Ah, the joy that is power tools... Out of curiosity, how do you get a consistent etch?

Practice mostly, you get comfortable with your blaster and how long it takes for it to etch a given area, how far to hold the nozzle away from the piece (which will vary depending on the size of the area) and so on. You also need good lighting inside your cabinet so you can watch the shadows form as the etch gets deeper, that gives you a benchmark to measure your progress with.

Ah, I see... I still use a dremel with etching bits for doing my work on luxite and such (case modding). I sooo need to get a blasting cabinet.

Dremels are good tools but I much prefer the blaster for the kind of work that I do. Linework is easier with the dremel (although as you can see on the dragon's underbelly, line work is not impossible) I've never worked with luxite, so I can't give you any advice on that specifically.

However, I'll warn you that blasters aren't cheap - you can skimp on quality and save money, but even that is a solid chunk of change, and you'll end up wanting an upgrade really quickly. My cheap cabinet (discount tool warehouse) was 150$, not including the compressor and only could do siphon blasting. For carving you need pressure blasting. My pressure blasting setup cost me about 2200$, not including compressor. Hell, I've had it a year and only just finished paying it off. Its an incredibly expensive toy - maybe I'll recoup the price, maybe I won't. Either way, its still fun to play with.

My main qualm with the dremel is, as one would expect, quality... Sure it can give an interesting texture to things, but consistency is somewhat lacking in line art (if I knew which of my backup CDs contained the pics from the first couple of times I tooled around with the etching tools I'd link to them... Sadly, I've no idea where they were put). However, for chopping thin steel and aluminum, I love my 426 wheels... ^_^

Ouch, two grand? I'd spend that much on a torque wrench, supercharger or turbocharger, but I'd never spend that much on a tool I'd use occasionally... Then again, this coming from someone who wants a $4,500 MIG/TIG welder, as well as a $6,000 plasma cutter, so I guess your mileage may vary...

Heh - yep. All depends on what you would actually use. And hey, some people spend two grand on shoes ;)

I buy shoes 2/$50.. Both pair will last a total of 2-3 months, lol... But hey, freestyle combined with jumpstyle dancing tends to destroy them pretty quickly ..

And yeah, like you said, depends on what you actually use... I'll use a $600 torque wrench on a daily basis (well, okay, maybe monthly, but still, big 6-8' long torque wrenches work wonders for high torque things, even on cars (they also double as excellent breaker bars, lol))

If you're interested in trying out sandblasting just to see if you enjoy it (and if it gives you a nicer effect than the dremel) here's an easy and cheap way. Be careful though - cause you might end up hooked and shelling out thousands on tools like I did ;)

At most hardware stores you can pick up a portable blaster like this one: http://www.hechinger.com/hardware/t.....-MXS11002.html
for cheap. You will need a compressor to make it work - search the want ads or borrow one. Don't buy new in case you decide you don't like it. Get yourself a bag of cheap sand (black beauty is readily available at hardware stores and is dirt cheap) and go to work. To make your stencils, get double-sided carpet tape and apply your design to one side, and then apply the whole thing to the piece. Cut out the stencil with an exacto blade, cover the rest of the peice with masking tape and blast.

Blast outside! Wear gloves, long sleeves, eye and mouth protection.

You won't be able to do any sort of deep carving, but you will get a feel for the method. If you like it, you can upgrade. If you don't, you haven't shelled out too much money.

Have fun experimenting :)

Hmmm, looks interesting, I may try one out, see how things go ^_^

Cuanto questa?

How much?

I hadn't figured that out yet. I dunno - ten bucks?

Dude, awesome! I totally love your work, nice to see some new stuff from you. :D

Thanks :) I've been so busy with work - I am totally behind schedule on my inventory for AC. I scored a stack of ashtrays, so I'm trying out new designs on them, but soon there will be more pints and coffee cups as well.

I can sympathize with being too busy with work, ugh!
I liked the last ashtray you posted too, though I didn't get a chance to comment on it yet. Keep up the great work!
Oh, and thanks muchly for the watch! I'm flattered. :3

And you make things you can TOUCH! :D