Is It Worth The Risk?

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Yesterday a customer brought in a pair of champagne flutes (came wrapped in a Tiffany & Co box). I asked the customer if she knew if it contained lead in it but she didn't know. I just researched it online, contains 24% lead crystal. Do you think this will engrave decently? Is it worth the risk or should I call the customer & tell her I don't think it will engrave well?

[Ross Moshinsky]

Have someone sandblast it.

[Dan Hintz]

Yesterday a customer brought in a pair of champagne flutes (came wrapped in a Tiffany & Co box). I asked the customer if she knew if it contained lead in it but she didn't know. I just researched it online, contains 24% lead crystal. Do you think this will engrave decently?
I have done a lot of leaded crystal (Riedel glass, mainly) and it engraves just fine (and old thread of mine with pics was bumped several months ago). The fear people have shown towards it in the past is just due to old wive's tales.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Thank you for the responses. I have done leaded crystal before with mixed results but generally it comes out fine. Champagne flutes do make me nervous though because of the small engraving area unlike wine glasses.

[Mike Null]

You will still get a significantly better result with sand blasting than with the laser.

[David Fairfield]

Murphy's Law-- the harder and more costly it is to replace an object, the more likely something will go wrong with the engraving.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Agreed. Although I don't mind challenges, I'm not making enough $ to go ahead with it (quoted $30 for 2 glasses). Customer spent about 15 in here, I spent 20 min planning & testing it on rotary attachment. I'm thinking of calling the customer to say there is a slight chance that I may be able to engrave it but I can't be held responsible if anything goes wrong or I may just turn it down altogether. A little indecisive @ the moment.

One problem I see is that the glass has to be held so that base is on the right side & the opening is on the left side of the attachment, however then the plunger hits the base when it goes back to home position (I prob would have to change home position somehow). If I put the glass so that the opening is on the left & the base is on the right (usually the way I engrave glassware), then the glass isn't level. Would this distort the engraving?



Murphy's Law-- the harder and more costly it is to replace an object, the more likely something will go wrong with the engraving.

[Dan Hintz]

Get rid of the plunger...

[Joe Hillmann]

Who is responsible for replacing it if it doesn't work? When customers bring in something of theirs they want engraved rather than buying something from me that I already have jigs for I make it clear that if for some reason it doesn't turn out I won't charge them for the engraving but I also am not responsible for replacing the item. I have only had it happen once that I screwed something up like that but I still cover my but when customers bring in their own items.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

I basically have the same approach. I would never charge for the time it took me to setup & engrave the product if it didn't turn out correct. However, I also will not cover the cost to replace their product.


Who is responsible for replacing it if it doesn't work? When customers bring in something of theirs they want engraved rather than buying something from me that I already have jigs for I make it clear that if for some reason it doesn't turn out I won't charge them for the engraving but I also am not responsible for replacing the item. I have only had it happen once that I screwed something up like that but I still cover my but when customers bring in their own items.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

How do you get rid of the pluger or do you mean not to use auto-focus?


Get rid of the plunger...

[Martin Boekers]

I havent seen othere rotaries out side of Epilogs, but they do have a leveling device on it.

one thing to check with the flutes is that the stems are straight. I have seen too many wine glasses
that they are slightly crocked and that makes for some issues when rotated!

[Dan Hintz]

How do you get rid of the pluger or do you mean not to use auto-focus?
Quite a few Epilog owners get rid of the plunger due to the issues it causes (getting stuck in the vector grid, the one you mentioned with the rotary, etc.).

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

How do you get rid of the pluger or do you mean not to use auto-focus?

I'm guessing you have an epilog? If so, here's how to remove the auto-focus plunger on epilog's web site http://supportsystem.livehelpnow.net/article.aspx?cid=8205&aid=12261

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Out of curiosity, approx how much would it cost to sandblast 3 initials on a pair of champagne flutes?

[Mike Null]

I'd be at $30.

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Ok, good to know. I told my customer it would be best to sandblast, I know someone that can do it in NH but customer wanted to go somewhere closer to where she lives. Thanks for letting me know the average price. ;)

[Bob Davis]

The centre/centre setting in the Epilog driver is your friend. Mark the centre of the area you wish to engrave with a wax pencil and home the machine with the red dot to that point.
If you're really concerned about it, attach a flexible material (maybe a foil or flexibrass strip) to the flute and do a light-powered run to ensure the size is right.
After you've checked and rechecked, hold your breath and cross your fingers and hit the button.

[Dan Hintz]

If you're really concerned about it, attach a flexible material (maybe a foil or flexibrass strip) to the flute and do a light-powered run to ensure the size is right.
Blue painter's tape... works beautifully for such purposes.