Enlighten me...An electro etch question.

[TJ Smith]

I have the personalizer and didn't feel it etches deep enough. I seen the Warner/Crawford plans and replaced the transformer with the Radio Shack 1.
25 volts is to much burns your stencils and gives a cloudy etch also can etch the edge of your stencils if you have to much liquid.
I added a dimmer switch and turned my voltage down to 15. Tried the q tip method where you dip your q tip in etchant and dab around on your stencil.Works great very little cleanup.
Put the clip on the wet cotton and watch for bubbles. When they start lift and move.
Take Care
TJ

 

[Noshtero]

Wow. I'm in emails with Ernie right now trying to figure out why I'm burning up his stencils. I bet the 12v/24v thing is my problem as well.

 

[Jason Fry]

I picked up a used Etchomatic for $20, ordered a stencil from Ernie, and got this:

Looks good to me, other than the scotchbrite finish in bright sunlight.

 

[Kyle Royer]

I just got a 0-130 Volt Variac from eBay for $50 and a Full-wave Bridge Rectifier from RadioShack for $10 that I'll be using for etching my mark.

 

[65535]

I just got a 0-130 Volt Variac from eBay for $50 and a Full-wave Bridge Rectifier from RadioShack for $10 that I'll be using for etching my mark.

Make sure you use either a fuse, magnetic circuit breaker, or a ballast. I think once the proper etch voltage is a known a simple transformer would be safer for most people.

 

[SteelSlaver]

I had the same problem of burning stencils on 24 v. Went to 12 and they last way longer. Takes a bit more time to etch deep enough, but thats not a big deal. Still pretty quick way to go.

 

[tcaduto]

The way it's wired up in the tutorial has the negative lead being red and the positive lead being black. Kind of confusing, but as long as you use it correctly (negative to the etching pad and positive clipped to the blade), you will be fine.

I built mine from that same schematic and I noticed the leads being reversed right away when I hooked it up to a multi tester. Red should be positive and black should be negative. Other than that the DIY unit is great, no problems and the test marks I have made so far all turned out excellent.
I tested just plain old salt water ( 1 cup of water and 4 tablespoons salt) and was able to mark stainless (440a, AUS8, Schrade +) with zero issues and the marks where very sharp and deep.