[Gail]

Thank you all for the welcome!
Things I have recently learned, or re-learned:
1. Preparation of the metal is always important, whether fabricating jewelry, or learning to make a series of lines on a practice plate.
2. Its only a tool, an aid, a means to an end....jump in and use it. One can learn more maybe from mistakes than from worrying if you are 'doing it right'.
3. Control of your thinking is just as important as control of your hands.
I have taken pieces from the ' scrap metal' box, and played at engraving something in 'real time'...even though it is eventually headed to the refiners. That was real time fun.
A change in where the airline attaches to the graver made a big difference for me but the airgraver itself is a wonderful product of Steve's ingenuity, and I thank him. Behind sight, I am thinking that the Palm Graver might have been a better choice in eliminating the foot factor from the equation, but needless to say, the more I practice the more things will come without thinking so that I can concentrate on the art part of it all. Yes indeed, I am surely enjoying this new venture! Thanks again to you all. Gail