Making Engraving Tools From Nails

Editors Note: This has been reproduced with the permission of William L. Howard, Headmaster of the Howard Academy (www.howard-academy.com ) There is a very good drawing of this process available in JPG format (nailtool.jpg - approx. 160K ). Unfortunately it is too large to include within the body of this article. During the article you will see this drawing referred to as the "large figure" or "drawing".

     My name is William L. Howard, Bill for short, and I have made my living as a metalsmith for the last 30 years. I am considered a master goldsmith by those who care about such things and I also engrave, sculpt, mint, cast, forge, make prototypes, teach, consult, appraise, drink scotch and whatever else might be available, weld, do seminars and most anything else which is legal, fun, informative and earns fair wages. I live in Stoughton, Wisconsin where we operate our business and do all the usual stuff.

     I've had to do some pretty weird things with metal in the course of making custom orders and one of the most useful skills I ever learned was how to make those special tools you couldn't buy if you wanted to but really make the job happen faster. The following constitutes the lecture part of a demo I did for the blacksmiths at the '95 QUAD STATE ROUNDUP in Ohio. It was received well and I wish to thank my hosts who treated me very well.

     Not everyone has vast resources of cash or tools so I have presented this information based on a low tech, low cost approach. You will need some concrete nails, a belt sander or grinder, a heat source, hammer, striking surface, a can of water, a vise and about 20 minutes.