Point

• Point or stipple engraving is done with a hand tool that has a tip made of either diamond or tungsten carbide. This can be used to either scratch lines in the glass or, if it is tapped against the glass, produces many tiny points. Shading can be achieved by varying the density of the points.
  
  

Drill

• Drill engraving uses many different drill bits. These can be made of diamond, stone or rubber and have many different shapes used to cut the glass in different patterns and textures. The glass object is placed into a clamping mechanism to hold it in place, and water is applied to the work surface for lubrication and dust abatement. The different drill bits are then held against the glass to cut out shapes and form a pattern.
  
  

Copper wheel

• Copper wheel engraving is achieved with a lathe that spins the copper wheel through an oil bath that has abrasive powder in it. The glass object is held against the cutting edge of the copper wheel to cut the pattern. The copper wheels are available in a variety of different widths and angles. The abrasives range from coarse to fine depending on how polished you want the cut to be.
  
  

Laser

• Laser engraving uses laser light controlled by a computer to cut the design into the glass. This requires expensive machinery, but you can use it to make many objects with the same pattern. Laser engraving is not the best way to engrave glass, because how the glass reacts to the laser cutting can be unpredictable depending on minute fractures in the glass.
  
  

Sand

• Sand engraving uses an air compressor and sand, shooting grains at high speed at the glass to cut away the pattern. Cover the glass object with contact paper--4-mil paper is best, or you risk blasting through it--and cut out the pattern with an X-Acto knife. You can double up 2-mil contact paper if necessary. You can also use stencils or computer-cut vinyl patterns. Using a face mask that includes protective eye wear, direct the stream of sand from the nozzle of the air hose at the glass. Deeper cuts can be made to give the image more depth, which is easiest to do along the edges of the cut-out areas.