Anyone know a good engraver?

[shooter]

Preferably one that doesn't charge like he's the only engraver in the country. I know engravers spend a lot of time perfecting their art, and some deservedly charge a pretty penny for their services, but I can't afford to pay some of the prices I've seen. I found one gentleman that seems like he does excellent work, and his prices start at around $300. I only want 25% coverage or so, just to spruce up a revolver and add some personal touch to it. Nothing too fancy, as all of my guns are shot and none are meant to be "collectors".

I was particularly interested in getting some pricing info for Jim Riggs, though I anticipate that he's a little out of my price range. I can't find him anywhere on the net. Is he still in the business?

[Hobie]

How about our own EngraverTom who has/does work for Turnbull...

[shooter]

Sorry Hobie, if there was supposed to be a link in your post, it's not working for me.

[adirondakjack]

REALLY GOOD engravers can basically write their own ticket. To be really good, they have to practice a lot, which means they are full time engravers. Those you can almost count on two hands. the rest are gunsmiths or other artisans who also like to engrave and are "pretty good" at it.

You might be able to find a pretty good engraver you can afford.

My favorite, who is basically out of my price range (except for a little scratching he did as a barter deal for me a couple years ago) is Jim Downing, THE GUN ENGRAVER, a man who "scratches" daily, every day, and many nights, simply because he loves it (and I'm sure the money comes in handy).

[Hagler]

shooter,

Two people come to mind:

(1.) Tom McArdle, as Hobie mentioned.
(2.) Pauline Muerrle, who was the very last Winchester factory engraver. She worked with the very best Winchester engravers.

Tom's Web site is gone, but you may have luck looking for him at Turnbull's:

http://www.turnbullrestoration.com/

Here is Pauline's Web site:

http://www.paulinemuerrle.com/

Shawn

[Hobie]

Sorry Hobie, if there was supposed to be a link in your post, it's not working for me.

I was in a rush and have fixed it. Still, you could have looked it up... You can find Tom by e-mailing or PMing through this forum.

[shooter]

Sorry Hobie, if there was supposed to be a link in your post, it's not working for me.

I was in a rush and have fixed it. Still, you could have looked it up... You can find Tom by e-mailing or PMing through this forum.

Thanks Hobie. I did try looking him up, but nothing came up in the search on the forum. I was searching for "engraver tom", when I should have been searching for "engravertom", all one word. Sorry. I'm not very good at using the search feature.

[Mike Hunter]

Shooter

Decent engraving is going to cost decent money.

Now you can have engraving done cheaply… but it will be cheap engraving, something you may or may not be proud of. I’m assuming that since you want something engraved, you want to be proud of the final outcome… something you would want to show your friends.

I know several excellent engravers, Pauline Muerrle who has already been mentioned, good friend of mine and a darn good engraver to boot. And actually her prices are very reasonable.

Ken Hurst (former Colt Master Engraver), is still doing work, and his prices are quite reasonable.

V/R

Mike

[jlchucker]

a guy from my home town, Cavendish Vermont is a pretty good engraver. His name is Winston Churchill. Nice guy, but last I knew he had all the work he could handle, and while his prices are very high, his work is widely recognized as being worth it. Like many, I can't afford his stuff.

[86er]

Charles Lee ex. Purdey's
(209) 763-9040
2951 Curran Rd.
Ione, CA

[shooter]

I realize the following,

I know I'm not going to get excellent work really cheap. I am just hoping to get pretty good work for a reasonable price. I always follow the saying that you can always find someone that will give you a combo of 2 out of 3 things, good, fast, and cheap. You aren't ever going to find someone that works good, fast, AND cheap, but you can find different people that will give you any combination of two out of the three.

I found a guy that I really like his work. For the coverage I want I think it will be somewhere between $300-$500. I got a quote from Turnbull, and it will be around $1000 for the same coverage. I also looked at Jim Downing, and really like his work, and according to the prices he puts under his pictures, he is in my price range. He's at the very top end, but for quality work I think I could go that high.

Maybe now isn't the best time to be shopping around if I'm not willing to spend the big bucks, I don't know. This gun has a lot of meaning to me, and I'm kind of anxious to get this done. I may just wait till money isn't that big of an option, though. Thanks for all the responses.

