Applications For Wood Engraving
Most of my work utilizes relief carving for what it gives I just personally love. Yet what comes to be overlooked is engraving art. The benefit of engraving is that it can be applied to many surfaces other than a wood canvas. Nevertheless the application for wood engraving can be absolutely beautiful creating really cool art. The reason why many avoid engraving when making art is that unless it is a unique design often it does not yield the same monetary return as relief art.
While it may be traditionally cheaper, on the right wood canvas it can be stunning. It is important to know that engraving is not burning. The application requires a cutting tool to remove material from the wood as it carves art within the wood. This can be handcrafted but most popularly today it is done with cnc mills or similar tools.
Diy Engraving Art
If you are wanting wood engraving tools as a diy method it is possible to achieve without expensive equipment or machines. There are some very basic tools that can be had as an engraving kit. Alternatively a good router will be needed with a template for engraving designs. I have seen some use a dremel but I would caution its use. Depending on the scale of the work a dremel will be seriously under powered and lack in consistency on big letters or larger surface areas. Yet it can be done.
As a tool used in engraving the with options Ive given doesn’t get any easier and its hard to go wrong. A quality router is not that expensive and often they come with the necessary attachments for the application. To achieve the outcome desired take the engraving designs template and trace the design or letters onto the wood. A marker can be used if desired to color in the design.
Once this is completed the router is used freehand to removed the material where traced or colored. Most commonly a v-groove bit or a flute router bit is used in these applications. It really is that easy. Keep in mind this works well for simple designs and letters. If a design is complex much will depend on your freehand skills.
Beyond this application if you are looking for smaller letters or designs the easiest way is the dremel. I would use this for nothing bigger than a small sign. It would be perfect for engraving small designs on small wood items such as pine cars that are often used as racing toys for kids. Wood ornaments or similar projects a dremel is almost required over a router. Here the router is too robust.
There is always the option of hand carving the design into the wood yet these tools are less common today. Electricity gives us more speed and accuracy through the use of more modern tools. Nevertheless if the hand tools are laying around left over from another time it would make sense to use them for small projects. You may find a new addiction once you begin.
Engraving Compared To Burning
Burning art is a newer technique to enter our wood world. The idea itself has existed for quite some time yet technology today makes it more efficient than in the past, thus its rise in popularity. In the value scale engraving is far more preferred over burning.
The main issue with burning art into wood is the marring which takes place. If one has the right tools for the application beautiful work can be achieved. From a diy perspective if one wants to retain the beauty of the wood canvas then it should be avoided. Temperature control is critical with burning so that marring of the surface is minimized. Additionally there are fewer options in finishing when one may want something other than a black colored design.
Where burning wins the day is on very small objects that cutting would not be as realistic. Here we are talking about small jewelry pieces or objects around the size of a half dollar piece or smaller. The key to keep in mind is controlling the temperature. Aside from this having the right tip for the scale of the art and a steady hand is all you need.
Value Scale In Art
In terms of the value scale in art relief work holds the greatest value. Engraving art would be next and is one of the more common methods found. Wood burning art would be last with the exception of those who have complex setups and can achieve extraordinary and complex designs.
While not the rule of thumb, these more complex wood burning designs can achieve more depths on a wood canvas than engraving or relief cutting. This is not a common setup and I have never seen a diy project of this nature to date. Nevertheless it is out there and I do not want to downplay those who have achieved this more exceptional version of the art.
To bring a more general application back into mind or a small shop atmosphere engraving art would be the middle of the road in terms of the value scale.
Diy To Small Studio Wood Engraving
If I were to be faced once again with choosing an avenue on where to focus my work as a hobby or small shop it really comes down to a few personal factors. The biggest factor is how much does one have to invest within the right equipment for the path they want to follow. There is no doubt a studio that is set up for engraving art and burning would be less expensive.
I will put it like this, a dremel and router with add on accessories can yield a nice setup for wood engraving tools under 1k usd. As for adding in the wood burning the basic tools could be had for under 100 dollars depending on what you want in the tool and tips. If one is wanting to stay in the hobby world or as a beginning artist you really cannot go wrong with exploring at this level.
