PDA

View Full Version : Decorating Little Eggies.



paul mott
06-30-2010, 4:10 AM
Hi everyone,

This is my first attempts at engraving an image into the shell of a chickens egg. We had omelets for tea so rather than cracking the shells I made small holes and blew out the contents so I could experiment with some shells.
There is a lot to learn here and goose eggs are on the agenda for cutting right through to make the filigree designs seen in the eastern hand carved work.
Has anyone got any tips or had experience with this type of work ?.

Paul.

http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/files/16_files/image322.jpg

Dan Hintz
06-30-2010, 9:26 AM
No tips offhand, but I wouldn't mind seeing more work using eggs...

paul mott
06-30-2010, 10:20 AM
A couple more of mine.

http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/files/27_files/image620.jpg

http://www.cooperman.talktalk.net/files/27_files/image618.jpg

Paul.

Chris DeGerolamo
06-30-2010, 10:34 AM
have you vector cut any or just raster etch?

paul mott
06-30-2010, 10:40 AM
The first two are raster and the last one (horse) is vector.

Paul.

Andy Joe
06-30-2010, 11:03 AM
wow, thats cool stuff right there. What type of power are you using?

paul mott
06-30-2010, 11:29 AM
I really have no idea of the power Andy because I have no way of actually measuring it.
My tube is around 30W and it was set at 4mA continuous current (which is about the minimum it will reliably run at).

Paul.

Chris DeGerolamo
06-30-2010, 12:05 PM
The first two are raster and the last one (horse) is vector.

Paul.

I guess what I meant to ask was if you have actually cut through the shell.

paul mott
06-30-2010, 12:56 PM
Hi Chris,

Yes I can cut through the shell (the horse is almost trough in places) but not without making unacceptable scorch marks on the outside. The shell is then so weak there is little or no chance of cleaning it.
There must be a technique here but I have not yet found it - possibly an inert gas may be the way to go.

Anyone else have any ideas on this one ?.

Paul.

Chris DeGerolamo
06-30-2010, 1:21 PM
what if you turn up the power on the raster until it blasts away the shell entirely?

John Noell
06-30-2010, 3:35 PM
If anyone has a good technique I'd love to hear about it. Calcium carbonate (the main shell material) seems to do badly with CO2 lasers. It etches, but, like glass, that's about all. I engrave a lot of pearl shell (again, mostly calcium carbonate) but cannot cut it all. (Well, I can burn it up a bit if I use maximum power but that doesn't count. :) )

Mike Chance in Iowa
06-30-2010, 5:46 PM
Yes I can cut through the shell (the horse is almost trough in places) but not without making unacceptable scorch marks on the outside. The shell is then so weak there is little or no chance of cleaning it.


If the shell is weak, excluding the design causing it to be weak, part of your problem is you may be using store-bought eggs. Typically farm-fresh eggs are MUCH harder (and taste better! :rolleyes:) depending upon the housing and feed conditions of the chickens. I have accidentally dropped eggs from 4' and higher when coming back inside from doing chores. When they landed on hard surfaces, they did not break. One of our chickens stopped laying awhile ago and I finally discovered her clutch of eggs under a shrub - instead of inside the coop where she normally lays. We had a throwing contest and threw them into the ravine and 3 out of over a dozen eggs did not break when they hit the ground!

A thought about trying to clean them ... it might be easier to try dipping them in a solution instead of trying to wipe them.

paul mott
07-01-2010, 3:25 AM
Thank you for the suggestions Mike, looking out for 'Free Range' now.

These chicken's eggs were really only for testing and once sound techniques had been established I was planning on trying goose eggs which, in comparison, are real tough stuff. But it's the problem of getting through the calcium carbonate layer without scorching or burning the work, as John has said, which needs to be resolved.
Brute force is not the answer but I have found that the bonding of the calcium is damaged by the laser and the air assist takes a lot of it away (in fact distributes it all over the machine :( ) - this is the route I am planning to follow, at least until something better comes up.

More suggestions please guys and gals.

Thanks,

Paul.

Dan Hintz
07-01-2010, 7:56 AM
For a cool look, try the light green eggs from Araucana chickens or light blue ones from Ameraucana chickens (people mistakenly believe they're lower in cholesterol than white eggs... just the opposite, they're higher, and they're actually lower in protein).

