Engraved Microblock: Progression from Layout to Sculpting
work by Robert "Bob" Finlay

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 Published in: 2007 Archives Share

Here is the next step in Bob Finlay's impressive Engraved Microblock. In July and September 2007, we showed the two early stages of the block. The stage in September described how to lay out a scene – this step shows the finished result of that process.

Using only stippled outlines for the layout in the last step, Bob Finlay put together a Wild Western scene that includes several figures. Now you can clearly see the detail of each figure, from the hunter to the wild animals.

This type of deep relief metal sculpting takes quite a bit of time. The results, however, are well worth it. This method of engraving is greatly admired by collectors and engravers alike. Shown here is only half of the deep-relief engraving Bob Finlay has done on the sides of this vise. Stay tuned for the next section of engraving in this series.