Flight glasses & tips for etching

[Cal 393]

For those who may not know, flights (and glasses) can be considered as "samplers" at your local tavern or craft beer brewery.  Instead of ordering a full glass of whatever they have, you might order a flight consisting of 4 or 5 small glasses of different brews.

Since we are mid-way through August, it is not to early to begin thinking of new products you might do for the fall craft fairs.  

The flight itself is a fairly straightforward project if you have a reasonably well equipped wood shop.  I used red oak for my trial and planed it down to 5/8".  Most of them on Etsy seem to be 3/4", but I think the 5/8 looks slimmer and "more better".  After making the flight I applied an oil base stain, when dry I applied a stencil and spray painted the design, following that up the next day with 3 coats of spray polyurethane.

Before starting, I would advise getting your glassware.  My wife found some Anchor Hocking #3165EZ available individually at Kroger.  It is a nice little juice glass with a heavy bottom that holds 5 oz.  It looks like it has straight sides, but there is a slight curve, sort of figure 8, to it.  The design for this project is my son's home brewer label - "JM" in Baskerville font.  I have done up three different sets of glasses (and flights) and I found I can use the same design I used on the full size glasses at 78% of full size.  Somewhere in the 1.75" x 1.75" zone seems to be pretty sweet in my eyes.  A word of caution here.  If using the same design as used on a larger glass, be sure there is no arch to the design if you use this glass.  The arch is not needed.

 

Etching tips: for working the design, I started on paper of course.  When I thought it was good, I put a couple onto a glass jar.  An (empty!) olive jar was just about the same circumference as the 3165's and gave me a good feeling of confidence that the size was going to work.  Next, the wife likes to drink flavored waters that comes in small plastic bottles.  Another pretty decent match for the 3165.  An excellent fit on the top, a little loose on the bottom.  But, I can pop these on the glass and have it taped up ready for the sandblaster in less than 1 minute.  Even less time on those glasses where I etched two designs on.

My last tip is for taking the picture.  I simply could not get a decent pic with my cell phone.  I filled the glasses with black coffee (I know, cheating...) and took the pic in the dark with flash enabled on my small camera.

I hope you can use some of this.  I have sold 100 or more sets of 16 oz. glasses.  I am hoping that a good number of those customers will repeat for this item.

For my son the home brewer, this will be a gift to compliment the 6 pack holders I made for him a couple years ago.

Cal

Edited August 19, 2016 by clhyer

[rlvied 292]

Nice work Cal. Good idea

[Wildgoose 4,200]

Nice creative repurposing of the plastic bottles!  

[Cal 393]

Thanks folks.  Goose, I have found a larger water bottle similar to those shown is an pretty good match for the regular 16 oz. glasses that do a lot of.

And, my wife brought home one of those "big gulp" or something like that plastic cup from one of the conv. stores.  An excellent fit for Yeti mugs.

When I first started doing glassware I was spending so much time wrapping them up, and even unwrapping - that was the longest and most tedious part of the job.

 

Here is another tip for doing the wrap.  It does not matter much where I start wrapping the masking tape around the glass, but it does matter where it ends.  I always wrap that tape until it is a good ways from my stencil.  When the tape is ended above the stencil it gets sandblasted and will be difficult to peel off, it will want to rip.  When it is ended away from the stencil you can start to peel it off and "most of the time" it will peel cleanly off away from the stencil also.

 

I do a lot of glassware and the tip above has sure made my life easier (and more profitable).  I really do not like to do coffee mugs because I haven't been able to find anything similar I can do with these.  I bet that I can wrap, blast & unwrap a set of 4 glasses in the time it takes me to wrap one coffee mug.

Cal

[Wildgoose 4,200]

1 hour ago, clhyer said:

When I first started doing glassware I was spending so much time wrapping them up, and even unwrapping - that was the longest and most tedious part of the job.

 

Here is another tip for doing the wrap.  It does not matter much where I start wrapping the masking tape around the glass, but it does matter where it ends.  I always wrap that tape until it is a good ways from my stencil.  When the tape is ended above the stencil it gets sandblasted and will be difficult to peel off, it will want to rip.  When it is ended away from the stencil you can start to peel it off and "most of the time" it will peel cleanly off away from the stencil also.

 

I do a lot of glassware and the tip above has sure made my life easier (and more profitable).  I really do not like to do coffee mugs because I haven't been able to find anything similar I can do with these.  I bet that I can wrap, blast & unwrap a set of 4 glasses in the time it takes me to wrap one coffee mug.

Cal

THAT has been an issue for me all along too. I don't do a whole lot but when I do it takes so long to tape them off that it kills me. I'll definitely be using your tips next time. Thanks for sharing the advice!

[Go-C Graphics 856]

OK   how did you do the holes?

I don't see a a center hole like you used a Forstner bit or spade bit.  

[Cal 393]

Don't feel bad Go-C... I had to post this question up on a woodworking site I am on to get the answer!

Prior to planing the board to 5/8" I use a Forstner bit, and stop just above the 1/4" level.  I then clean it up with a dado cleanup router bit.  It is a top bearing pattern bit but very short.  About $15 at MLCS.  This bit in a small trim router makes it quick and easy.

Cal

[Go-C Graphics 856]

Thanks.

I've never seen a bit like that.  

[Cal 393]

Nor I...

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_dado.html?zoom_highlight=dado

Cal

[Sortee 11]

great tips