About WCS Engraving

IF IT CAN BE DRAWN OR PHOTOGRAPHED CHANCES ARE IT CAN BE ENGRAVED ON YOUR GLASS.

Welcome to my website and thank you for visiting.  My name is Willie and I run WCS Engraving from my home based workshop in Irvine, North Ayrshire where I can deliver to addresses throughout the UK.

My background: I am 65 years old but still feel like 40, well sometimes. At age 17 I joined The Royal Marines and served in various Commando units of the Corps. Of 15 exciting years, I spent two of them on HMS Eskimo, a Tribal-class frigate. 

On-board HMS Eskimo, I sailed to many interesting places, amongst which, the West Indies, where we served as The West Indies Guard Ship, escorting Queen Elizabeth II aboard Britannia, as part of America's Bi-Centennial celebrations.

I played Volley Ball for The Marines, so was fairly active.  With the surname Small I guess the only thing that slightly rankled me, was The Service's tradition of naming people by Surname name first and Christian name second and I'll leave you to work that one out.

However, it was during my time in The Royal Marines that I took up the hobby of engraving.

A warm welcome from Willie to WCS Engraving.

I have always been a creative type and found that my services became popular. In 1986, having left the Navy, I started engraving part-time and this has now become my full-time profession and I have become a member of The Guild of Glass Engravers.  I converted my home garage into my workshop and fitted it out to my own specifications. 

I have Rayzist sandblasting equipment for glass engraving, a Gravograph machine for engraving metal and I also hand engrave glass and crystal.  A combination of skills, built up over many years, which I am proud to say I have become very proficient at.

HMS Eskimo, a Tribal-class frigate, of the Royal Navy which sadly has now been de-commissioned, but on which I served as part of the Royal Marine ships detachment.

Glass Engraver in Irvine, Ayrshire 

Sandblast engraving, in my opinion, provides the best possible results and is not to be confused with laser engraving or machine engraving, the later of which gives a shallow, scratchy results. 

Sandblast Engraving glass and crystal, as a professional glass engraver, is the only option, due to the depth of cut, faithful reproduction and white finish.

I make my own masks (stencils), one being required for each piece of glass or crystal.  Using light-sensitive film, I lay the artwork over the film and expose it to ultra violet light. 

Where light shines through, the film 'cooks' and where the lines of my artwork protect the film, it remains 'raw'. 

I then wash away the 'raw' parts and, after drying the film, cut out my stencil and adhere it to the glass, positioning it carefully by hand.

Sandblasting is then carried out in my Rayzist machine. I use an ultra-fine aluminium oxide, blasting at up to 90 pounds per square inch. 

Sandblast engraving
glass for a perfect finish.

So fine is the oxide, that I can cut into the serifs of 8pt lettering. The image on the right is of a Rock Tablet, hand made in The Highlands of Scotland.  The rolled up Certificate of Authenticity guarantees its provenance. 

Supplied in a rigid blue box, these are beautiful pieces, which I am proud to supply.  As you can see, the sandblast glass engraving gives an excellent finish and all lines are faithfully reproduced.

My online Shop has over 1,000 product lines, all glass and crystal, which you can buy online securely, specifying your engraving requirements and delivery date. 

You can see current stock availability too, so you can order with confidence.

A Rock Tablet. The Glass Engraving carried out by Sandblasting.

Trophy Engraving in Irvine, Ayrshire 

I offer a huge range of Trophies, not just in glass and crystal, but in metal, resin and other materials, too. 

Medals, Ribbons and Boxes are also available, in many choices, to suit all the different sports and pastimes.

I offer Football Trophies, Golf Trophies and Rugby Trophies - the 3 'major sports' which I am asked for. 

In addition to which, there are over 150 different sports played in the UK, all of which I can cater for, from the range of Sports Trophies I offer.

School Badges are also on offer, with all the popular Titles available and many not available from other suppliers.  I offer Plaques and many Gifts too, even Hip-Flasks & Pewter Tankards.

A large range of Trophies is available,
all with Free Engraving.

A large range of Football Trophies is available, all with Free Engraving.

A large range of Golf Trophies is available, all with Free Engraving.

A large range of Rugby Trophies is available, all with Free Engraving.

A large range of Medals is available, all with Free Engraving.

Hand Engraving in Irvine, Ayrshire 

Hand Engraving or Carving on Glass and Crystal is an art in its self.  Despite the fact that I can control my American Power-Carver Rotary Drill with some precision, each piece will be different unlike Sandlasting with the Rayzist each of which will be identicle. This usualy means that the time taken for a blasted piece will be much shorter than a hand carved piece.

Hand engraving a Bride and Groom image onto the bottle made it very personal.

Hand Engraving Glass and Crystal provides another dimension to glass engraving. As a Glass Engraver, I often combine 'sandblast glass engraving' with 'hand engraving'.

This gives me the opportunity to individually hand engrave names onto a series of Awards or Trophies.

Conversely, The images you see on the right, were to commemorate a Wedding and I sandblasted the words into the bottle and then added a lovely flowing design of the bride and groom, by hand, beneath.

Hand engraving a lovely flowing image of a Bride & Groom.