52 The Harness Makers' Guide. 



ENGRAVING AND MONOGRAM CUTTING. 



At the outset of this article it may be stated that Skilful penina.i- 

 ship is an absolutely indispensable qualification to anyone who 

 intends acquiring a practical knowledge of the art of engraving. 

 It is useless to start cutting letters in metal before they can be 

 well drawn on paper. 



The primary difficulty which faces the beginner, who purposes 

 teaching himself, is the selection of tools. The writer, when 

 starting'^ had no proper tools, but upon finding this out, the advice 

 of an assistant in a London tool warehouse was solicited, and with 

 the tools afterwards obtained by his advice, and from personal 

 observations of different kinds of engraving, good progress was 

 made. Dog collars, watches, and other articles were engraved in 

 a fairly good though amateurish style, but the best results not 

 being quite satisfactory, arrangements were made to spend a week 

 as improver in a London engraving shop, and it was there that 

 the proper wav to do the work was learnt. A correct method 

 and all sorts of " wrinkles " were learnt in that one week, and it 

 was to that contact with the professional engraver that the great 

 improvement made was due. 



Metal engraving may be divided into three branches : (1) Copper 

 (and steel) plate engraving for printing purposes, in which the letters 

 and words have all to be cut to read backwards ; (2) Ordinary engrav- 

 ing, such as dog collar plates, whips, watches, and other articles ; 

 and (3) Brass plate engraving, such as name plates for doors and 

 shop fronts, and " brasses " for cart harness, etc., when not cast 

 in. The plainer sort of work included in No. 2 only is dealt with 

 here. Possessing, in addition to the ability to shape letters above 

 referred to, the virtues of patience and perseverance, without which 

 it is useless to think of success, our beginner may purchase the 

 necessary' tools. These may consist of three square and six lozenge 

 gravers in handles, for cutting ; one dry point (an ordinary seat 

 awl serves the purpose excellently) for marking ; one pair dividers, 

 like small compasses ; one lens, like the magnifying glass used by 

 watchmakers; and one oilstone for sharpening gravers, etc. He 

 must also procure or make himself a sand-bag, i.e., a leather case 

 just like a flat Dutch cheese, about 6in. in diameter, stuffed 

 full of sand to lay the work upon, and a "fiddle," i.e., a piece 

 of woo<l about 12in. by lin., with a piece of buff leather glued 

 half the length (like a straight crest brush, with buff leather instead 

 of bristles) to polish the metal after the cutting is finished. All 



Square Gkavi^ 



the above-mentioned tools will cost from 7s. to 10s , and make a 

 complete outfit for the present. Three of the lozenge gravers 



