An Electric Foiler

[Wayne]

The Elite 1 electric foiler was a commerical device used to foil many, many pieces.  It reached its prime in the mid 80's and was mainly bought by large companies making great quantities of glass work.  The Koreans were the largest buyers at that time.

The machine applies the foil to the piece and crimps/burnishes it somewhat as the foil is being applied.  Since it is motor driven, the operators job is to hold the piece of glass in the groove and guide it as it rotates on the rollers.  This particular machine was setup in my shop and non of my employees ever wanted to use it because the learning curve is days.  The concentration and stress it created was not good when compared to laid back hand foiling.  The advantage of the machine for those who could keep it up was to foil a thousand pieces a day.  They sold for $139 I think

In 1982, I demonstrated the machine at the SGA (Stained Glass Association) convention/show in Orlando.  To my knowledge, not many machines were sold.

[Kev]

Did it peel the backing off  automatically? Did you use it..or are you still using it?



(A piece of bonus Trivia...this was the 10,000th post)..woo hoo!

[Wayne]

Kev, yes, the backing is pealed away as the foil leaves the reel.
No, I don't use it because my learning curve for that thing is a little more than a week.  That is not worth it to me.  Plus the the rollers and reels are made for specific foil sizes and in this case 3/16 and 1/4.  I would have to make or have made other sizes.

[Kev]

oic...still a cool concept...could the speed of it be regulated to slow it down?

[JoanFrances]

   So you were not just teasing us. LOL Cool looking machine.  

[Amber]

Is it foot pedal driven like a sewing machine? If it goes about the same speed there is no way I could keep up with it *lol, but I can't complain about foiling in front of the t.v *smiles*.

[Malinda]

very cool.....it looks like an antique lol.....I probably wouldn't use it either though :)

[PiscesGlass]

! He wasn't kidding...Wayne, my deepest apologies...LOL. For sure I thought you were having us on.  Nope, I wouldn't want to bother with it either...with most of the foiling machines (non electrified) I've ever used I've found that the only pieces of glass that they worked semi well with were pieces that didn't have many inside curves or odd shapes... and they tend to work best with consistant glass thickness.  
I guess with what I tend to do I end up more frustrated with a foiler than just sitting down and doing it by hand.  Faster for me, and more accurate (well, sometimes.)

De

[Bleedy Pokes]

Sheesh, that's a cool idea, but I can imagine pieces of glass flying around the room!
Yeah, I'd keep that one around as a conversation piece, but I'll stick to my little Glastar foiler!
Thanks for sharing these pictures. The next time I complain about foiling and burnishing all those itty bitty pieces, I'll think about the alternative electrified glass launcher that's available and appreciate the slower pace a bit more!

[Rebecca]

I see a foot pedal.  I can see how it would be frustrating to have to stop and cut after each piece.  Did it cut automatically?  For small pieces it would drive one crazier.

Rebecca   

[ct4mom]

Wayne, I dont know what Joan and De were talking about but I knew you were serious...LOL...
Cool looking machine looks like an old movie projector.  Ill stick to  the slow way too.

[Glassic]

That looks like a mean taskmaster, but I would have used it! Then sued for RSI and retired at a very early age! Thinks,  .....those were the days of frivilous law suits!
I have foot controls on my sewing machines that have speed reducer switches, slows from 1300 stiches to about 50 but they are belt drive.

I'll stick to coil and foil in the corner of my sofa in front of the TV>

[Wayne]

When all the foil had been applied and burnished you push the piece up a bit and the knife part cuts the foil off.  The machine has foot pedal which allows you to vary the speed.  High speed works really well for 'nice' pieces which have straight runs.

Once you press your glass piece into the roller and step on the foot switch, your job is to hold the piece in the roller straight and let it turn.  One piece is foiled in seconds.  It gives you not time to daydream or goof off.  (My employees hated that part too.)

[Linde]

Wayne, I dont know what Joan and De were talking about but I knew you were serious...LOL...
Cool looking machine looks like an old movie projector.  Ill stick to  the slow way too.

That looks really cool, Wayne.


I agree and thought it looked like an old movie projector to me. I've used different foilers and didn't get along with them all that much...I much prefer using my hands.

[Barbara]

I had the pleasure of seeing one of these at an estate sale that I recently went to.  The main reason that I had gone is because he was selling of his glass studio and decided to not to at the last minute. Damn, This guy had glass coming out his ears and the only thing that he would have sold was the foiler like Waynes.  He did let me in to see his studio which was half the size of my house.  But see I don't need any more glass!!!!

[Linde]

WHAT??? Barbara, you don't need anymore glass? Heck we always need more glass to feed the addiction...funny woman joking like that. 

[Graham]

! He wasn't kidding...Wayne, my deepest apologies...LOL. For sure I thought you were having us on.  Nope, I wouldn't want to bother with it either...with most of the foiling machines (non electrified) I've ever used I've found that the only pieces of glass that they worked semi well with were pieces that didn't have many inside curves or odd shapes... and they tend to work best with consistant glass thickness.  
I guess with what I tend to do I end up more frustrated with a foiler than just sitting down and doing it by hand.  Faster for me, and more accurate (well, sometimes.)

De

I'm with you De!
The bestest foiler I know of is attached to the ends of my arms.