Engraving medals existed in ancient times. Artisans were engaged in it, selling their products at fairs. And at present, souvenir medals with engraving are in demand.
Craftsmen are able to turn an ordinary household item into a real work of art, which will become an excellent decoration of the interior.
Relevance of the craft
Engraving medals is a popular service. They strive to give such a gift to anniversaries, newlyweds, work colleagues.
DIY engraving
Decorative patterns that are applied to medals, knives, plates, pistols, cups are stored for a long time. Engraving medals does not imply the use of special equipment, therefore, this technology is quite affordable in the price range.
Materials for work
The anniversary medal with engraving can be made of brass, aluminum, steel, copper. For starters, you can try to put the simplest figure on an aluminum medal. Armed with nail polish, toothpicks, salt, a charger for a car battery, a glass, acetone, you can begin the creative process.
Sequencing
First you need to take the workpiece, carefully varnish it. Further, an inscription or drawing is scratched in it with a toothpick.
Pour 2-2.5 tablespoons of table salt into a glass, add water, and prepare a solution.
The charger is connected with a plus to the medal being processed, and a minus to the item 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 darkening of the liquid. Its duration is 4-5 minutes, depending on the current strength.
After 30-40 seconds, it is checked whether the drawing has reached a certain depth. Such engraving of medals allows you to get a good result at home. The varnish is washed off with acetone or nail polish remover.
Engraving medals for the anniversary, wedding with your own hands is a great way to show respect and care for the heroes of the occasion.
Professional processing
In addition to amateur souvenir medals, similar products are produced by real professionals. Custom jubilee medals are made in special workshops. For example, you can come up with the design of such unusual gifts for school graduates.
To ensure that the finished product retains 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, medals are made to order 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. Medals that are engraved mechanically are more resistant to chemical corrosion. If the product is additionally coated with a coating, its service life is significantly increased.
Glass medals
In addition to traditional metal souvenirs, on which certain drawings or texts are applied, recently engraving on glass began to be performed.
Such unusual products can be created with your own hands. Engraving is also performed in two ways: mechanical and chemical.
Consider the sequence of actions in the first embodiment of the manufacture of souvenir medals made of glass. For work, a special nozzle, driven by an electric motor, will be required.
To begin with, a text or picture is applied to the glass with a dark marker on a prepared stencil. Accuracy is important at this stage, because with careless actions you can lubricate the image (text).
For safety reasons, use protective glasses during operation. As soon as the drawing or text is transferred to the glass, it is washed, carefully check its quality. If gaps are found, they are processed again.
Next, a nozzle along the made contour is directly engraved. To give souvenirs additional sophistication, you can cover the picture with gold or silver waterproof paint. The finished product is washed, dried, packaged, presented to the hero of the occasion.
To make a souvenir medal with a memorable 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, and souvenir products.
Nowadays, 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 - calms. It is difficult for beginner engravers to choose them correctly right away, so “metal painting” is rightly considered an art.