Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with engraving

Social customs for anniversary engravings confuse me.

MysticMCJ — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:33:53 -0800

I need help with engraving an anniversary gift - Specifically, the text. Is it OK to have a two initial monogram? What about additional text? My wife doesn't have a middle name - Should I pass on the traditional circular monogram -- Would it look odd with only two letters as opposed to three?

Assuming I don't, would it be weird to have additional text beneath that commemorating our anniversary? Should I put the wedding date without the year, or should I include the year? Or should I put some more meaningful text?

I'm very good with gifts in general, and I know she will love specifically what is being engraved (Circular flask with pop-out shot glass built in, she's not a MeFi reader lucky for me) but the fact that this is a rather non-traditional anniversary gift, combined with the fact that it's our first anniversary, combined with my complete lack of knowledge of social customs for this sort of thing has made me very confused. Any help appreciated!

A synthesizer image simple enough it can be engraved

ifjuly — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:44 -0800

In search of a fairly simple online image of a synthesizer for a wedding ring engraving. I have decided to go with this wedding ring set for my upcoming ceremony. I've contacted the jeweler and am good to go except for the images I need to supply.

I found the perfect one for my ring--an iconic, simple image of an open book. However, for the groom's ring I'd like a synthesizer image as they are near n' dear to my beloved's heart. Unfortunately, my Google Image Search-fu has failed me; all I can find are extremely cheesy, generic clip art synths or the kind of cool synths he loves but only in hyper-detailed photographic images. Ideally I'd have an online black and white drawing or stamp (or otherwise simple kind of image) of a cool, iconic synth like a Wasp or MS20. Do you have any pointers for where to look, or better yet, images on hand that might fit the bill? Thanks.

The jeweller also said this when I inquired about what kind of image would work: "any graphic should do--but not too linear, as it's cut through one sheet of metal & soldered onto the interior piece."

I'm not sure I understood what she meant by that, actually.

(And just in case you're wondering, the reason I didn't put this in the shopping category is the shopping part, namely the ring, is taken care of; it's the hunt for an image that's the problem.)

Engraved gift for 11-year-old girl?

i_am_a_fiesta — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:52:47 -0800

I am looking for a small I'm-going-away/she's-starting-middle-school gift for my 11-year-old sister. I'm hoping to spend <$30, and I prefer something that can be engraved, but preferably not jewelry. Anything that means "I'll miss you" or "congratulations on starting to grow up"? Any keepsake you would have loved at 11?

Engraved moleskines?

Deflagro — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:32:11 -0800

So it's almost time for me to get a new moleskine, but I wanted the cover engraved and I see engraveyourbook.com has stopped doing business. Are there any other places I can engraved moleskines? I know modofly.net, but I can't get one single custom moleskine and they apparently will be phasing them out by the end of the year. According to this Modofly blogpost, they were told by the guys at engraveyourbook.com that the covers have PVC and you need a filter (that's why Engrave stopped) so I that rules out for the most part taking it some place to get one engraved.

Are there any other places I can get them? (custom or not) It seems most things I find with Google are just articles about the two previous mentioned ones. If for any reason it matters I'm wanting one of the pocket sketchbooks. Also I want this to be relatively cheap and not some outrageous price. Thanks!

Wedding ring engraving inspiration

roofus — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:52:41 -0800

How did you go about picking the engravings for your wedding rings? My fiance definitely wants our wedding rings engraved. I don't want anything from the bible, and I don't just want the date of the wedding, but no other really significant, relevant quote from literature is leaping out at me. Additionally I'm unclear if protocol dictates that we should pick each others engravings, pick our own, or have a complementary pair of engravings.

Is it possible for me to laser engrave my stuff at home?

josh.ev9 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:36:43 -0800

Would it be possible to buy a laser engraver to engrave my stuff...like they do here and here? I'm really interested in laser engraving, potentially as a hobby, and potentially to make some money on the side. What basic tools do I need in order to get in to laser engraving? How much might a startup kit cost? Where should I shop?

The machine EngraveYourTech uses works kinda like an inkjet printer...is this potentially the sort of thing that we'll be able to buy at Circuit City in 5 years?

Thanks MeFi

If writing stuff be the food of love...

Neonshock — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:22:50 -0800

Quotefilter: help me find a quote that speaks of both love and writing.... Its our (me and the bf's) three year anniversary on the 5th (yey) I came up with a great idea for a little token gift I can get for him, which is a nice pen with something engraved on it. A pen because he loves to write (creatively, mostly short stories, though hes working on his novel, he also writes reviews and essays.) and its something he can keep and enjoy.

