Etcher

That kit looks like a 9v or so power source, head, and some chemicals. Basically take an older phone charger and add the gator clip and a metal block to etch with. Wrap the block with felt pads and rubber band and use saltwater and vinegar to etch. Basically free if you built it yourself.

On the other hand... there are a lot of plans out there for pretty good machines. I built mine from a plan on here (search it) for under $30 (scrounged some components) and it is AC/DC. Straight DC will etch fine, but AC marks. It is basically picking up the material and setting it back down. Makes for a nice dark mark. You can add a rheostat for voltage control and tweak some things here and there if you undertand it well enough.

The chemicals (if you choose to use more professional electrolytes) are available on their own, as are photo stencil material, pin feed material (thanks again Stacy) and even the etcher heads. I just got some photoreactive stencil material and developer to try out. Gauging from what I've seen, anything you can print you can etch with the photo stuff...

From what I've seen, with good stencils, the home built versions do just about as good as the name brand jobs. They are simple to make as well. The Personalizer brand machines seem to be the odds on favorite for professionally built machines and their build quality is really good. I've heard their customer service is good too. Someone with one of those though could tell you more.
 
Here is a kinda purposefully rough etch from pinroll on mild steel. For the shop logo, etc...

2305bc5a511957bf62d44e77f5defbee.jpg


I don't have pics of the etcher. Away from the casa at the moment... If you search for the build on here I copied it right down to the project box from radio shack. I will get some pics when back home...

I ordered some photoreactive stencil stuff to try out. The pinroll is OK but can blow out easy...

-Eric
 
http://www.logiudicecustomknives.com/knifeshop/etcher/

This is the plan I followed, sort of... I think I posted a pic at some point. Will have to take another for you when I get home next week.

I am thinking I might start using the Positiv20 and doing my logo and such with FeCl... There is a tutorial on here somewhere of how to do it. It makes a really clean and sharp design.


-Eric
 
Lucy is correct, etchers are easy to make. They can be as simple as a 9v battery, a couple wires with alligator clips, q-tips, finger nail polish/spray paint/paint marker, and a saturated salt solution (just keep adding salt to hot water until it settles on the bottom). Or, they can be very complicated, multi-voltage, AC/DC units with professional electrolyte solutions that have been engineered to work with specific steel types. I have experimented some and found that an old laptop power cord/adapter works nicely with salt water on carbon steel. I just need to get some stencils.
 
More so for titanium anodizers. A series of 9v batteries works almost as well as the factory produced units at a fraction of the cost. It works so well, in fact, that I trashed my anodizer and just use the batteries.

Just remember there is a difference between AC/DC etchers and batteries/power supplies. They all etch the same, but only etchers will mark. Batteries don't mark at all. A true AC/DC etcher will leave a nice black mark on AC with the proper electrolytes.
 
zaph1 said:
More so for titanium anodizers. A series of 9v batteries works almost as well as the factory produced units at a fraction of the cost. It works so well, in fact, that I trashed my anodizer and just use the batteries.

Just remember there is a difference between AC/DC etchers and batteries/power supplies. They all etch the same, but only etchers will mark. Batteries don't mark at all. A true AC/DC etcher will leave a nice black mark on AC with the proper electrolytes.
Click to expand...

Zaph, are you the one that posted that tutorial a while back about the number of batteries (and as such voltage) for different coloration? I liked that and have used it...

And yes, the DC current simply lifts the metal particles from the steel thus eating into the steel. AC actually lifts the steel, oxidizes it, and puts it back down. This is what causes the nice black marking.

You can reverse polarity and actually plate steel with a DC power source.
 
While you can make an etcher easy enough, there's a lot to be said for consistent and repeatable results too.

My LectroEtch VT15A unit is fantastic, I can get the same exact etch, depth, clarity, color, etc 100 times in a row with a foot pedal triger, timer, etc. What you need for an etcher depends on the final results that you want to achieve. What I really like doing is first a DC etch, and then to follow it up without moving the stencil with an AC etch to give it durable color.

The stencils that you get are important too. The stencils I got from TUStech in Mass. are fantastic and combined with my professional quality etcher let me put tiny little logos on things with perfect clarity

etcher.jpg
 
I have a Personalizer Plus I bought from USA knife maker http://usaknifemaker.com/personalizer-plus.html that I've used a few time then put it up. It's only been used a few times. I have since moved to stamps and never looked back. I'll sell my complete kit for a reasonable price, right now they are out of stock at USA knife maker.
 
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