Mark Ross
07-01-2010, 8:57 AM
Isn't there something about putting vinegar in the water when you boil egges? I am wondering if soaking a shell in vinegar would help weaken it enough...

paul mott
07-01-2010, 9:10 AM
Thanks Mark, I think vinegar does dissolve calcium - certainly kettle de-scaler does.
Something new for me to try laser then etch - might just work.

Thanks again,

Paul.

Dan Hintz
07-01-2010, 9:59 AM
Or try dying the eggs first with a bit of vinegar and Ritt dye... you'll have to balance the length of dying time between getting a deep enough color and allowing the color to leach through the entire depth of the shell.

Scott Shepherd
07-01-2010, 10:06 AM
You can also put a fairly decent size hole in one end, then use an epoxy inside it, roll it around to coat the inside. That'll make it strong. Once that's done, dry wall spackeling (sp?), NOT sheetrock mud, can be used to fill the hole and sand it smooth.

paul mott
07-02-2010, 1:58 AM
Thank you all for the suggestions and ideas. I have a few different things to try now - should have it sorted by next easter. :)

Paul.

James Stokes
07-03-2010, 9:54 AM
For the problem with scorching cover with tape first.

Dan Hintz
07-03-2010, 9:56 AM
James,

That's some thin/flexible tape to cover a small egg without crinkling ;)

Dee Gallo
07-03-2010, 10:03 AM
There is a liquid mask which dries to a film I used to use for airbrushing motorcycle/snowmobile helmets. Once dry, you can cut it with a knife (or laser I guess) and it peels off when you're done with it. Look in airbrush supply vendors like Bear Air.

:) dee

paul mott
07-04-2010, 2:17 AM
For the problem with scorching cover with tape first.

Sorry James but I don't think this is practical :D:D

On the serious side, when applying enough power to cut through, the shell is on the verge of catching fire. Although the calcium itself doesn't actually burn the protein layers and sac are flammable and I think (although I haven't tried it yet) any form of masking will add to the flammability issue.

However, masking is yet another avenue for me to try - thank you for the suggestions.

Paul.

James Stokes
07-04-2010, 7:22 AM
On really odd shaped objects, I use electrical tape. It has enough flexibility to conform and comes off very easy.

paul mott
07-04-2010, 7:31 AM
Hi James,

It is perhaps a whole new subject but I trust that your electrical tape is not PVC.
Cutting that on your machine can really be bad news.

The problem with these little egg shells is they are so delicate when cut that they just cannot be handled without breaking, let alone pull off any tape.

This is perhaps the type of work I am eventually trying to achieve.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/supermansculptor/4728528489/in/contacts/#/

Paul.

Mike Null
07-04-2010, 7:58 AM
You can get liquid mask at art supply and craft stores also.

Dan Hintz
07-04-2010, 1:21 PM
Dee,

Two thumbs up... I always seem to forget about the liquid mask stuff. I'll have to dig through my airbrush kit and see if I have any left, but I think I may just have a roll or two of frisket.

In a pinch, maybe some melted wax would work? The laser would have no problem etching through it. I wonder how it would work if you coated an egg with a think dip of wax, lasered a design, and then dyed it... hmmmm...

paul mott
07-04-2010, 2:26 PM
In a pinch, maybe some melted wax would work? The laser would have no problem etching through it. I wonder how it would work if you coated an egg with a think dip of wax, lasered a design, and then dyed it... hmmmm... Go on Dan, give it a try and report back. :)

Paul.

Dee Gallo
07-04-2010, 4:13 PM
Dee,

Two thumbs up... I always seem to forget about the liquid mask stuff. I'll have to dig through my airbrush kit and see if I have any left, but I think I may just have a roll or two of frisket.

In a pinch, maybe some melted wax would work? The laser would have no problem etching through it. I wonder how it would work if you coated an egg with a think dip of wax, lasered a design, and then dyed it... hmmmm...

Now you're making pysanky! Ukrainian style egg decoration. :D

Dan Hintz
07-04-2010, 4:44 PM
Hah, no kidding... kind of a reverse pysanky. I had no idea. I guess with my method, you'd have to keep recoating the entire egg after each color, though.

Duane Parcells
07-04-2010, 6:14 PM
Posted this a while back. Further eggsperiments still on the waiting list.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=122972

I did get some more detailed cutting done but having the egg "centered" proved to be a little difficult.

Duane

Gerd Spatz
07-05-2010, 3:51 AM
Egg shells contains not only calcium... Shells contains a lot of organic material.
(this ist the source of the scorchmarks and the wonderfull smell ;-)