[Cast Bullet Hunter]

http://mtart.com/ Look at his work, this is Gouse Engraving. Work looks real nice and price very reasonable. Last I asked his turn-around time was in weeks, not months or years.

[Buck Elliott]

Anything less than "Very Good" engraving will eventually turn into a disappointment, no matter the cost. I'd rather have NO engraving, than a shoddy job or chicken scratches...

[shooter]

I looked at Gouse. He's the one I was talking about liking so much and still being in my price range. The more I look at his work, though, the more I can't make up my mind. Some of his work looks excellent, some very good, and some not so good. I just don't know if I want to take a chance on something looking not so good. Most of his stuff I would be happy with, so I may give him a call and see what he has to say.

Like Buck says, I would rather have no engraving than ok engraving.

[Yodar]

Contact Rachael Wells at Wells Sport Shop in Prescott, AZ at (928) 445-3655. She teaches firearms engraving at the local community college.

[stinkycat]

Brian powley, at powleyengraving.com I know Brian personaly, his work is fantastic prices good and a great person to deal with!

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I realize the following,

I know I'm not going to get excellent work really cheap. I am just hoping to get pretty good work for a reasonable price. I always follow the saying that you can always find someone that will give you a combo of 2 out of 3 things, good, fast, and cheap. You aren't ever going to find someone that works good, fast, AND cheap, but you can find different people that will give you any combination of two out of the three.

I found a guy that I really like his work. For the coverage I want I think it will be somewhere between $300-$500. I got a quote from Turnbull, and it will be around $1000 for the same coverage. I also looked at Jim Downing, and really like his work, and according to the prices he puts under his pictures, he is in my price range. He's at the very top end, but for quality work I think I could go that high.

Maybe now isn't the best time to be shopping around if I'm not willing to spend the big bucks, I don't know. This gun has a lot of meaning to me, and I'm kind of anxious to get this done. I may just wait till money isn't that big of an option, though. Thanks for all the responses.

I think you will like Jim Downing's work. Over the years I've sent work out for engraving. Like Buck said, some just left me disappointed and still charged too much. It may look pretty good at arms length but under the glass you see the cuts made with dull graver that look like drag marks or streaks. A true artist’s cuts will be as smooth as the surface finish. Some of these artist do really cost and you will wait on it, too. Expect a year to two years. Jim usually runs that long, too. But he is very good and reasonably priced. Tell him I sentya.

[Joel]

There are some great engravers in Mexico, don't charge much either. Depending on the gun, you can get permits to get it down there. A man I know just finished the prettiest 1911 .38 super ive ever seen. Wish I had pics to show.

[20cows]

I had a friend in Lubbock, TX that did wonderful work, but I can't remember his name at the moment. I have seen him from time to time at local guns (Abilene) shows in the last year or two.

[Mike Hunter]

If it’s a Non factory pattern, the one piece of guidance I generally provide my customers is: “engraving is like art, buy what you like”. No matter how much someone else likes the engraving, if you don’t like it you won’t be happy.

And like art, everyone has different tastes, some folks are very happy with an Elvis on Black Velvet; others like Rembrandt or Monet.

Something else to consider, many of the good engravers are members of the Firearm Engravers Guild of America (FEGA).

Some examples are here: http://www.fega.com/about/Awards.aspx

I really like Joe Rundell’s work, and he’s a nice guy to boot.

Just because they are a Master Engraver does not mean they are unaffordable, many will take in smaller jobs at modest prices, as several engravers have told me; they may be working on a $10K job, but they still have to pay the bills in the meantime. The smaller quicker jobs allow them to keep working on the big jobs.



Mike

[Nate C.]

I have a semi-related question for y'all. I have always been a fan of the engraved brass or silver nameplate enlaid in the stock or grip, such as was popular in the late 19th century. Last time the opportunity came up to do something like that, I couldn't find anybody to do it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I think you will like Jim Downing's work. Over the years I've sent work out for engraving. Like Buck said, some just left me disappointed and still charged too much. It may look pretty good at arms length but under the glass you see the cuts made with dull graver that look like drag marks or streaks. A true artist’s cuts will be as smooth as the surface finish. Some of these artist do really cost and you will wait on it, too. Expect a year to two years. Jim usually runs that long, too. But he is very good and reasonably priced. Tell him I sentya.