A blog about the beautiful art of glass engraving and some of the talented artists around the world.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
An engraving by: Yours truly
So... I decided to share one of my engravings =) This is a Mayan symbol engraved on an ashtray. It is not perfect... but I have learnt to appreciate the imperfections of my work... otherwise we stop learning.
Edge chips on an engraving may be minimized by turning the glass so that the bur is rotating in towards the center of the engraving away from the edge. Sintered wheels help with this as they are kinder to the glass. Go slow with the rpms - perhaps just barely ticking over. An almost dry sintered bur loaded with glass dust really gives a sharp edge. More comments to come. Jim
The finer curved cuts can be cleaned up and smoothed with small ball burs. If you are using a flex shaft machine like a Foredom, the shaft can whip and make the handpiece jump. Slowing down can help with this, as well as, straightening the flex shaft. I prefer to use a dental engine or micromotor or, if necessary, a geared Foredom machine (runs slower with full torque). Jim
James thank you so much for the tips! Very useful and gave me a better idea as to what to look for on the edges of my engraving as well as using less RPMs I am hoping to get my lathe soon. Did you end up selling the one you had??
Edge chips on an engraving may be minimized by turning the glass so that the bur is rotating in towards the center of the engraving away from the edge. Sintered wheels help with this as they are kinder to the glass. Go slow with the rpms - perhaps just barely ticking over. An almost dry sintered bur loaded with glass dust really gives a sharp edge. More comments to come.
ReplyDeleteJim
Jim you should let me add some pics of lathes on here :) and some of your engravings.
DeleteThe finer curved cuts can be cleaned up and smoothed with small ball burs. If you are using a flex shaft machine like a Foredom, the shaft can whip and make the handpiece jump. Slowing down can help with this, as well as, straightening the flex shaft. I prefer to use a dental engine or micromotor or, if necessary, a geared Foredom machine (runs slower with full torque).
ReplyDeleteJim
Very very good advise Jim!!! Thank you so very much for the awesome advise :) so nice to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteLeenah,
ReplyDeleteUse what you want.
Jim
James thank you so much for the tips! Very useful and gave me a better idea as to what to look for on the edges of my engraving as well as using less RPMs I am hoping to get my lathe soon. Did you end up selling the one you had??
DeleteLeenah,
DeleteNo, I decided to keep it a while longer and feature it in a crystal engraving DVD that I am planning.
Jim