Building a Etching machine

If you use saltwater as a etch, what is the mixture, how much salt, how much water?

I bought a older Monode etcher that I have not used. It came with two rools of paper,
1 1/2" and 2 1/2" wide. If the paper is exposed to sunlight is it still useable?
 
The transformer specified in Chris Crawfords tutorial appears to be the type that will give an isolated output. Since the output is only 25 Vac, the various electrical safety agencies, such as UL, CSA and VDE, would consider the output of the etcher safe to touch.

A variac provides NO isolation from the 120 Vac source. Most variacs have output voltages that range from 0% to over 100% of the input voltage. Touching the output with the variac at anything over 30% can be lethal.

Depending on how one connects it up, one of the output leads could become inadvertantly connected to the hot lead of the AC source. Connected this way, touching the output of the variac can be lethal even if the variac is turned to 0%.

Adding a fuse will not help make the variac safe since 0.005 Amps of CURRENT is generally recognized as sufficient to kill and I have never heard of a fuse rated at less than 0.1 Amps.

If you do not understand the above, please do substitute a variac in the etcher circuit.

Stay safe.

Phil
 
my system is a variac system. but the voltage from the variac goes to another transformer that cuts the voltage in half. this transformer is masive and i mean huge. probabley 8" on each side, way over kill but hay use what you got right. ill post a picture and you see. yes 120 can kill you but very unlikeley. im an electrition for my real job and i get shocked 2-3 times a week. am i scared i will die, not at all. a 9volt battery can kill you, its all about the power directley acros the heart. be safe :)
 
Technially all it takes is 30 volts with 5 mil. amps to kill a person if the conditions are right. The short version is it is the current more than the voltage that kills. But that aside lets get back to how to build this etcher I am just about ready to build mine. I have a couple of blades that will need etching shortly.
 
JTknives said:
my system is a variac system. but the voltage from the variac goes to another transformer that cuts the voltage in half. this transformer is masive and i mean huge. probabley 8" on each side, way over kill but hay use what you got right. ill post a picture and you see. yes 120 can kill you but very unlikeley. im an electrition for my real job and i get shocked 2-3 times a week. am i scared i will die, not at all. a 9volt battery can kill you, its all about the power directley acros the heart. be safe :)
Click to expand...
with 100's wacthing here,,
wow how out right stupid can one be to say that here..sorry that's the best word I can find right now for it..

less than 1 amp from 120 will kill you if you are grounded well enouph..

a 9volt battery converted to AC maybe can kill but not other wise normaly..

look! are you coming on here trying to kill someone, saying things like that places a big respocablity on you my friend,, do you want someone death on your head? this is just what gets guys killed :jerkit: you may work as an electrition but you are not a responsable one for sure..just my two cents , don't get killed being dumb
guys..
saying things like 120 can kill you but very unlikeley ,,, right good way to put it..
 
Dan Gray said:
with 100's wacthing here,,
wow how out right stupid can one be to say that here..sorry that's the best word I can find right now for it..

less than 1 amp from 120 will kill you if you are grounded well enouph..

a 9volt battery converted to AC maybe can kill but not other wise normaly..

look! are you coming on here trying to kill someone, saying things like that places a big respocablity on you my friend,, do you want someone death on your head? this is just what gets guys killed :jerkit: you may work as an electrition but you are not a responsable one for sure..just my two cents , don't get killed being dumb
guys..
saying things like 120 can kill you but very unlikeley ,,, right good way to put it..
Click to expand...


QFT - Thanks for being the one to say it Dan.
 
all i ment by that is that like you said you need to be grounded very well. if your in the bath and grab 120 yes you most likley will die. i was not telling any one that you wont die just unlikeley UNLESS cirten things are in effect. also notice i told them to be safe. there is a story about someone that died from a 9v battery. he tryed to messure the restience of the body. by all means if you dont feal cofortable messing with power then dont. i dont want anyone to die. im a very good electricton. be safe
 
and with your hands in an electrolyte bath it takes much less than 9 volts to make it across the skin.
I worked doing electrical and plumbing for a general contractor for a year without getting electrically shocked at all (other than static from walking across a rug) The electricians I have known of who weren't afraid of getting shocked were the ones that either nobody would hire a second time, or died young.

