@ca_worth ; Moving this thread to Beyond the Manual so that settings can be discussed (that is the only place we can discuss non proofgrade settings).
@aprilsmith0113, The first part of glass settings I use is: Always buy a spare of whatever glass item you are engraving so that you can test out the settings and tailor them to the specific glass item.
There is so much variation in glass settings because there is a lot of variation in manufacturing glass and glass is really sensitive to it. For these particular shot glass I have had batches where no masking, 800 speed, 70 power, 225 LPI work perfectly. I have also had times where those settings caused to chipping of the glass. It just depends on the batch I end up with.
Masking and dish soap both are great options if you are having issues with flaking. Whenever I mask I always do two passes. The first pass burns the masking into the glass and so the second one burns away the residue.
You can try my settings of no masking, 800 speed, 70 power, 225 LPI but I would just try it on one and then feel the glass after and make sure there is no flaking.
Question about using dish soap, as I know Iāve seen a lot of comments on using it for acrylic also. Iām not sure how to use it. Do you just put a few drops on and smear it around? Doesnāt it make a mess? I would so love to try it on my acrylic instead of masking, but donāt want a mess.
It does not make a mess. I feel a video is worth a thousand words. This video is really on point. I would skip to about the 30 second mark for the good stuff:
Perfect, thank you @MyDogsThinkImCrazy! Excited to do my next acrylic piece - paper underneath, soap on top, no masking either side! Woohoo!!! Itās good for me to see how itās done, as my brain simply wasnāt comprehending how to apply the dish soap, etc. So thank you for taking the time to post the video for me. I appreciate you.
@MyDogsThinkImCrazy, I had bookmarked this video because I knew I would need to refer to it. Well last night I rewatched it because I needed to cut some acrylic. I cannot thank you enough for sharing that video. Iād always been afraid to try the dish soap because I didnāt know how much to use, the best way to apply it, etc. Well last night I tried it.
Am I ever a happy camper! I loved it! Between the soap and just a piece of copy paper underneath as someone had mentioned before (sorry, I canāt remember who told me), I was amazed at how well it cut! Not only was the cut much smoother, but not having to mask the acrylic was a huge timesaver, especially when I need to mask a large piece, as the masking sticks to it so readily, and is so hard to peel off if it catches unevenly. Yay!!!
