busy bee Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Who has a sandblasting machine for glass engraving? How are you getting on with it? Do you make your own masks, and if so what type? Any problems? We have had one for about a year now, and we're loving it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironplanet uk900 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 No I haven't I was going to have one in the new place cus I thought I'd have the room But I have rapidly filled it up with Engraving machines, the big varga saw, cutter grinder, beveller, edge rounder, materials etc etc, now I've got no room I could do with a storage room close by for my stock. I've seen some of your work and its superb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busy bee Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 We recently had some issues with the quality of the sandblasting, and it took a visit to Trophy Distributors engraving department to solve the problems. We left the engraver there completely drained! I thought that if anybody else was having problems, we could share our experiences, knowledge & learn more new tricks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Quite a large amount of our business is glass engraving. Couldn't even think about not having our sandblaster and mask making kit. Give me the shakes to even think about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDY Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 glass engraving is one of our best sellers too, but we don't use a sandblaster. we used to use our is200 with a spring tip for all our work, but i now use a laser. one example of turn over is for a sailing club with a logo and 2 lines of text on a glass tankard, on the is200 you could do 4 in an hour, on the laser you can do 12 an hour. out of interest, how many could you do sandblasting? i have only ever used one to clean up some door furniture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iain Cheall Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 I would like one but I have a long shopping list and it's not at the top yet I'm afraid. will have to continue with the volume and suppliers sand blasting efforts. Talking of suppliers efforts I recently got an item done by trend and it was as cheap as chips half the price of glenways prices ??? any thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Not sure how many you'd do in an hour. It's takes perhaps 10-15 mins to wash the mask and dry it, then you have to stick it to the glass, mask it up, blast it, peel the mask off and give it a quick wash and dry it. I'd say probably around 15 smallish pieces of glass could be done in an hour. Also, having seen the IS200 engraving glass at Trophex, the finish is no way as good as sandblasting. We get real sharp results and can engrave quite deep too which looks great on some awards. We do have a 200 but don't use it for glass at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TITs Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 We have 3 cabinets now and Im off to buy another big compressor tonight ( second hand) It took a long while to get the engraving just perfect but we now do Glass, slate.stone and trophys that are to big for the is200. Would be happy to help anyone who needs help with setting up a cabinet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironplanet uk900 Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Nice one John, I haven't got the bloody room at the moment. got a small workshop in the back but with the varga, beveller sharpener, stretching machines, materials etc, I've run out of room. bloody amazing, I thought I'd have had plenty of room in the beginning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busy bee Posted August 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 I've been away on holiday & just read all the posts. I think the sandblasting method is quite fast, there is a new kind of mask on the market, called "rapidmask". You dont have to wash & dry it. You make up the template, change it to negative form, print, put it through the light box, stick it on the glass, mask around the edges, blast, wash & hey presto, it's all done! it's difficult to gauge the time, because I make up the templates & masks during the day, then we have a blasting sesson, sometimes after we have closed the shop so that we are not disturbed. With rapidmask it is very light sensitive, once you have made the mask & put it through the light box, you have to keep them in the dark because the light affects them, but you can make the mask & stick it back in the box until you are ready to use it. I reckon we would do about 10+ in an hour. This is not as fast as a laser, but I was all kitted out for £3,000, a load less than a laser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TITs Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 You can set yourself up for about £1000 these days and that includes a light exposure unit, £250 for a compressor , £250 for a light box, £ 100 for a small enclosure. We have an all dancing cabinet but we tend to use the little cheap ones more often as not ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 UV light boxes are used in the electrical trade for making circuit boards, go into your local TV repair man & see if he can get you one, should come in well under £200 for a reasonably sized one. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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