So rather than his name I think a quote might be more interesting, anything that speaks of love, and writing together would be great. Any language considered though he speaks fluent English and French, so they might be more favourable languages.

Secondarily, quotes about love that come from dr who...

How to impress a wine lover

srrh — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:42:36 -0800

What bottle of wine is perfect for my first Christmas with a wine lover? My boyfriend is a wine connoisseur, and I am basically an uncultured slob in comparison -- I love wine to drink but I don't know nearly as much about it or appreciate it as much as he does. We are coming up on our first Christmas together, and I would like to get him a bottle of wine, and have it engraved.

My question here is twofold: what bottle to get, and what to engrave on it. I want the wine itself to be a Christmas gift (he has quite an extensive (and expensive..) wine collection), not something to actually drink on Christmas, so I am looking for a wine that would make a good gift and be worth drinking on a special occasion years down the road. He prefers whites, specifically rieslings, but appreciates a red as well.

Secondly, what would be an appropriate engraving for a Christmas gift? I don't necessarily want it to be something about him and myself -- if we ever broke up, I would want him to still be able to enjoy this wine some day. I would like it to have more than just his name on it, but I'm at a loss for what would be appropriate and heart-warming. Thus, I turn to you, Hivemind. Thanks in advance for all your help!

What should I get engrave on my iPod

Brandon Blatcher — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:03:53 -0800

Suggestions please, on what to get engraved on brand new iPod. I decided to splurge for the a new pod, probably an 80gig classic, as opposed to buying a refurbished one like before, which means I can have something engraved on it. I don't want just my name or it doesn't even have to have my name on it, but I'm looking for ideas for something extremely unique.

I've read the suggestions here and while "Don't Panic" is close it still falls flat to me due to being more of an injoke, albeit a popular one. "Pussy Wagon" is kinda in the ballpark for its combination of words and ideas, but it's offensive and only funny in a movie character.

I'm not looking for a specific quote per se, though that would be fine if it was extremely good, rather for the idea of something. Example: "Artist X always had interesting things to say about Y, maybe look up some of his quotes."

It can only be two lines long and can only have 22 characters, including spaces, in each line.

Ideas?

Where can I get an engraved pizza stone?

unknowncommand — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:34:49 -0800

I want to buy an engraved pizza stone. Is this something that is sold? If not, can I get a pre-purchased pizza stone engraved anywhere in NYC? If not, can I just buy an engraved brick or is there something else that can serve the same purpose? Willing to pay up to $100.

Is this right? How to write it most simply?

pax digita — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:02:17 -0800

For engraving purposes: Tell me (a) if this is right (b) what it looks like in one of the Japanese alphabets. Got a really good friend who has a birthday coming and who, I fervently hope, does not read AskMeFi. He's seriously into bears and is somewhat ursine in appearance himself, and he's living in Japan these days, so in a fit of guesswork, I nicknamed him Kuma-chan for pet bear.

Is that the right way to express that?

I don't know much about Japanese writing systems other than that there's more than one -- I think some symbols are phonic alphabet like Latin and Cyrillic while others are basically a Chinese set of ideograms -- haven't Wikipedia'd to see if that's right. There's...two...?...or five...?...different writing systems?

Anyhow: If Kuma-chan is correct, what's the most engraving-friendly way to represent that in writing? Or if there's a better way to say it, what is it, and how should that look?

Arigato in advance, y'all.

Engraved steak knives?

sulaine — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:03:48 -0800

Where can I buy a set of nice steak knives and have them engraved? I want to get a set of knives (6 or 8) and have them engraved with "DAR". I have found these two places:

http://www.jumbosteakknives.com/
which seems a bit too commercial, but is a possibility

http://www.xikar.com/product_608.asp
which I think is too pricey.

I am hoping for something in the $40-$70 range.

If just buying a set of knives and then having them engraved is the best option, where should I have them engraved? Madison WI or online/mail-in recommendations are best. If that is what I plan to do, should I then only think about getting knives with metal handles? Or would wood still be okay?

Does engraving devalue an antique watch?

nancoix — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 08:58:44 -0800

Antique watch values -- I want to sell a 1914 Waltham men's wristwatch on Ebay, but it has engraving on the back of the case. Does this reduce its value? The engraving on the back was done by my distant relative's employer (an insurance co.), since this was apparently a gift presented to him at retirement. The year 1914 is engraved as part of this dedication.

The watch runs and is in good shape otherwise. But will it garner as high a price as one without engraving? Or (be still my heart), does it add to the value?

Death's Rose Garden

ninazer0 — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:01:57 -0800

ArtFilter: A skeleton crowned by roses holding a posy of same in a garden with rose petals drifting down on the breeze. A little... I saw an engraving (or possibly line drawing) about 15 years ago. It looked a little like Albrecht Durer but I've searched through his online work to no avail. It might have been a Pre-Raphellite but I've no idea which one.

