Etching setup?

I had the Personalizer and it is anything but deep, works ok for the price and size but not much power. I now use the Crawford and its a cooker, great results all the time unless it is suffering from operator error.
 
I've only heard that the Etch-O-Matic is not the way to go.

I built the one from the plans on the Crawford website. Easy to build, easy to use, plenty of capability.

David Sharp
 
jaymeister99 said:
Is this as easy as it looks in the plans? I could put this together for about a 1/4 of the cost of a Personalizer Plus!

Is the Etch-O-Matic any good?
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YES! Seriously, it is very simple to do if you have all the parts/tools in front of you like the directions suggest. I soldered and used heat-shrink tubing but otherwise stayed pretty much right in line with the plans.
 
amcardon said:
YES! Seriously, it is very simple to do if you have all the parts/tools in front of you like the directions suggest. I soldered and used heat-shrink tubing but otherwise stayed pretty much right in line with the plans.
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Can this be made into an adjustable voltage without breaking the bank? Maybe a pot or just a dimmer switch?
 
The wiring for the crawford etcher looks wrong to me. The output from the transformer is grounded. I have made plenty of power supplies and can see no reason to do this other than giving you the opportunity to put a few volts through your carcass.

For a diy I really like zaph1's solution. Very straightforward and to the point.

I don't do etching so I have no idea what voltage range you would need. Maybe instead of a pot use a power resistor with a fixed value. Just make sure your case is ventilated so you can get rid of the heat.
 
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Stacy mentioned in a thread that you should repeatedly turn it on and off with a push button, instead of on-several seconds-off. I started doing this and have had much better success. I turn it on/off probably 20 times over the period of 3-4 seconds and get much sharper etches with less bleeding.

Thanks again, Stacy.
 
zaph1 said:
Stacy mentioned in a thread that you should repeatedly turn it on and off with a push button, instead of on-several seconds-off. I started doing this and have had much better success. I turn it on/off probably 20 times over the period of 3-4 seconds and get much sharper etches with less bleeding.

Thanks again, Stacy.
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Thats very interesting. I wonder if you would get the similar results if you turned it on and off much faster. What if you started with something like 24VAC and used half wave rectification? That would be like turning it on and off at 60Hz.
 
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zaph1 said:
Stacy mentioned in a thread that you should repeatedly turn it on and off with a push button, instead of on-several seconds-off. I started doing this and have had much better success. I turn it on/off probably 20 times over the period of 3-4 seconds and get much sharper etches with less bleeding.

Thanks again, Stacy.
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I was just thinking yesterday about how adding a push buttom could make this a little easier to control. I would think its pretty easy to add on there.

Any way to make an automatic pulse(?) I'm not sure what the wording would be. So it could rapidly switch on/off like a strobe light.
 
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I just built a slight derivation of the Chris Crawford plan. Prices have gone up since he posted that plan, so the total cost to do it his way is up to about $72 plus tax. I managed to trim some unnecessary parts and get the cost back down to $51. Basically, everything is the same except for the banana plugs and the neon light. Instead of the neon light I got the lighted switch (SPST rated for 125V at 10A, I think). The banana plugs were just not necessary, so I just used straight wiring to the leads.

BTW, if you get the rectifier he mentions, the pins are not numbered (if they ever were). You have to pay attention to the notched corner to get your bearings on how to wire it up.

- Greg
 
12345678910 said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/609064-Looking-for-electro-etch-plans


http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/756801-Making-and-electro-etcher


http://www.knives.mlogiudice.com/knifeshop/etcher/index.shtml

http://www.knives.mlogiudice.com/knifeshop/etcher/electro-etcher_circuit.pdf
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I am going to try out the etcher in the last link above. The transformer is not only wired correctly, it has an option for providing two voltages. I don't need an etcher but I am really curious about this technology.

If you are not wanting more than one voltage just get a 12.6 V transformer and save yourself some money.
 
Now I'm really confused:confused: I liked the plans for the Crawford because it lays everything out and has detailed plans. I'm concerned because some say it isn't wired correctly:confused:. The other ones I don't understand all of the diagrams so I don't know if I could build it.
 
Mooseyard: What in my plans don't you understand? All you need is a $5 12vdc transformer and a $5 12vac transformer, a switch to choose between the two(not required, just easier), some alligator clips to hold the q-tip and a bottle cap with some salt and water in it. Not a jug of etching solution, just a little bit of water and salt(table salt, about one packet from McDonalds is enough.) I literally use a plastic bottle cap from a bottle of pepsi and 3-4 shakes of salt from a salt shaker. The entire reason for my plans is to show that it doesn't need to be difficult.
 
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