunsmithing (not necessarily the fabrication, but the understanding, operation, maintenance, and modification of existing firearms) but a friend recommended engraving (gun engraving specifically) and through a series of hops and jumps across Google search results, I've found this wonderful forum.

But the reason I'm making this post is I'm having difficulty trying to find a good starting point. The wealth of information on this trade is overwhelming and between bit sizes, shapes, materials, methods, and techniques I have no idea where to even begin.

Peter M mentioned a user named Steve having a good starting 'kit' for aspiring engravers but I haven't been able to find it. So long as it's under $400, I can reasonably afford it.

Better still, if there's any sort of recommended steps to take if one wants to begin in engraving I'd love to know them. Engraving seems like a hobby you really only learn through doing and hands on practice, but if anyone has any book recommendations I'd love to hear them too. (I've found a bunch of links to e-books

It seems like a great hobby to pick up and a perfect way to fill my free time after work and on the weekends. (And, dare I say, something potentially able to become self-funding so I can use the proceeds from engraving to pay for more engraving stuff. :D)

It's nice to be here and I think this place has a wealth of information for novice and expert engravers a like. I hope to hear back from you guys soon!