Help me, HiveMind - Google and my arty friends have no idea.

Removing Laser Engraving from iPod

blueplasticfish — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:55:45 -0800

How can I remove laser engraving from my iPod? I've looked around the net and it seems this might be impossible. Does anyone have any ideas? Aside from totally destroying the back of my iPod with a grinder or sandpaper.

Will A LOT of Brasso work?

DaVinci or Darwin? How crazy is aesthetic gun modifcation for non-gunsmiths?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:08:52 -0800

Gun modification safety: I'm a geek that likes to customize and modify gadgets. Can I extend this to guns and ammo, without killing myself, by taking great care and following reasonable precautions, or should I STOP RIGHT THERE! ARE YOU CRAZY!? More specific examples inside. I would look deeply into the safety and safe methods of doing something before performing it, but getting an overview here, of the safety/sanity beforehand of many different things, will help me decide whether to not bother, or to start that more serious learning.

I do not have a gunsmith background, and while I've grown up with guns, I've never been "into" them, eg never done my own reloading, never had a range membership, etc.

Like a computer case-modder, I guess I'm interested in style over substance (yeah, I know that's kind of dumb), so I'm not going to be trying to supercharge a gun, or convert a semi pistol to auto, or stuff like that. If anything I'd be reloading shells erring on the side of too little bang, rather than normal or too much.

So, some more specific indications of stuff I'd be likely to do, so you can tell me which are ill-advised or illegal:

(assume, say, a semi-auto pistol, state of WA, USA)

-Anodising, electroplating, engraving, etc various non-mechanical parts (eg the outside of the grip).

-The same, with mechanical parts, but not those critical to safe operation (eg modifying the ammo-clip, but not the firing mechanism). "Safe operation" does not mean reliable operation, it means will-NOT-blow-up-in-my-face operation, with the necessity for successful operability coming in a distance second. I'd prefer to accidentally render a gun useless than render it unsafe.

-Hacking electronic systems (eg those safety systems that render a gun inorperable unless the person is wearing a certain ring), to be triggered by a different authorization system.

Ammo modification (the danger-flag side):

-engraving or etching the brass? Before it's live of course. (From time to time I've seen people fire a shot that cracks open the brass, and I suspect engraving would make this occurance more likely. It didn't seem to be an injury risk, but I don't really know).

-Reloading... with various powders, or with additives in the powder? (eg, perhaps to make something smokier, NOT more powerful), and so loading a lighter-than-usual charge, to leave a higher safety margin to cover my ass for deviating slightly from the script.

-engraving/messsing with the bullet? Or even casting your own bullets? (reminder: for a modern pistol, not a black powder gun)

What kind of pistol/calibre/features would be a good choice for this sort of thing, primarily from a safety standpoint?

[posted anonymously because some workplaces these days get nervous when an office worker takes a sudden shine to guns.]

looking for letters

luriete — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:22:58 -0800

Harvard students, staff, faculty & visitors: Where's the good lettering? I'm looking for recommendations for the best engraved lettering, printing, calligraphy and other lettering on your campus in preparation for an upcoming visit. The type of stuff I am talking about: like the inscriptions on the Harvard Gates, or the Eric Gill piece downstairs in the memorial chapel. Any suggestions? For that matter, any typographic or chirographic must-sees in Boston and Cambridge overall?

stoned at harvard

luriete — Tue, 30 May 2006 11:21:03 -0800

Who is responsible for the wonderful type engraved in stone seen on gated walls around the Harvard campus? I am not talking about architectural lettering, but about the several quotes engraved in slabs of smooth stone and mounted in the walls separating various parts of the campus. The work looks contemporary, or at least very well-cared-for.

Monogram!

josh — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 07:00:29 -0800

I own a leather journal, and I'd like to get it monogrammed with my initials. Is there a way to do this with an item you already own? Bonus points if you can do it cheaply and in Boston.

What to engrave on an iPod?

Gortuk — Thu, 26 May 2005 06:48:43 -0800

What should I engrave on my iPod? OK, so I'm looking at ordering an iPod mini from Apple's corporate site. For some reason, the engraving option costs -$5. That's negative five dollars, as in, five dollars off if I put a few letters on the back. The question is, what to engrave?

I definitely don't want to put my name or anything personally identifying. I'm trying to think of a snappy, short quote that I won't get tired of looking at every day. My first great idea was Negativland's "Copyright infringement is your best entertainment value". But that's too long - the limit is 2 lines of 23 characters each. So I put this forward to the world. Hit me with your best two-liner please!