Novice carvers often progress slowly before they start carving, not only because they lack carving experience, but also because they often ignore the most basic and important preparation for carving work and just pick up a tool and start carving. Just like a child who is learning to walk and wears ill-fitting shoes, this will of course affect his learning to walk. Therefore, the preparation for carving is very important. We need to make the following preparations.
preparation for carving tools
Good carving tools are half the success of the carver. If the tools are not easy to use and cannot be operated as desired, it will not only affect the effect of the carving work, but also make the carver feel bad during the operation. To operate and inspire, choosing an engraving machine with excellent performance is an important step in getting started with engraving. Engraving machines are divided into pneumatic engraving machines and electric engraving machines. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. You need to choose which one to use according to different usage scenarios.
Pneumatic engravers have higher power and speed, which is obvious for scenes that require efficient engraving. Advantages: lower maintenance costs, but requires an air compressor for use. Relatively speaking, the advantage of an electric engraver is that it does not require an air compressor and can be used when plugged in. It is suitable for some fine engravings and smaller craft engravings. It is also more suitable for scenes with limited space.
Debugging graver set
When troubleshooting the graver set, some people may think that as long as the graver set is mounted on the handpiece and tightened, it can be used. This idea is very wrong. Often, before preparation for carving different works, we will choose different angles and different thicknesses of the cutter heads according to the actual situation. The adjustment of the graver set will affect the smoothness of the preparation for carving and the operation of the carving lines.
The control will also be more accurate. Therefore, before installing the cutter head, we must make a suitable selection of the graver set. If the Graver Set is used for a long time and the Graver Set becomes dull, we must use a knife sharpener to polish the Graver Set in time. If the knife is found to be loose during use, the head must be adjusted in time or the graver set may be seriously damaged after long use and must be replaced with a new one.
Debugging of handpiece
Now that we have selected the appropriate Graver Set, the next step is to debug the handpiece. We install the Graver Set on the handpiece and tighten it. Make sure that the Graver Set is well secured to prevent it from falling off and vibrating too much. If the cutter head vibrates strongly, it will be difficult to control the handpiece and the carved lines will not be straight. Of course, there is a slight wobble, which is normal and does not affect use.
Material selection
The materials the sculptor can use can theoretically be any object. Of course, as a beginner, you will need to choose commonly used and suitable materials for your practice. Commonly used materials are mainly metal, wood, stone, etc. Each material has a different texture and usefulness. Compared with other materials, wood materials are easier to obtain. The soft texture allows shaping with less force, so it is a very suitable material for practice compared with other materials such as metal. Among them, metal has certain advantages in terms of plasticity and conservation of works.
Common metal materials are mainly: copper, silver, gold, aluminium, stainless steel, etc. The most expensive among them is gold, which is not a choice for practice. Silver is suitable for jewellery, has a high ductility and is suitable for engravers with a certain technical level. Copper and aluminium are a little cheaper and have a good plasticity, so they are obviously suitable for beginners to practice. A good material for engraving. Stainless steel has a high hardness and is difficult to engrave for beginners, so it is not very suitable.
Engraving speed
The speed of engraving is also the key to engraving. Too high a speed can affect the smoothness of the engraving lines and the control of the handpiece. Novice engravers must constantly practice fast and slow engraving speeds to find a suitable engraving speed before releasing the engraving machine. performance, and at the same time you can also find a carving rhythm that is more suitable for you and control the handpiece. The more delicate the preparation for carving, the more important the carving speed.
Security concerns
For safety reasons, you must wear appropriate protective equipment such as goggles and masks when engraving. The goggles prevent the engraving material from splashing into the eyes and the masks prevent the wind and dust from entering the respiratory tract and damaging the body. At the same time, make sure you are engraving correctly. When using the machine, avoid accidents caused by tangled cables and tripping. At the same time, when using a pneumatic engraver, pay attention to the safety of the placement of the air compressor.
Cleaning and maintenance
Cleaning and maintenance mainly includes the cleaning of engraving materials and engraving machines. Cleaning of materials affects the effect of the engraving work. The cleaning of engraving machines is related to their life span. First of all, the surface of the material must be cleaned before engraving. This prevents small particles or wind dust from affecting the engraving effect, and also reduces the possibility of injury to people from material splashes.
Therefore, it is necessary to clean the engraving material before engraving and to clean the engraving machine after engraving. Even if the tools are cleaned, dust or debris will not affect the next engraving of the machine. Good maintenance can effectively extend the life of the tools. The first step is to clean the table, tools, etc. after each engraving. At the same time, it is necessary to check the engraver regularly, add an appropriate amount of lubricating oil to the guide rail screws and other places, and check the power interface regularly to ensure a good connection.
