Diamond drag vs. spin engraving

[mmorgan]

I recently received a $2,000 grant to incorporate engraving at my high school. I fully anticipated using a spring loaded tool that would be more forgiving but learned that I can only use that attachment if I use the diamond drag bit. I really want to do spin engraving, but if it is too difficult without that spring loaded tool I don't want to waste the time or resources. I'm looking for any advice that might help me pull this off. We've been making plaques and nameplates for the past year so we're comfortable with the machine in general.
Thanks,
Michele Morgan
Warren Woods Tower High School

[Tim Owens]

What are you engraving into?

[mmorgan]

Brass. The idea is to engrave onto 1x3 plates and add them to existing awards in the district. We also want to prepare nameplates for staff desks and engrave onto larger squares of brass we can personalize and glue onto prepared plaques for special olympics.
I love a challenge, but I became concerned when I couldn't find many examples of spin engraving on the forum and it made me think that perhaps there was a reason.
I've heard that there are people who replace the router with an AC motor in order to bring down the rpm's so they can use the spring loaded tool but we're not going to do that. Does the spring loaded tool offer that much of a difference? I did purchase a touch plate to help with the z axis. I am working with special needs students and I don't want to end up wasting more material than is reasonable.
Thanks again,
Michele