Eric Bohnstedt Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Good morning everyone, As part of a sword customisation project, I am looking to carve runes and lines into a stainless steel crossguard and pommel. I have managed to get some lines done using a diamond file, but it is much more difficult for smaller details. Could someone recommend tools? I know some carving can be done with a dremel, but I am unsure it'll work on steel. Are there any other alternatives? Best, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaron Martindale Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 I know you can get burrs for the dremel that are carbide that cut non-hardened steel(I've used one in my drill press as a makeshift manual CNC, haven't even snapped one....yet....>_>...), and I know @David D. of Cedarlore Forge uses a dremel cut off wheel to do a lot of his carving. Other than that maybe have a friend who has a Cricut cutter(or similar) cut out your runes on vinyl and electro-etch them in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Single-point hand engraving would be easiest, but there's a trick to doing it well that can't be taught online, it's an in-person sort of thing. The cutoff wheel in a Dremel is decent for straight lines and runes, you just need a steady hand. And it's not easy to do on concave surfaces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Stephens Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Here's a trick I use to get thin, parallel lines onto guards and such. Put a cutoff wheel from a dremel in a drill press or milling machine. Clamp a small square of aluminum or other material in the mill vise to act as the "bench" Lower the head of the mill/drill until the edge of the cutoff wheel is as high off the bench as you want the line inset on the piece. Keep the piece flat on the bench and slowly rotate it into the wheel. I have a picture of this somewhere on one of my posts. I'll try to find it. It really help if you can slow the speed of the spindle down. Dave -- Found it! 2 -----------------------------------------------"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly." -- Theodore Roosevelthttp://stephensforge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 (edited) I have used Dave's trick for cutting lines in spacers or other fittings. I have also used a rotary tool with a grinding wheel to put a fuller in a hardened steel blade. See this post toward the bottom of the page for how I controlled distance from the edge. Cutting runes is a different matter. All the guys I have seen doing it are using hand gravers or air gravers to cut the lines. I suppose you could use a small ball end burr in a Dremel or other rotary tool, but you would need a very steady hand. What type of stainless? Most 300 or 400 series are not that hard. The 400 series is what most makers use if they want engraving. The 416 or 420 is particularly good for cutting. Something about sulphur content (?) maybe. In any case a small carbide burr or a pointed one will cut whatever you have pretty easily. They are not that expensive either. I picked up this set on Amazon, and I don't like Amazon..... Amazon.com: Sworker Carbide Burr Set Compatible with Dremel 1/8" Shank 20PCS Die Grinder Rotary Tool Rasp Bits Wood Carving Accessories Attachments Cutting Burrs Metal Grinding Engraving Porting Double Cut : Industrial & Scientific Edited August 4 by Joshua States “So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.” The only bad experience is the one from which you learn nothing. Josh http://www.dosgatosdesignsllc.com/#! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg J.States Bladesmith | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JStatesBladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Stephens Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 Cool trick with the hose clamps on the rotary tool! Stealing that. 1 -----------------------------------------------"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly." -- Theodore Roosevelthttp://stephensforge.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Bohnstedt Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 On 8/3/2023 at 12:17 PM, Jaron Martindale said: I know you can get burrs for the dremel that are carbide that cut non-hardened steel(I've used one in my drill press as a makeshift manual CNC, haven't even snapped one....yet....>_>...), and I know @David D. of Cedarlore Forge uses a dremel cut off wheel to do a lot of his carving. Other than that maybe have a friend who has a Cricut cutter(or similar) cut out your runes on vinyl and electro-etch them in? On 8/3/2023 at 2:34 PM, Alan Longmire said: Single-point hand engraving would be easiest, but there's a trick to doing it well that can't be taught online, it's an in-person sort of thing. The cutoff wheel in a Dremel is decent for straight lines and runes, you just need a steady hand. And it's not easy to do on concave surfaces. On 8/4/2023 at 12:39 AM, Dave Stephens said: Here's a trick I use to get thin, parallel lines onto guards and such. Put a cutoff wheel from a dremel in a drill press or milling machine. Clamp a small square of aluminum or other material in the mill vise to act as the "bench" Lower the head of the mill/drill until the edge of the cutoff wheel is as high off the bench as you want the line inset on the piece. Keep the piece flat on the bench and slowly rotate it into the wheel. I have a picture of this somewhere on one of my posts. I'll try to find it. It really help if you can slow the speed of the spindle down. Dave -- Found it! On 8/4/2023 at 2:52 AM, Joshua States said: I have used Dave's trick for cutting lines in spacers or other fittings. I have also used a rotary tool with a grinding wheel to put a fuller in a hardened steel blade. See this post toward the bottom of the page for how I controlled distance from the edge. Cutting runes is a different matter. All the guys I have seen doing it are using hand gravers or air gravers to cut the lines. I suppose you could use a small ball end burr in a Dremel or other rotary tool, but you would need a very steady hand. What type of stainless? Most 300 or 400 series are not that hard. The 400 series is what most makers use if they want engraving. The 416 or 420 is particularly good for cutting. Something about sulphur content (?) maybe. In any case a small carbide burr or a pointed one will cut whatever you have pretty easily. They are not that expensive either. I picked up this set on Amazon, and I don't like Amazon..... Amazon.com: Sworker Carbide Burr Set Compatible with Dremel 1/8" Shank 20PCS Die Grinder Rotary Tool Rasp Bits Wood Carving Accessories Attachments Cutting Burrs Metal Grinding Engraving Porting Double Cut : Industrial & Scientific Gents, thank you so much for all those suggestions. I am always trying to avoid using power tools if I can because I just really enjoy the process of seeing the shapes unfold by hand. But I'll definitely take these ideas into consideration. I think I'll try with hand engravers on a couple of blanks to see how it goes and compare it with what I can do with a dremel. Will post an update at some point with the results! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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