Etching Stencil Problem

O

OTK

Joined
Feb 10, 2010
Messages
389
Howdy,

I am making some etching stencils for the first time, and am having some problems. I am using film and developer from USA Knifemaker. I am using a small tracing light table for my exposing light. My safety light is a fluorescent "bug light", yellow in color.

I had to play with exposure times to get anything crisp and well defined. Finally I needed almost 10 minutes of exposure time to get a good image. After I put the stencil in the developer, the positive part of the stencil is still not really clear..still kinda green, the rest is blue. When I try to use the stencil, absolutely no image comes through to the steel. I know I'm doing something wrong, but rather than fight with it, I figure you guys have seen this before...hopefully! What am I doing wrong, or what more information can I provide to get some help?

thanks!
 
Thanks for the reply Erik.

I got it figured out...but it's nothing to brag about :) Turns out the film works a lot better when you remove both of the plastic backing sheets before you hit the developer! I had no idea the film had backing until I left one of the test squares in the developer for an extra long time, and then one of the backing sheets started to come off.
 
Glad you figured it out. I just ordered the same stuff to make stencils and your op had me worried.
 
The process is actually quite easy once you eliminate the silly stuff like I ran into. Easy enough I would only charge maybe $10 to personalize a knife with initials etc.
 
what kind of a light do you have in your light box? and your leaving it under the light for 10 min? maybe that is what I am doing wrong I leave mine under the light for 1 min and let it set for 5 min in dark
 
I use a cheap tracing table with a cardboard lid I taped on the side. It probably uses a 10 watt bulb or something.

Start with a couple of minutes of light then straight to the developer (after you take the backing off). If that doesn't work double the time...see what happens...keep doubling the time until the image gets worse then tune in from there.
 
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