With more complex engraving designs comes more complex machinery or tools used in engraving. Here you begin to get into more complex router setups, hand carving finishing tools, and on the upper end of the scale cnc mills. To give a better comparison I can detail the upper end of this picture for you as I have already done this myself.
More Complex Wood Engraving
If one were to set up a nice cnc mill for wood engraving, not a shopbot or similar prepackaged deal, it will cost you money. Nevertheless it is the best tool used in engraving. In case you are exploring cnc applications for woodworking please stay away from the all in one machines. They are under powered and the electronics packages are junk. Additionally the software is often proprietary and or does not work well with real design software. Not all gcode is the same.
If you explore this avenue for work you are most likely looking to get into relief carving and engraving art. Look into custom building your cnc mill. Trust me it is worth it despite the costs. Any other path and you will be buying twice.
The table you buy can come from many different places and each offers its own footprint with pros and cons. The key is stability and system of travel. I would suggest to stay away from belt driven systems. Lead screws are the way to go. They do not stretch or flex creating errors in carving.
Get a decent electronics package and preferably a water cooled spindle. I prefer Linux Cnc driven machines. Due to this I have cross compatibility with virtually anything I can possibly think of in terms of code and design development. Yes you will have to physically set up the machine but with cheaper options you will be doing that soon on an inferior table design anyway. Thus the buying twice I mentioned before over doing it right the first time.
Estimated cost for a good starting cnc mill is between 8k to 10k usd if custom built by yourself. If you put the project together in your spare time it can take up to 6 months or so to complete the project including coding the mill with Linux Cnc.
Engraving Art Business
Should you start an engraving art business? The short answer is no. The market is flooded with wood engraving. Most who get into this work do so out of the love of woodworking. That is why I started doing what I do and it grew in time. Thus many are more hobbyist that use a pseudo business to help fund the hobby. Equipment and tools are expensive.
Additionally many who do wood art in its various forms already had machinery which they used in more traditional business platforms. Starting out the average person will not be able to afford a quality table saw that can range in costs between 2k to 4k usd. The difference in quality output compared to a box store contractor saw is significant. The cheaper saws from Lowes cannot support things like dado blades or other functions. A single tool used in engraving cannot justify the kind of cost in thousands of dollars for just that purpose.
Competition is tough especially in this day and age where there is a maker at every turn churning out mediocre products. Consumers typically gravitate in one of two directions, either very cheap or very nice works. Sticking to the middle of the road you cannot fill either category.
If you were to pursue engraving art as a path I would do so out of the love of being an artist, not a business. Then I would perfect my art in a unique way in order to create very nice work setting myself apart from the makers. The problem with the makers today is that they self cannibalize each other in price and product while competing with mass production from overseas platforms.
In the end no home shop or maker will be able to create sustainable traction unless there is an idea you have which is truly unique. Even then in no time you will find everyone duplicating your process while you chase the next thing to make.
In short if you are looking for a business to start and wood art popped into your mind let me warn you. Run away now. I am saving you a fortune, trust me. The art market is not the place you want to be and wood engraving alone will not be enough. Art chooses you. Only a crazy person would look at the data and still wade into the art market intentionally as a business model.
Artists still try just because we are all a little bit crazy by nature anyway. This is why we get along with musicians. Its like a family.
If You Love Wood Art
If you genuinely love wood art and believe me the wood bug gets into the blood as an addiction then keep going. At first do not expect monetary return. This takes time. I would suggest starting small but when you think of adding equipment get the best you can get. It is always better to buy once than twice if at all possible. Sometimes budgets will not allow this and that is understandable especially as a hobby.
Engraving art is a great place to begin having fun and exploring. It will let you take small projects and add personality to them that otherwise would be plain. You can personalize the work for yourself or someone else. As you begin to get into more complex work and refine skills the satisfaction just grows.
Eventually you will begin to push the limitations of your skill and equipment and that is when you know you really have the addiction in a good bad way. It will not take long for you to begin creating things that originally was outside of your scope of thought.
Most importantly have fun. Treating your work like a business is less fun. As for a family activity to get children off the ipad or cell phones there is no better option. It brings out creativity giving them something to touch and do that is real in their hands. It is within the basic form a simple process that does not require expensive tools or much space in the garage. Jump in and explore having fun.