doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com Question about engraving on claw mount base

Hi, I would like to know how the engraving on this claw mount base was done? What was the process? Did the engraver use some sort of jig to lay out the lines? Or a special tool? I took a 2 week engraving class over at Lassen Community College Gunsmithing school a few years ago so I know just enough to know this would be difficult. As our instructor told us "straight lines are the hardest". I am particularly interested in how the checkering on both edges was done.

Here is a photo of one from a gun that I have. Thanks in advance for any information you can send me.

Ron

Ron, I would suggest you contact Hendrik Fr�hauf, http://www.gebrueder-fruehauf.de/ , or post on GGCA's site as he frequents there.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Ron,

German and Austrian engravers undergo stringent training in a school for several years then a lenghty apprenticship. Any journeyman, and probably apprentice could have done that work in short order without a pattern. Also on a common item like the claw mount (einhakmontage) an engraver can make a smoke print from an example and transfer it to the one to be engraved.

I suspect that it was engraved with a burin prior to the steel being hardened as I don't see any progress marks common to hammer & chisel engraving.

Cut the border by eye. The criss-cross lines also by eye. Perhaps a few quick layout lines were put down with a pencil right on the steel to keep things straight,,but I really doubt it.
Just a V shaped point, nothing fancy.
The very fine work in the center of the mount is done with a multi cut 'liner' tool. A series of cuts at 90degrees to each other. Same type used to do the background to the bold criss cross cuts on the other surfaces only this time just cut in one direction.

If the whole thing took the person 5 minutes, I'd be surprised.

I had the luck to watch as Erik Boessler(sp?)did one for me.He did it all "freehand", no pattern, and the whole thing only took a few minutes.He first cut the borders,"shaded" it with a shadeing(sp)tool and then cut the lines(crosshatching and all) with a graver.He used a swivel vise about chest high,turning it rather than the graver,most of the time.He seemed to sharpen the tool automatically,w/o thinking. Note the borders around the holes in the plate,these are necessary to prevent disturbing the fit of the clawmounts.Neither the bases or "claws" were hardened.Others I watched,did it essentially the same way.
Mike

Thanks for the feedback on my questions. I really appreciate the help.