Stipple texture

[Geoff Keyes]

How does one do it? I did the butt of a an antler piece, but the texture is very coarse, it's nice, but not like some other work I've seen. I found a tutorial that showed using a 16 penny nail and a very light hammer. Would one of the cheepie electric engravers work?

 

Thanks,

 

Geoff

[brian458666]

I've used a dremel tool with a round bit for coarse, and have gone as far as glass bead blasting for a fine effect. I lack the patience to do it with a needle if any real area needs to be done....my understanding is that it can be done with a needle held in a pin vise

Brian

I would avoid the engraver

Edited January 16, 2012 by brian458666

[tsterling]

Use small ball-shaped burrs in a fast grinder (Dremel, if it's all you have), pressing the burr into the antler material for each stipple, leaving a little round depression (in other words, actually removing the material). Cut, move over immediately adjacent to the first cut dimple, cut again, repeat as required. Try not to do this with a visible pattern.

 

Smaller burrs make finer stipple texture, larger ones make coarser texture. A ball 1mm in diameter is what I would call large.

 

The vibrating engraver might be marginally acceptable on metal, but not antler.

[jake cleland]

the traditional cartographers technique for making stippling look random without being uneven and visually jarring is to build the pattern from a series of rosettes - you place a dot, and encircle it with a series of other dots, and repeat until the whole surface is covered. this keeps the basic spacing fairly even while still introducing enough chaos to erase any discernible pattern. on metal i use a centre punch and a light hammer and let the tool bounce out of it's impression on every blow, just barely guiding where it lands again. on antler you'll need to use a burr.

[Geoff Keyes]

Actually I was thinking about wood handles, though I can see how a stipple texture might look good on smooth bone or antler as well. The piece I did was a keeper, so the stippled butt was an experiment. I like the effect, but I want finer. One place I found suggested a tool (he used a nail) with an asymmetric point. Rather than grinding a round point, he ground it as a series of facets, everytime he hit it, he let it rotate, so the shape of the hole was different each time.

 

I'm really going to have to break down and buy that Foredom tool. While I'm at it, is there something better than the Foredom? I've had the Grizzly tool and broken 3 of the flex shafts before giving up.

 

Geoff

[Todd Miller]

"I'm really going to have to break down and buy that Foredom tool. While I'm at it, is there something better than the Foredom? I've had the Grizzly tool and broken 3 of the flex shafts before giving up." Geoff

 

I don't know anything about stippling but I can speak to the Foredom. We had a strange burglary in my shop on Christmas Eve. At first I thought all that was missing was my Foredom which had been hanging where it always did, except the foot pedal was still there. Then it turned out my chainsaw was also missing. In any case taking the Foredom without the foot pedal speaks to somebody who was high grabbing something interesting but not very rationally.

 

Since I really use such a tool so I looked into replacing it and on the advice of professional carver friend I bought a micromotor carver from Cascade Carvers Supply http://www.cascadecarvers.com/products/power-carvers-bits-and-accessories.html

 

RAM Power 45 Kit, 45,000 RPM, Blue Front Panel

$259.00 Item: 64-6008

 

The 45,000 RPM is beefed up with a larger magnet and wire that provides additional speed and torque.

Standard 45,000 Handpiece, 1/8 and 3/32 collet.

 

 

This one was about the same cost as a Foredom and it has the advantage that it is much faster and the handpiece is smaller, lighter and more flexible. Also it uses collets which are much more handier than the chuck it replaces. (You can get collet versions for the Foredom which I would recommend.) The downside is that it is nowhere near as powerful as the Foredom and I like the power since I like to carve metal. For wood or bone it works great, for metal you have to baby it. So now I am in the replacing the Foredom mode.

 

I can't speak to alternatives to the Foredom per se, but I think your experience with Grizzly says it all. As Click and Clack, the Car Talk guys say, "It is the chintzy guy who spends the most." I include myself in the chintzy category and constantly have to convince myself that spending more saves more in the end. Now I will say that the micro motor carver I bought was about a third the cost of the really expensive NSK ones my friend has. But he has used both all day every day and the cheap one lasts him about two years and the expensive one about six. So for the amount I will use it I hope I made the right decision. In any case I couldn't have afforded the other.

Hope this helps - Todd

[tsterling]

Here's more than you probably care to know about the Foredom: http://forums.dfoggk...l=&fromsearch=1

 

I prefer the NSK Electer micromotor series for fine carving in wood/antler/ivory and lately, in metal. Mine has lasted since I began seriously carving in 1992, with two changes of bearings ($300 a pop at the factory), but well worth it. It's done everything I've ever asked of it, and runs very smoothly and quietly. If you're talking about only occasional use, the less expensive off-brands will do.

 

A note here: I've had several experiences where it has become obvious that the expensive micromotors should NOT be used for abrasive work, like polishing. The polishing compound can get inside and there go the bearings (remember $300 a pop?). The Foredom is hands down better for this, and you can replace the bearings yourself.

 

Also, since the Foredom motor is elsewhere, you can use it around water (think coolant, or for gemstone grinding). Just another thought....

 

The Foredom is more useful for general knife making (I'd be completely lost without mine - sanding drums <got a problem with that plunge grind? Foredom fix!>, Scotchbrite pads, rotary filing, stippling, polishing, drilling teeny holes), a little bit less useful for fine carving, but will do a good job if you are persistent (and Geoff can certainly make it work just fine ). If you're planning on only having one of these, then go for the Foredom.

Edited January 17, 2012 by tsterling

[brian458666]

Should add that you make sure that whatever you get fits in your hand comfortably and allows fine control. I wish I could speak about the Foredom tools directly, but have never used one. I began with a cordless dremel and a bunch of air-powered die grinders and would recommend neither for this work.

Brian