Do any of the readers here know anything about this Glass Engraving Lathe?

A member of the blog bought this glass engraving lathe and all he knows is "it came from Germany. The spindle on it is about 1 1/2" in diameter."

If you have (or think you know anything) about this lathe, post it on the comments and perhaps we can all learn a bit in the process =) Thank you all!

On the hunt for the white/green stone burs!

If you live in the United States and you are new to the world of drill engraving you might be having a bit of a hard time finding the so illusive green and white stones! Well worry no more! For here we have found them for you (with photos and also with first hand experience) So here we have META Dental and their catalogue

Catalogue: http://www.metadental.com/catalogs/Catalog-META-2011-v5-Lab.pdf

Website: http://www.metadentalco.com/

All you really need is the catalogue just to start . So what we have here are the green and white stones and we have them in two sizes as shown on the photo. The larger burs are the ones on page 1 and I will give you their number they are:

Large green burs - GO13 and GO19 catalogue page 1

Large white burs – W020 and WO30 catalogue page 1

The small burs are on page 2 and they are:

Small bur white - RD-1 catalogue page 2

Small bur green – FL-2 catalogue page 2

The small burs are better for polishing and creating a gray film look, like fog… I do not use them for smoothing but for adding a bit of detail. I will write about smoothing next week (keep tuned) The best thing is that I have found that the small burs can be used with water. Also the larger ones can be used with water but are not as smooth as the larger ones. Please have a look at their website and get a price by emailing them. They have great customer service and fast shipping. Now the shank for the larger burs shown on here is about 3/32” and 1/16 for the smaller ones.

But if you think that is all we have… you are incorrect! If you really need to have them right now and can not wait to try them till you get an email from Meta Dental… they also sale them on EBAY and here is the link:

http://stores.ebay.com:80/Certified-Dental-Supply-LLC/Finishing-Polishing-/_i.html?_fsub=1851881014&_sid=841805744&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

Go towards the bottom and you will see them (with free shipping) You can get the FG:FL3A (free shipping) I hope this has helped you as it helped me. Again… DO NOT BUY everything you see… try a small box for 9.99 (free shipping) before you go like me and buy the whole stock! =) also do some more research, try dental web sites etc. – Look at how an item is listed and use those words to google search. Happy engraving my friends! Happy engraving!

My dream machine the glass engraving lathe from Kurt Merker GmbH

Well what can I say... some girls want shoes and a purse, some a new car or a new phone... As far as I go; I want a lathe! I am working very hard to get it though I wont probably know what to do with it when it gets here... I will be quick to learn. This is the KMK1 from Kurt Merker in Germany. here is their link:

http://www.merker-kmk.com/indexe.html

It is featured in the book Techniques of Glass Engraving by Peter Dreiser and Jonathan Matcham (2nd edition) and it seems lovely! The idea is to learn the copper wheel engraving which is sadly and "endangered species" art; one that by all meanings isn't easy to learn and I am sure it will take time to do so but it will not be impossible and it will be rewarding. This is their lathe and you can visit their website (though you will have to contact them regarding price) I would say the lathe will set you back about $4,000 us dollars (with out the wheels) and almost $6,000 with the wheels. Some people might think "whats the point of spending that much?" but there is something in me that tells me it is the right thing to do... and so I'll do it! In the mean time however I will keep on engraving with my drill and sharing with you all the beautiful work of the amazing artists I admire, and aspire to be like, as well as the things I am learning by trial and error. Here is the lathe pictured with the diamond wheel set.