Chaucer Lodge 150th Anniversary: Engraved Firing Glasses

This commission involved producing sixty engraved firing glasses to mark the 150th anniversary of Chaucer Lodge (1875–2025).

Reference and Layout

The lodge logo contained more detail than could be reproduced clearly at the scale of a firing glass, so a simpler motif was chosen for the anniversary design.

A sprig of acacia was selected as the central motif. Within Freemasonry, acacia carries established symbolic meaning, while its form also translates clearly at the scale required for a firing glass.

The wording:

Chaucer Lodge 1875–2025

was arranged above the motif, creating a composition that remained clear and legible at a small scale.

Registration marks were incorporated into the stencil artwork to position each design consistently on the glass. These marks were used only during application, then masked before engraving.

Form and Preparation

Firing glasses present a distinct challenge due to their tapered shape.

The narrowing profile changes the usable engraving area and can affect how a design appears when viewed from the front. The layout was therefore adjusted to suit the taper and positioned from consistent reference points across the full set.

Engraving

Once the Engraving Layout was approved, each stencil was positioned using the established registration points and every glass was sandblasted individually.

The same preparation method was repeated across all sixty pieces to maintain consistent placement and etched finish.

Outcome

The completed set combines a deliberately simplified anniversary motif with repeatable positioning across sixty tapered glasses, allowing the group to read consistently when presented together.