[TheForge] Chasing and engraving

[Larry and Pat Brown]

Auto sheet metal is soft stuff (look at the shapes it presses into), don't 
inhale the paint as it burns off. If you don't want to buy tool steel a 
coil spring can yield a lot of small chisels and plenty of practice pieces 
to try tempering with (Older GM springs were said to be 5160). I've had 
good luck using coil spring for tooling, just make a few test pieces to try 
hardening and tempering before you spend a lot of time making tools from it
Larry Brown

At 11:07 PM 3/30/2003 -0500, you wrote:

>I'm looking for some information about chasing and/or engraving, on steel.
>
>My SCA Cooks have a project, to make tiles for Pennsic, primarily out of
>foodstuffs, so, me being as wrong-headed as I usually am, I thought I'd tool
>a leather tile on a smithing subject- likely an anvil or some such- and make
>a steel (or iron) tile on a leather subject- possibly using one of the
>overly prevalent oak-leaf-and-acorn themes from the Western-style of leather
>carving.
>
>Since the piece will be simply decorative, I imagine I can use any steel
>that will take a tool print, so that being the case, what should I use? Will
>any old mild steel do? And, what kind of steel would I need for my tools?
>How should I shape the tools? Any help you guys can give me will be
>appreciated.
>
>Phlip
>
>  If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
>cat.
>
>Never a horse that cain't be rode,
>And never a rider who cain't be throwed....
>
>
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