I am etching our unit emblem and the Commander’s name on this whiskey bottle for a farewell gift from the leadership and I need ideas on what the best way to stabilize this bottle in order to use the diamond drag bit. The part of the bottle that will lay on the waste board is fairly flat and I thought about using shims or a very firm clay. Mainly need to keep it from wobbling and shifting. The time it will take to do the name or emblem is not very long.
Clay/shims and rubber bands, ratchet straps across the whole machine? Drag engraving doesn’t impart a whole lot of sideways force, what I’d be more worried about is the curve on the top. I don’t know how much range your drag bit has, or how big the artwork you’re doing is, but in the middle you’ll have a whole bunch more pressure than the edges. Any drag engraving I’ve done only lowered my Z by 0.020” or so (I have not done glass though, which may be more forgiving?). It’s an interesting project and I’m curious to see the final results. Be sure to report back.
Here is how I would try. Design a cradle that would match the back of the bottle by drawing the profile on paper the import the drawing and tracing with the dimensions then milling it on the Shapeoko. You would only need two or so pieces made with a 3/4in plank.
Stick the bottle in the cradle and secure in place.
Used similar stuff for all sorts of temporary fixtures. Just use some cling wrap on the bottle to keep it clean. If you do the same kind of thing often, this is a great way to make a low cost holding fixture that can be used over and over.
