another etcher question

SDS

SDS

Joined
Oct 22, 2007
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1,389
Can someone please offer suggestions on which etcher to get? Remember to speak slowly and simply so I can understand. I have looked at the following units:

Etch-o-matic - $70

Etch-o-matic super unit - $180

Etch-O-Matic combo kit - includes Etch-O-Matic plus "440 stencil maker" for $200 or super kit for $300

Electro-chem personalizer - $120

Electro-chem personalizer plus - $180

Since I've never etched anything or used one of these it's like trying to figure out a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what it's supposed to look like when I'm done.

I've looked at the instructions for making my own and I'm just not sure I'm up for trying that right now.

Thanks for any suggestions.
SDS
 
Have you checked out the top sticky on the question & answers page ? There are lots of tutorials available on this. If you want to try etching on the cheap.... Get some cheap stencil material and fluid(Etch-Omatic). A 6/12 volt battery charger. As a marker I used a alluminum rod with a piece of flannel rubber banded on.I used my motorcycle battery charger for a couple years before the Marking Methods machine. Good luck.
 
RUJOCO, no I didn't check the sticky. I did a search and found a lot of information but most of it was old and I had a hard time trying to weed out what I needed from it. I'll go back and check the sticky though. Thanks.

Thanks Mike. See you Sunday hopefully.

SDS
 
$.25 for an old 12 volt A/C adapter from a garage sale, $1 for a couple of alligator clips, $1 for some vinegar and salt water and some Q-tips, but I had the stencils made, a bunch for $18? I forgot how much I paid.
 
Is it really that easy? Like I said, I've never done it myself so I'm asking honestly.


thanks,
SDS
 
It was pretty darn easy after I had the stencils made, I got them from:http://www.erniesknives.com/Etching%20Stencils.htm Here is what I use, never mind the etching in the picture, that was just fooling around before I got stencils just to see how it worked and before I got a second alligator clip I was just taping the positve to the steel. .
IMG_3952_1.jpg
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Ernie Grospitch makes very nice stencils. I saw a number of makers at the Gator Cutlery Club show this past weekend who use them. A couple of guys told me that you can get up to 20 uses out of a single stencil if you are careful. You figure that an average page of stencils can have 14 on it. That would cover me for over 2 years and works out to a cost of around 12 cents per knife.
 
Yeah, I've used 1 stencil and have marked dozens of things, knives, tools, vises.........just fooling around, they seem to last forever.
 
i have a bar of 440c that im going to cut up and turn into etching heads with a little handle.
 
whoa there JT I will send you some pieces of 304 stainless cut to whatever pad size you want if you sent me some 440c. I made my etcher pad with a piece of 1/4" about 3/4" x1" . I tapped each end to 8-32 and then threaded long screws in and cut of the heads and slushed the face smooth. I used the threads sticking out the back to bolt the pad to a handle I made from a piece of nylon. I don't really need any 440c. but, would rather see scrap 304 being used and the 440c saved for blades or tooling. Jim
 
Okay Blub, I decided that if I burned my house down I was going to blame it on you. Since the house is still standing I have to say I'm impressed. I tried and tried to resist the temptation to try this but couldn't stand it any longer. I found an old AC adapter and started cutting wires. I taped one wire to the back of an old knife, used masking tape to layout a VERY crude design and used a Q-tip dipped in vinegar and salt to do the etch. TOO COOL!

I can't believe how easy that was and now that I see how it was done so much more of what I've read makes sense to me.

Thanks,
SDS
 
That's what I use for my mark, except I use a 6V battery with the negative lead on the cue tip and the positive to the blade. I use a salt water and vinegar mix and it comes out nice and dark and deep. I had the stencils made at a vinyl sign shop. Drew out a design and had them work it up on the computer. They made a run of stencils in squares so that it masks off the blade well for etching.

IMG_3162-1.jpg


--nathan
 
Did you just ask for etching stencils?? or did they just make a decal of some sort? I still haven't come up with a design that I want to use yet but I'm pretty steep into the learning curve on all of this and I'm having lots of fun.

Thanks,
SDS
 
SDS said:
Okay Blub, I decided that if I burned my house down I was going to blame it on you. Since the house is still standing I have to say I'm impressed. I tried and tried to resist the temptation to try this but couldn't stand it any longer. I found an old AC adapter and started cutting wires. I taped one wire to the back of an old knife, used masking tape to layout a VERY crude design and used a Q-tip dipped in vinegar and salt to do the etch. TOO COOL!

I can't believe how easy that was and now that I see how it was done so much more of what I've read makes sense to me.

Thanks,
SDS
Click to expand...


It's kinda fun huh? If you can come up with a logo and a good drawing of it, Ernie can shrink it to any size you want. Yes, I asked for stencils and he can make them pretty much any size you want. Call him or email him, he's a good guy and helpful.
 
I just use a bottle cap full of vinegar if that much, all you really need is to get the Q-tip wet, then a pinch of salt, seems to work fine, in fact I don't even know if salt is necessary, I've just always done it this way.:confused:
 
I don't really follow any recipe, but I'll saturate a glass of warm water with salt. Then I'll add about 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to give it bite. I use apple cider vinegar because that's what I've got.

You can etch using only salt water or using only vinegar, but the vinegar/salt water combo seems to give it a bit more bite. Then again, maybe it's just my imagination :).

As for the stencils, I took a drawing to the vinyl sign shop, explained what I wanted to do, and gave them a rough size. They did the rest and made a few for samples. I picked my favorite, and there you go.

--nathan
 
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