Copper taping machines

I use the Glastar machine for all my 'tiffany' work - and I'd hate to think of foiling without it.

It's handy in that it not only positions the foil correctly on the glass, but also does a partial 'crimp' on the foil. A quick wipe round with a little tool called the Kwik Crimp Hand Crimper, and that's the foiling and burnishing done!

There are times when it's less than ideal - particularly if the glass is a little on the thick side, or it if has a heavy surface texture - when the crimping effect of the Glastar can tend to guillotine the foil - but, you can get round this if you are careful.

There are other foilers (particuarly the Diegel Foiler) - but I don;t think they do the crimp in the same way as the Glastar...

As always - it's whatever works for you

Regards Adrian

There is a newer one out that foils horizontally, heard best reports about it so far, one of the guys with a shop will know the name of it. I still do it by hand, so I couldn't tell you.

I've tried them all the the Table Foiler is by far the best out there. Centers and crimps. You only need to burnish the foil down. Works on most glass. Some textures need to still be handfoiled but you should know how to do that anyway.

Andy

Michael - Whatever you do, don't get the little hand-held, $8-piece-of- work, taping device. It's okay for about 10% of the time. The rest is dismal.

shawn

Agreed 100%. Table Foiler is worth whatever you have to pay for it. Glastar was fine for 25 years, but it's dogmeat now compared to the new one. Trust me...

Thanks for posting on this. I'm going to try the Table Foiler. I'm in favor of anything I can do that speeds up the process without degrading the end product.

Michael

I do ! - but.....

What are the advantages of the Table Foiler over the Glastar ? - if it's that good then I'll think seriously about getting one...

Does it overcome the 'foil splitting on thicker / textured glass' problem, and does it do a partial crimp?

I'm sure I've seen some foilers that apply the foil 'flat' on the edge of the glass, and I can't see the point in that.

I'm struggling to see the difference between the two machines. Is it in ease of handling the glass, as with the Table Foiler you are laying the glass flat on the platform, whereas with the Glastar you have to align it with the slot in the pressure wheel ?

Looks like it would be a fairly easy thing to homebrew - a spare Glastar pressure wheel (got some of those !), mounted on a bolt with a big spring and a wingnut, and a platform of some some sort, maybe covered with a low-friction coating.....

...but then, I've probably missed something critical..

I do a lot of foil work, and anything that makes it simpler / quicker has to be good news...

Regards Adrian

The thing with the table foiler is that you lay the glass on a little table part, raise or lower the foil wheel with a simple wing nut. It doesn't get much more simpler. The other foilers, you have to hold the glass upright. The Table foiler comes with three different size wheels to accomodate 3/16", 7/32" and 1/4" foil. Keep in mind that it won't foil ALL glass but just about all Spectrum. Kok, Arm, some BE and Uro. I've sold at least a couple hundred and just about every customer has called or come back in and just raved about it. As Kim said: It's worth whatever you pay for it.

Andy

So you are saying that if I had one of these, I'd outgrow my complete hatred of copper foiling?

I'd rather have a tetanus shot with a dull needle than work with foil. Bleeech!

Moon politely replied:

So you are saying that if I had one of these, I'd outgrow my complete hatred of copper foiling?

I'd rather have a tetanus shot with a dull needle than work with foil. Bleeech! =========================

But of course! You'd then see the light and realize that foiling is a "zen" thing and you'd soon come to see that even a certain Canadian is really a nice guy! BWAAAAAA!!!!

Umhuh.

I just looked out the window and saw a flock of flying pigs land in the street, too.

Sure go ahead and make one yourself. Just because you can copy it, doesn't make it any less effective. I'd rather spend the $50 bucks than fool around with a homemade unit for a few hours to get it working right. It's really a very simple idea. The glass stays flat, and you only need to rotate it in the groove. I can foil 200 perfect pieces an hour with it..... without those tiny annoying finger cuts and reading glasses!

Of course !

You have a point It's so tempting to say 'hey - I could make one of those' - and then spend (?waste?) several potentially productive hours fiddling, only to end up with something that's not as effective as the commercial model....

Yes - looks like it would be easy to use. I have the Glastar set up on a fairly high workbench, and sit on a fairly low typist's chair. The effect of this is that I can get pretty close to the foiling roller, it's just below normal eye-level, and it's easy to keep pressure on the glass with your thumbs.

With the table foiler, is it a 'one handed' operation ?

Coo - that's travelling. (Tempted to make some comment about 'turbo-soldering' - but don;t want to open up that particular can of worms again !)

Ah - glasses ! Just been fitted with a pair of varifocals. Have used glasses for long-distance since primary school, but found over the last few years that they just weren't working for close-up work. The varifocals were horrendously expensive - but, so far, they're excellent !

As for finger cuts - tend to get more of those from grinding rather than foiling. Grinding is made easier (in my experience) by using a small wood block in the right hand to apply pressure to the glass into the grinder head, and guiding the glass with the left hand.

This avoids the tendency to push sharp edges of glass (particularly ripple or mirror) into your thumbs....

Thanks for the info & comments Adrian

I want to thank the group again, a new machine to make Christmas gift making quicker and easier...Thank you all again

I just call Delphi and order me one of the table foiler, should have tomorrow or monday looking forward to using it, glad you all talked about in here.