Reddit reviews The Jewelry Engravers Manual (Dover Craft Books)
We found 2 Reddit comments about The Jewelry Engravers Manual (Dover Craft Books). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
I just mentioned this earlier today haha.
First off, there absolutely does exist an inexpensive engraving tool: the hand-push engraver. You can buy a pair of them for about $25, just keep in mind that the usage of them is a chiseling action rather than a hammering one. I recommend buying a square engraver and an onglette engraver. Most engraving is done with the square, and the onglette's unique shape makes cutting rounded parts such as script characters MUCH easier. I originally bought my first two from Amazon; you'll have to buy the blades and handles separate and there are several videos on how to set a blade in. I'd highly recommend buying a precut rather than grinding it yourself like some videos oddly recommend.
A hand push will take a lot more time and is generally not suited for a lot of area, but if you can get the technique down, you have the highest control and precision of all methods perhaps with the exception of select pneumatic engravers.
Finally, you should ABSOLUTELY BUY THIS BOOK irregardless of what tool you choose, but if you do buy a hand push, this book becomes essential. Don't be fooled by the name of the book; it's useful across several tools and types of engraving since it goes into great detail with how to carve various letters and how to make them "pretty".
> a way to hold the thing
I swear, this is like 30% of making jewelry.
> the amount of control you need to not end up with extra long lines everywhere
I think this is the point that most of the replies want to get across. Cutting (engraving) gold is easy. Controlling for the desired results takes lots of practice. It might not be a practical solution for this one piece. But if you're into learning engraving anyway, The Jewelry Engravers Manual is very helpful, as well as [Engraving on Precious Metals] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0719800226/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482234019&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=engraving+on+precious+metals&dpPl=1&dpID=51Xbuo1fMxL&ref=plSrch). Also ask at /r/benchjewelers