Title kind of spells it out. I collect engraved guns and would like to share some pics of the engraving with friends and fellow ARers. I know from personal efforts and from trying to "cypher" what the engraving really looks like on various internet selling sites that taking decent close ups of engraving is not as easy as one would think.

I'm not a pro photographer, would prefer not to have to spend a large sum of money to get this done, but a hundred bucks or so for lighting, reflectors, etc is no problem. Ideally I'd like to have something that is reasonably portable, that is I can set it up, say on the kitchen table, and then take it down and put it away until needed again.

I've got a decent camera, I'm asking for lighting help/design etc or any other general tips. Thanks in advance.

I'll take a stab at answering you. I am a professional photographer (wildlife) but have never tried photographing engraving so my advice here may be total garbage, but what the hell, it's free, lol.
Pick up a gold reflector/diffuser that will help scatter the light and hopefully create even lighting over the engraving. As you are looking though the view finder on the camera move the diffuser around to see what effect it has on the lighting. Also try taking the photos outdoors when it is cloudy bright.
Camera settings, would guess F8-F11 will give you all the depth of field you need if you are taking photos of flat surfaces. As always a good tripod and remote release can improve things as well.

Take lots of shots, there is no substitute for practice.
A Macro rail that you can fine tune the camera position with is a big help. But good ones aren't cheap.
Like Snowwolfe says use diffused light, from flash or get sunlight balanced bulbs. You can adjust colour later but it is better to get a good result first off.
Take notes so when you start getting happy with the shots you'll know why.

Get a small table-top tripod --- there's one called a Gorilla-Pod that looks pretty good.

To get a good look at engraving you will need some directional light across the engraving to create some modest shadows to bring out the relief --- best way is with some refelctors.

Without getting into a full studio setup, balancing available light with directional fill lighting generally gives decent results on engraving.

You can accomplish this by shooting off a tripod. You can hand-hold a flash unit to get the desired direction, and you can soften that lighting with either a diffuser or even bouncing it off a low ceiling. You could also forego the auxiliary flash and simply use a close-in gold or silver reflector to direct the available light into the areas you want it.

I used to shoot quite a bit of engraved items such as buckles and jewelry. Inside a studio, where everything is controlled, it's a snap (pardon the pun), but you can get decent results for internet posting without going to all that trouble and expense.

Also, if you attempt this outdoors, late evening or early morning light is softer and more conducive to what you are trying to achieve.

If you elect to show small areas of work, you may want to invest in a copy stand. It consists of a rail to mount your camera and sockets for a couple of daylight-balanced lights. They are simple to use, don't take up much space and allow you a good bit of flexibility in capturing some nice macro/micro shots. A Bogen ST-5 or similar would suit you just perfectly.

I just looked and did not see that particular Bogen model listed anymore. However, there are several other brands, including Beseler, offering simple copy stands in the $100-150 range.

If you are going to be in this part of the state any time, I have a Bogen that I'd gladly let you take for a few months.

Bobby and others:

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to try it before long and will TRY to post results. I really hate the posting pics process but I'll work on it.

Bobby, thanks for the kind offer on the copy stand, and I really appreciate it, but I'm not much on borrowing stuff, seems like eventuallly people want it back.........

I'll see what I can find on ebay. BTW where do you get diffusers?

Larger camera shops will have diffusers, and so will online places like B & H (bhphotovideo.com).

Using velcro and a little ingenuity, you can also make your own from thin, white plastic or sheer or netting-type material (just don't take anything from your wife's craft room ). Those will suffice for basic lighting and even for softening the harsh effect of most flash units.

To diffuse a large area of natural light, a plain white bed sheet strung up will also serve in a pinch.

In order to show texture, which is what engraving is, you need raking light. That means directional light rather than flat diffuse light. But you do need to use a reflector to make sure your contrast ration doesn't get out of hand.