In the video below, I walk you through a few easy to follow techniques, just in time for your holiday gift giving. Glass engraving has a huge "WoW' factor and even more so when it's personal. These for tips should help improve your lettering on oversized objects so try them, and see if you notice a difference.
Resist the Urge to Take Up the Entire Space
When engraving vertically, resist the urge to occupy the entire space. Take the time to place words in a way that you can comfortably and easily write (stay within your range of motion). Extending your letters beyond your range of motion (jumbo letters) can cause a wobbly or shaky stroke. I’ve been engraving for nearly 10 years and I still struggle with oversized letters. When I do have to extend my letters, as with smaller letters, I let the drill do the work while guiding the handpiece and I slow down considerably.
Use Empty Sections to Avoid Crowding
Use the various sections of bottle that don’t have a label to place your lettering, especially if you have words and phrases that don’t have to be grouped together. In this case, (see video below) I put the recipients’ name above the label and the sentiment under the label. There is a lot of real estate on the sides that will accommodate phrases nicely, but refer to Tip No. 1 above (and in the video) to avoid a costly mistake.
Use a Splitting Technique on Longer Words to Avoid Crowding This simple technique is a bit of a game changer. When used properly, it helps avoid crowding in the back end of a word as a result of poor placement (basically running out of room). I use it for long names and most ofent for the commonly used longer greetings like Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgiving. I even use to help place/center Happy Mother’s/Father’s Day when I only have two lines or my options are limited.
Use a Wrist Support This is key! I see a lot of tutorials or videos where people are experimenting or reviewing drills and they tend to only speak to the quality of the bits or the drill product but not much else. By supporting your wrist, you should see (and feel) a big difference in your technique and overall engraving. The wrist rests in the video are available on our website and it goes without saying, that even if you don’t buy from us, use something. Even a paper towel roll will work in a pinch.
Please leave your questions in the comments. If you'd really want to kickstart your engraving journey or would just like a little bit more to work with, head over to our Engraving for Entrepreneurs page and get the course. We'll take you from assembly to actually learning the foundations of glass engraving for fun or profit.
#glassengraving #divawithadrill #forthesmileswebling #makingpresents #engraving #learnengraving #engravingforentrepreneurs #wine #learnglassengraving
Don't forget to sign up for blog updates.