What is glass engraving?
Glass engraving is a little different than the usual glass etching methods and can be looked at more as scratching the glass rather than abrading designs into it. This can usually be done with a electric engraver which can be purchased from a hobby store. There are a few different tools you can use to engrave glass or whichever material your working with. One tool you can use it a Dremel rotary engraver. Another is to use a vibrating tool tip. Most hobby stores will have the tool or you can go to the hardware store for a dremel tool. A third way to personalize things is to use a laser engraver. It can have an expensive startup cost but they are getting cheaper as technology advances. While they are an easy way to personalize glass, they are sometimes hard to set up for round glass. Most of the machine engravers have a system setup that will accomplish round glass objects such as cups but they don't allow you to artistically customize your glass piece like the other methods I suggest through out the website.
You can read more about glass etching and engraving with updated projects and information at the engraving and etching news blog. This is my own blog and if you would like your work or business featured here, then let me know. Since all the equipment and systems that I talk about can be used for different projects, it doesn't just describe ways to personalize glass, but also for customizing rock, metal, and various other popular materials. And that is the wonderful thing about my ebook and this type of equipment. You really have so many different things that you can easily personalized.
Glass Engraving techniques
If you have some artistic talent, you can freehand engrave your glass piece or you can use a pattern to follow. Either way, it usually takes a steady hand. A pattern can be placed behind the glass by taping it and follow the lines from the other side of the glass that needs to be engraved. The patterns lines are usually more sketchy as show below. Feel free to use this pattern also.
More Engraved Glass