Glasswork: cold processing

we learnt cold processing, as an introduction to some of the machines that could be used to finish off our pieces. The first machine I tried was the sand blaster, which fires grit at the glass, to create a texture on the surface, and can create depth if used with a resist.

I then tried the engraver, which can be used to engrave patterns or writing in to the surface of the glass. I wrote my initials, and it was a lot harder to control than i thought it would be. The glass has to be kept wet at all times because the engraver creates dust, and needs to be kept cool to stop the friction heating up the glass too much.

I then had a go on the grinding wheel. I started off on the wheel which uses larger grit, and used this to flatten the base of my animal, and take off the sharp bit, then i used a finer grit to make the surface more smooth. this also has to have water on it at all times, to move the grit between the glass piece and the wheel.