Question: looking for info.....Copper wheel glass engraving

[cloutier]

Hi all,
I inherited this copper wheel glass engraver from my wifes grandfather.He was an engraver for Wheaton glass in millville NJ. I just pulled it out of storage after 8 years. It is now all set up in my studio and working, but I am having a very hard time finding (instructional) info. There is no name or date on the lower unit I was told by family that it was treadle originally and later converted to electric but cant confirm. I figured with the knowledgeable crowed in the café I would post here.......thanks for looking......any info greatly appreciated

some pics of the set up and an oil jar he was working on

sorry for the sideways pic....not to good with this fancy thinking box

 

[JJ Roberts]

clutier,I have a friend here in Virginia John Smith who is a Master Crystal Engraver,if you have any question feel free to call him.John received his Fine Arts education from the Ducret Sshool of fine Arts in Plainfield N.J. John's phone # is 1-540-291-2070 tell him J.J. refered you.

 

[cloutier]

J.J. thanks, I appreciate the contact Ill give him a call after the long weekend, hopefully he will be able to give me some direction...

 

[Dave London]

Do you know what is in the glass bottles with the ground glass stoppers, look like they could contain acid

 

[cloutier]

Dave,
chlofine water?.....only one is labled, and the large ones are oil

 

[Sam]

I think it's whiskey, which could very well be the secret ingredient in glass engraving.

Hey Ron, you have a cozy looking engraving workshop!

 

[cloutier]

SAM
Lol....the little flask behind the cranberry glass is Grey goose........the secret to going to sleep instead of engraving all night long......the shop is a constant work in progress and yes pretty cozy....heat/ac/satalite radio what more can i ask for

 

[filbertius]

A buddy of mine has a pretty neat vase which was obviously cut with a wheel system like that. Not super detailed, but some of the cuts had been heated or something to smooth them out and make them more clear, and the others were left fresh.

Gary

 

[PaulE]

The Techniques of Glass Engraving by Jonathon Matcham and Peter Dreiser is a great book on Copper Wheel Engraving. I have a copy but don't know if it is still available. First published 1982. Also check out the glass engravers guild in England.
PaulE

 

[tbear]

Go to the following web site to see what Copper Wheel Engraving looks like.
http://steuben.com/crystal-glass-sculpture/
The company is called Steuben Glass, they are in New York. I have some of their pieces. You really need to see the glass work up close and personal to really see the craftsmanship, it's really phenomenal. Some of their pieces are in the 5 digit numbers. I have been to their factory years ago and it was really great. I'm sure if you called they would be glad to give some info etc. I'm not sure if I have any books etc. left from them but will look. Some times Neiman Marcus carries their crystal, so if there is one near you you could go there and see some of the pieces.

 

[cloutier]

PaulE...book ordered, :banana: Amazon had it new cant wait to get it also the engravers guild site has some good info and links
Thank you
tbear...I think my next trip to the city will have to include the Steuben factory....im only a couple hours away, Thank you for the link
filbertius...Im thinking the cloth wheels on the rack are for polishing? hopefully my new book will explain
thanks guys,
Ron Cloutier

 

[monk]

i watched this being done in ohio many years ago. being an engraver, the gentleman was quite
eager to show me some of his cutting procedures. he even let my take a crack at it on some discarded glass.it's quite easy to cut the glass. not too easy to do it well.

 

[cloutier]

I watched her grandfather engraving many times but never asked him to teach me.....he definitely made it look easy. I tried when I set it up and Its definitely not, at least Heineken comes in bottles so i have cheap practice pieces

 

[Keith]

http://davidadriansmith.com/
check out the videos.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Neil Oliver, a Scottish engraver, uses copper wheels. Some of his work can be seen on his website www.thesealmaker.com Copper wheel is not an easy technique as most of the time you are working blind. The slurry obscures the work. Let us know how you get on and I'd love to see your results. As with most hand crafts, there will be a very large learning curve and I would not expect instant results. But I actually think copper wheel glass engraving is very hard to beat when done well.

 

[Glass Engraver]

Perhaps I can answer a few questions. I have done copper wheel engraving since 1975 - a few pics:

http://jamesriser.com/Engraving/RiserEngraving.htm

Enjoy.

 

[monk]

you're way ahead of the game with the tools you have acquired. get a truckload of pickle & mayo jars. practice till you hate it, and then you'll be competent in the art. i'm blessed with a delta woodlathe with electronic controls. this lathe goes all the way down to 1rpm if needed. i doodle with this stuff now & then. i find that a speed of about 20-30 rpm works for me. naturally the speed chosen depends on tool diameter and width. it's an absolute requirement to do this work "wet". you get a much cleaner cut, and there's no need to wear a mask. there's a lot of low priced, bonded diamond shapes that work very well. i made my own mandrels for this . if you make any, they must be very accurately shaped to allow wobble free spin on the cutter.

 

[Cloudy]

http://davidadriansmith.com/ if you want some really mind boggling glass eye candy!