Egg Art: Blowing Out the Insides
Emptying your egg of the insides is scary at first, but after a few times, you will get the hang of it. Honestly, I have lost very few eggs this way. The eggshell is sturdier than you would think.
Prep: Kitchen sink, rotary drill with a pointy bit, Blas-fix egg blower, egg drying rack (or an egg carton will work if your rack is in use), syringe, bleach, a small cup for bleach solution, and – as always – paper towels.
Assemble your rotary drill with the drilling bit. Note: If you do not have a rotary drill, you can use the little green hand drill that came with your Blas-Fix egg blower.
Find the center at the bottom (large end) of your egg. Most of the egg instructions I provided have a design that meets on the ends, and that should make it easy to find the center.
Take a deep breath. It is not likely that the egg will crack from drilling, as long as you go slowly and don’t force the bit into the egg.
You are going to hold the egg cupped in your hand firmly with the bottom end facing toward the heel of your palm.
Power up your drill, and – as it is spinning – hold the tip at a slight angle to the egg to start a cut into the egg (if you try to come at the egg with the tip straight on, the bit will slip on the smooth surface).
Hold the egg firmly but gently over the sink. As the drill is rotating, it will begin to break through the slick surface. When it does, you can position the drill bit straight up and continue drilling through the shell. Rest the drill-hand on the wrist of the egg-hand to steady it. Stop drilling when the hole is big enough. Don’t use the whole bit length, it will make the hole too big. The hole should be about 2-3mm, or roughly the size of a small peppercorn.
OK, you are finished drilling – you can let out your breath.
Next, take your Blas-Fix egg blower and poke the metal needle-tip inside the egg hole. Stir it around a little to break up the yolk. Then, holding the egg, hole-down over the sink, pump the bellows to force air into the egg.
The insides will start to flow out immediately.
When the egg is empty, you are going to flush it out with water. At this point, you may want to remove your drill bit from the Dremel and run it around the egg-hole edges with it a bit to break up the skin flaps that are present. Sometimes there are
no skin flaps – it depends on the egg. You can spin the bit in your fingers or gently scrape it in and out to sand them off.
Now to get the inside nice and clean (this is why the egg won’t smell). Turn your sink water onto a thin dribble stream, and fill the egg about halfway with water. Holding your finger over the hole, shake the egg up. Use the Blas-fix to flush out the water. Do this a couple of times until the water runs clear. You can also pluck out any of the thin white skin that comes out with the flush.
Next, we want to sterilize the inside – set your egg into the egg carton, or rack, hole-side-up. Put a mixture of a little bleach and water into a little cup (mostly water, enough to disinfect a countertop). Fill your syringe with the bleach-water solution, and inject it into the egg hole. Pick up the egg, holding your finger over the hole, shake it up, and flush with clean water again. You’re done! Wipe the egg gently with a paper towel, and set it hole-side-down in the carton to drain. As it is drying, pick it up a few times and wick the bottom with a paper towel – this will help to draw out the moisture.
Let the egg dry at least overnight before going on to the final varnish. If you varnish too soon, water can dribble out and make the varnish gooey at the hole.