2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
Medal engraving existed in ancient times. Craftsmen were engaged in it, selling their products at fairs. And currently engraved souvenir medals are in demand.
Craftsmen are able to turn an ordinary household item into a real work of art, which will be an excellent interior decoration.
Relevance of craft
Medal engraving is a highly demanded service. They tend to give such a gift to anniversaries, newlyweds, work colleagues.
DIY engraving
Decorative patterns that are applied to medals, knives, plates, pistols, cups, are preserved for a long time. Medal engraving does not involve the use of special equipment, therefore, this technology is quite affordable in the price range.
Materials for work
The engraved anniversary medal can be made from brass, aluminium, steel, copper. For starters, you can try to put a simple pattern on an aluminum medal. Armed with nail polish, toothpicks, table s alt, a car battery charger, a glass, and acetone, you're ready to get creative.
Sequence of actions
First you need to take the workpiece, carefully coat it with varnish. Further, an inscription or drawing is scratched into it with a toothpick.
Pour 2-2, 5 tablespoons of table s alt into a glass, add water, prepare a solution.
The charger is attached with a plus to the processed medal, a minus - to an object placed in a glass of water. As an object, you can take a piece of wire, a metal plate.
Turn on the rectifier in the network. An etching reaction takes place in the glass, which is accompanied by a darkening of the liquid. Its duration is 4-5 minutes, depending on the strength of the current.
After 30-40 seconds, it checks if the drawing has reached a certain depth. Such engraving of medals allows you to get a good result at home. Polish is removed with acetone or nail polish remover.
Do-it-yourself engraving of medals for an anniversary, a wedding is a great way to show respect and care for the heroes of the occasion.
Professional processing
In addition to amateur souvenir medals, such products are produced by real professionals. Anniversary medals are made to order in special workshops. For example, you can designsuch unusual gifts for high school graduates.
In order for the finished product to retain its original aesthetic characteristics throughout the entire operational period, many craftsmen use laser processing, then cover the finished product with a special protective layer of varnish.
Currently, custom-made medals are made by chemical or mechanical processing. Of course, products made in the second way have a more beautiful appearance. In addition, the owner of the product will be able to admire the gift presented to him for a long time. Mechanically engraved medals are more resistant to chemical corrosion. If the product is additionally coated with a finish, its service life is significantly increased.
Glass medals
In addition to traditional metal souvenirs, which are marked with certain drawings or texts, engraving on glass has recently begun.
Such unusual products can be created with your own hands. Engraving is also performed in two ways: mechanical and chemical.
Let's consider the sequence of actions in the first version of making souvenir glass medals. To work, you will need a special nozzle, powered by an electric motor.
To begin with, a text or drawing is applied to the glass from a pre-prepared stencil with a dark marker. At this stage, accuracy is important, because with careless actions, you can smear the image (text).
BSafety goggles must be worn while working. As soon as the drawing or text is transferred to the glass, it is washed, its quality is carefully checked. If gaps are found, these places are re-processed.
Next, direct engraving is performed with a nozzle along the contour made. To add extra sophistication to souvenir products, you can cover the pattern with gold or silver waterproof paint. The finished product is washed, dried, packed, handed over to the hero of the occasion.
To make a souvenir medal with a commemorative engraving, craftsmen often use a drill. Depending on the depth of the lines, special tips are selected. You can apply an openwork pattern not only on the surface of the metal, but also on rings, a mirror, souvenirs.
Today, a variety of engraving options are used, but most often masters apply images to metal and glass using a cutting method. To do this, they use special tools - chisels. It is difficult for novice engravers to choose the right ones right away, so "painting on metal" is rightfully considered an art.
