Hi everyone, I have added a new great feature to this blog in the past few days that will make everything a lot easier for you to interact with others and get automatic updates regrading a particular post on here. If you don’t already know, I allow anyone to ask me questions on the posts or in the FAQ area of this site.
I am a big fan of this instead of sending back and forth emails because it allows the information to be published live on the web so everyone else can see it. This is helpful because a lot of times other people have similar questions and it can really bog me down answering the same question over and over. It takes so much time running this blog and then sending emails back and forth; really its ridiculous amount of time that adds up throughout the week and I’m a one person show for the creation of it all. I really enjoy everyones emails though but it makes it so much easier to answer on here. If its a more personal email, with information that only involves yourself, then of course- send me a private email.
But the problem with this in the past is myself or another sandcarver & etching fanatic would reply to someones question and not know when to come back to see the answer. So the new feature allows you to automatically get an email notification when someone else has left a reply or comment.
All you do is before leaving a commet, check the box that says, “Notify me of followup comments via e-mail“. See the picture below that pinpoints it out and leave a comment to give it a try.
Hi everyone, below is a guest post by a fellow sandcarver named Glen. He was nice enough to show us some examples of positive and negatives made by him and his wife.
The two photos clearly show the amount stone removed in a negative blast design. You need a strong resist that can stick thoroughly to the stone. I am using 3M 507 Buttercut resist and 3M #1 filler. Grit is aluminum oxide #80, pressure is 45-50 lbs. Nozzle size 1/8″. Use even passes like you are frosting a sheet of glass rotating the stone occasionally 90 degrees.
Thank you Glen and please leave him some compliments and comments below. Or just ask him a question. You can find the previous post I made about a simple rock sandcarving and the basic information about sandcarving glass and rock. Let us know what you think of his work or if you would like to get exposure to your work, let me know.
Questions about stencils for weddings.
I know this is a long shot, but I could really use some advice, at the very least. I am a VERY ambitious DIY bride planning a wedding at the end of May. I REALLY wanted to do something a little different for favors for all 250 of my guests. My mom liked the idea of purchasing wine glasses and putting some chocolates in them for the guests.
I wanted to let her help plan, so I told her we could do that, but I’ve seen it done before and wanted to make my favors a little extra special. I have an assembly line of help in place to help use etching cream to etch all 250 glasses, the problem is coming up with the stencils. Thus far, it seems my best option is to buy a Cricut and cut them all myself. Which defeats the purpose of DIY-ing to save money. We are using knots throughout our wedding as a symbol of ‘tying the knot’. I have not yet found a stencil that would lend to this idea. I would like to use a wrap around the glass stencil, but will settle for a delicate looking knot design somewhat like those on the Vera Wang Love Knots flutes.
I am not a blogger or webmaster, but I do maintain a bio on the VERY popular wedding forum “ProjectWedding.” It is the perfect place to advertise something like this because there are soooo many DIY brides and I’ve heard of some others wanting to etch glass. I would be happy to sing your praises on my bio, in the vendor reviews, and in the boards if you could help me at all. I’d be willing to pay – I just cannot afford the prices on the other etching sites for custom stencils, especially for as many as I’d need (since most seem to be for one time use).I know I’m crazy.
This would be an enormous project. Everyone keeps telling me that. But my fiance and I are living apart until the wedding and he lives over an hour away – so I have a lot of time on my hands and could use this project to keep me busy. Plus I am a very stubborn and determined girl – when I want something, I will get it done. At the very least, please tell me if you think this is impossible. Sorry so long, thank you for your time.
My reply:
Hi, I have been finding out lately that alot of people are very similar to your requests. It seems to be those looking to etch glasses for weddings but unfortunately 250 is way to much for me to handle. One thing I could try to do is make one reusable stencil. I will see if I can start making reusable stencils and will let everyone know if it was a success or not.
Okay, so I haven’t really wrote much about sandcarving things besides glass so I figured I would start and if anyone wants to get recognized for their stone carving, let me know. Since I haven’t personally worked with much rock sandcarving, it would be great to hear from those that do work with it a lot.
If you don’t already know, you can use your sandblaster to sandcarve other things such as stone, large rocks, wood, or even metal. The photo below shows an example of a small stone sandcarved with a pressure pot sandblaster. You can find more info on my new page about sandcarving, which shows some examples on glass as well.
Its very simple actually. All I did was cut out a stencil with my cutter, place it on the stone, mask the outside areas, and blast. Then I used a black spray paint to highlight the carving. You can experiment with different colors and try something unique like fluorescent colors. Here is one tip to get the stencil to adhere better: Heat up the vinyl resist after you placed it on the rock. This way the vinyl melts or forms in all the nooks and crannys. I used a small soldering torch from a distance. It kind works and forms to the surface like shrink tubing. If you know what that is.
I have even thought about using glow in the dark paint so that it lights up at night. My idea was to carve my street address into a rock which is placed in the front yard of a house so people can locate it at night. It sounds kind of corny but its creative and might be helpful if you have a long drive way with no lights at the beginning of the driveway.
Leave me some comments below. Got a question, a tip for people, or idea? Leave it below.
Here are some questions about sand etching grit and vinyl cutter equipment asked by fellow customer, Nick.
“Hey Eric, so I’ve been using a 150 grit and it’s coming out nice but
not a smooth as I like, do i need a finer grit or courser? The higher
the number the finer the grit right? The finer the grit the smoother
the etch? for a smooth smooth etch what grit would you recommended.
Also, how long do the blades on the us cutter machine last? Is it okay
to cut like 40 stencils at a time or will that over work the machine?
Thank you soooo much for your support!! You’re the best can’t wait to
show you what I’ve been working on, blessings , nick.”
Hey Nick, great to hear from you. Yes the finer (higher number) the grit the smoother. Many people chose different grits, but I personally use 180 grit. Some will use as low
as 100 grit and others use a grit so smooth that its considered powder. But the majority
of people use between 120 and 200 grit. Just remember the smaller the grit, usually
doesn’t last as long, that’s why I chose 180.
I can’t give you an exact number on the longevity of the blades. It depends on the
thickness of the vinyl and such. Cutting 40 stencils seems okay, but I don’t know how
big they are. Maybe try 2 sets of 20 at first.
That would be great to see what you’ve been etching. If your interested, I can feature
it on my blog with credit to you at the engraving and etching news area.
I hope that helps. Best of luck
-Eric
