engraving for beginners (Pt. 1)

The tools of calligraphy engraving

Calligraphy Engraving is becoming the hottest trend for customizing modern calligraphy and hand lettering business in the recent years. Due to the impact of pandemic, people are now seeking to support small business more than ever. If you are looking to start offer calligraphy engraving for your business, you will find this post very informative and resourceful for you to get started. 

basic Equipments search

I discovered that many local professional engravers used a nail drill as a start up machine. I look and search for a few months on many marketplace and website for my start up machine. Within my research, I found these quality that I want to have for my handheld drill: 

1. I want something that would offer low vibration (brushless motor) and has good grip.
2. I want something that is portable and has a rechargeable battery.
3. The highest speed is at 35k rpm 
4. I want something that is pink, which will be fitting with my new branding palette.
5. My budget is CAD 200.00 or less

I also find inspiration from many, many of calligraphers on Instagram. Instagram is a very good place for visual researching process. 

Update: after a few month of using, I found a few pros and cons of the engraving machine itself. 

WANT CUSTOM CALLIGRAPHY ENGRAVING? I CAN HELP

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the engraver and burs

Does something like that exist? The answer is YES.

The drill: After looking at a few choices from Amazon Canada, I decided to give Aliexpress a try as I found similar products for much cheaper than Amazon. If you are a fan of oversea shopping, you would know that Aliexpress is the sister version of Alibaba, the largest wholesale retailer in Asia. I ended up buying a Brushless Motor Portable Nail Drill (exactly what I typed into the search) for CAD 122.00 + free shipping. It has a large rechargeable battery, max speed of 35k rpm, pink and is under CAD 200.00. It also have the "Pause" function, which allows me to take a break when engraving without turning off the machine. 
The catch for this deal: It could take somewhere from 60-90 days for the product to arrive and was a hit-or-miss depend on the courier service that your seller used. Mine came through Canada Post, after only 30 days waiting. YAY! If Aliexpress is not an option for your country, you might be able to find similar ones on Amazon as well.

The diamond burs: The next thing I ordered are round diamond burs. I chose various size so I can test my preferences. I bought from 1mm to 3mm to 0.8mm and 0.6 mm burs. You will need a bur converter for 1.6mm shank size when using high-speed dental burs with your drill. I ordered all these items at the same time as I ordered the drill and oddly enough, they got to Toronto a week after the drill did. Like I said, your shipping speed depends a lot on your seller's choice of courier.

​The bur holders: I also got 2 bur holders for my burs, which can hold both shank sizes 2.35mm and 1.6mm. I am so happy with this purchase because I used them at my job in dental many years ago and they are proven efficient. They can lean, they are great for organizing your bur when you are engraving and the design is so modern for calligraphers who work on-site. It was $5 each+ shipping and they comes after 20 days.

Round Diamond Burs with dental burs holder (2.35 mm shank)

Round Diamond Burs with dental burs holder (1.6 mm shank)

The accessories

Stabilo-All Water Soluble Pencil: I highly recommend this brand of drafting pencil for drafting on glass, metals and many more. I used it for all of my mirror works. 
Brush: I repurpose a blush brush travel size for removing glass dust off. It came from Ecotools© travel kit. Recycle, reuse, reduce.
Rub n Buff: I bought Rub 'n' Buff from Walmart.ca. Shipping from 3rd party seller was horrendous but they have really good price. You can also find them on Amazon Canada. 
Essential Oil: I am a fan of Peppermint, Lemon and Lavender essential. I used oil from New Direction; a local brand. I tried the one from Dollarama and they cleaned just as well.  
Q-tip: These are golden Rub n Buff and they cleaned up like magic. I used q-tip to apply and clean Rub n Buff 
Paper Towel: The regular bounty is a great choice but sometimes, I improvised with extra serviette I had from all the take-out we did in 2020 (pandemic life). You will see them being used in many of my IGTV videos. I use them to buff the Rub 'n Buff and seal it properly. 

Repurposed Makeup Brush for Dusting from EcoTools©

Silver Leaf and Autumn Gold Rub 'n Buff.

Bur Reducer and 1.6mm shank

The safety

Glass dust, metal debris and plastic particle are a fews things you will encounter when engraving calligraphy. I suggest eye protection, industrial respirator, gloves or finger gloves and engraving in a well lit area with proper air-flow. If you engrave indoor, consider to have a desktop vacuum for all the dust that accumulate when engraving.

Workhorse M9200 Multipurpose Respirator for proper PPE.

Now you have the knowledge of the basic starting tools for calligraphy engraving, now it is time to use your skill to make beautiful artworks on different surfaces on my next blog post. So far, glass liquor bottle is my all-time favourite. Perfume bottles are the next and least is metal. I still have a lot to learn but the more I do it, the more confident I get with my work. 

​Hope you found this product guide helpful. if you have any comment or question for me regarding engraving tools or where to find them, leave them below in the comment section or email me hello@agratefulnote.com. This is not a paid advertisement.

I also offer custom calligraphy engraving service for your gift. Let's chat :)

get engraved