I’m looking to engrave this platter I thrifted with a handwritten recipe for a Christmas gift. Because it was thrifted, I’m not 100% sure of the material. It feels like pottery/ceramic to me. The back just says made in china. It definitely fits in the glowforge, but would it be dangerous trying to engrave this? I think I would like the look of an engraving better, but if we think engraving a mystery glaze may be dangerous, perhaps I’ll go the transfer route instead.
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Nice platter. If it feels like ceramic, I would think it would be okay? Almost like engraving on a finished tile. I wouldn’t think they’d have pvc or anything like that in a food dish. I’d be tempted to try it. But I’m not the expert here in the forum (far from it!), so hopefully one of the knowledgeable regulars here will have a good answer for you. If you do engrave it, please be sure to show us your result.
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One of the challenging parts about engraving dishes or trays is the depth of the thing.
How deep is the lip? Officially if it’s more than 0.5” you can’t focus precisely on the bottom surface.
There are workarounds to that, I can link to them if your tray is deeper than 0.5”.
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Ceramic/clay does great - but depending on what the interior is like your engraving may be invisible without some sort of colouring added. Check out this tile thread for advice/ideas:
You basically laser through the finish and expose the raw underside. It’s a cool effect - but keep in mind the platter will absorb what gets put on it now that the finish is incomplete…so food safe pretty much only for dry things (and some would say not at all).
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It won’t hurt your machine. And if it’s properly vented I don’t think anything in the glaze is going to hurt you either.
But the results may not be great. It may not be very visible unless you then fill the engraved area with something in a contrasting color. Also, if you engrave all the way through the glue then you’ll want to coat it in something that will prevent water absorption, if you want to be able to use it for food. (And I have no idea what sort of coating would be both food safe and dishwasher safe.)
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There are many options for food-safe clear coatings, including simple shellac. They would not necessarily be dishwasher safe, but some are.
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What if you used the Norton tile method? That might put a dark image on the plate that would not wash off.
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How deep is it?
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Hey! you’re around! I was just wondering how you + family were doing.
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Good to see you here! We’ve missed your designs.
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And pictures of your creations with Thorin photobombing them 
Let me guess, being a Mom is a full time job…