When working on an electrical item of unknown safety, use a voltmeter to test against a known ground, make sure you are wearing insulating shoes, and only use one hand at a time. Keep your other hand in your pocket until everything is turned off and any filter capacitors have completely discharged. If you are completely insulated, and only working with one hand, there is less chance of electricity finding a path across your heart.

Be safe.
-Page
 
Electricity is dangerous
Belt grinders are dangerous
Propane and coal fires are dangerous
buffers are dangerous
sharp knives are dangerous
drill presses, milling machines and lathes are dangerous

Face it what we do has many dangers.
THINK the best safety item is a thinking mind.
Watch what you are doing
Exercise caution and if you do not understand how it works or the dangers involved please please ask more questions and learn how it works.
 
I just built one of the etchers decribed in the Chris Crawford tutorial. I also created a detailed schematic, to help me put it together. A schematic always helps me understand and troubleshoot a device, and I find it hard to put something together without one.

I'll post the wiring schematic to this thread this evening.

WadeH asked earlier if the 25VAC, 2amp transformer is ideal, or is bigger better? I'd like to know the answer to this as well.

Mike L.
 
i have been think about this all day and feal very bad about how i described the dangers of power. i see how some one not familer with ac trys somthing and thinks it ok becuse of how i posted my thoughts and could get hurt. im sorry. some times i just go off on somthing and dont relize it.
i would like to thank you dan for having the balls to call me out. thanks for considering me a friend and having my best intrests at heart. :(
 
JTknives said:
i have been think about this all day and feal very bad about how i described the dangers of power. i see how some one not familer with ac trys somthing and thinks it ok becuse of how i posted my thoughts and could get hurt. im sorry. some times i just go off on somthing and dont relize it.
i would like to thank you dan for having the balls to call me out. thanks for considering me a friend and having my best intrests at heart. :(
Click to expand...
no problem J most around here know me for my mouth , :D
some time it gets me into trouble even though I mean well.
I'm glad you thought about it..:thumbup:

this is a place that so many look to the others to point them in the right direction and in doing that it's very easy through the lack of a few right words placed in the right places can be just a little mess up but in electricity and such we need to be very careful in what we say, people do funny things knowing what they are doing as it is..

I will say though J please for yourself if not for a loved one ..
if you are getting shocked one or more times a week on 120/110
you maybe should shut the power off and tag it or look for another line of work I don't know an electrician that won't tag a box while working on a circuit there is a reason it's taught ..
.. I've had 110 snap my
elbow straight before and it hurts at the least, could have been worst if I fell off the ladder or was hanging on to the grounded I-beam , don't let so called accident get you.. if you get killed knowing better it's not an accident is it..

you know how most guys get hurt under the hood of a car playing with the plug wires? it's banging the back of their head on the hood latch when it snaps you, Guys be safe by knowing first and doing last..forethought is our friend.. :)
 
thanks dan. i do new homes and sometimes people turn thangs on while im working on them. i havent goten shocked in a wile i carry a tester with me and test everything.
 
ya i will. hay dan why you calling me J, has a nice ring to it for a nick name.:) it might just stick. easy to spell.
 
Hey J, Lockout Tagout is how it's done in Industry. Everyone working on something that could be dangerous if energised has a padlock and a tag for each dangerous thing they are working on and when they go to work on the circuit/device/whatever their tag goes on a tagout board so that the personnel on site/ in danger can be instantly counted, and the energy shutoff gets padlocked with their lock until they are done working. The item cannot be energised until everyone's lock is off the device. Works great! There are a variety of lockout devices for everything from power cords to breaker boxes to pneumatics etc. Many of my industrial supply catalogs carry the stuff because OSHA and insurance companies require it.

Be safe
-Page
 
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