Help me troubleshoot my etcher

Plus make sure you have the correct fuse. Diconnect it from the piece and see if it blows the fuse. If it is blowing fuses prior to hitting the piece to be etched with the etch pad I would bet its your wiring. Trace everything out again carefully. Jim
 
I just notices that the fuse is 1 amps and the transformer is 2 amps. Could this be a problem? I am sure that the guy making the tutorial would not have made that error.

Pad
 
i built the exact same etcher , about three years ago, and if i remember correctly i had some problems as well, im pretty sure it was in my wiring, i had mixed up two wires and once corrected it worked perfectly. pretty good etcher i mean mines identical to the T......
i just never use the darn thing kina just a dust collector now.
 
Pad,

I made that exact etcher according to the tutorial and haven't had any problems with it, been using it for about a year now.
Did you get the exact fuse listed?
"Slow-Blow 1 1/4"x 1/4" Glass Fuses-1.0A 250V Cat.# 270-1021"

Notice it says "slow blow" that means the fuse will take a small jolt of electricity and let it stabilize before it blows. Be sure you have the proper fuse. The only time I've ever blown a fuse was when I first made the unit and was experimenting with it, trying to etch a large area all at once (1"X4") and held it on the steel for a long time.

Use the d/c setting to etch the mark, use the a/c setting to darken the etched mark.

One important part of the tutorial to double check that you have hooked up correctly is the way the bridge rectifier is connected to the transformer. Go back over the tutorial and make sure it is wired properly.

Bob Warner did a great job designing the etcher and Chris Crawford made a great tutorial out of that info.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to help you out, fire away :D


Brad
www.AndersonKnives.ca
 
Padrig said:
Well when I plug it in but the electrodes are already applied to the piece.

Pad
Click to expand...

Your only supposed to have the Ground on the piece not the positive, you only apply the pos + when you want to etch and then only for a couple of seconds. I have built several of these and have had no problem with them as of yet "knock on wood". are you using a stainless stamp or a carbon brush type pad?
 
Thanks guys for the info. I'll get fuses tomorrow and come back with my results. I may be trying to etch too much. I was trying on the AC setting also. :(

Pad
 
Thanks Mike, much appreciated. I did not have the time to get new fuses yet, hopefully Wednesday. I'll let you know what I find out.

Pad
 
I went over all the wires and everything seemed fine. I bought some fuses (1.5 amps instead of the recommended 1 amps I mean the transformer is rated 2 amps so I wonder why the recommended fuses are 1 amps) and it worked just fine. My problem was probably etching too much at the same time like was suggested.

Thanks all for your help.

Now off to find a place around here to have some vinyl stencils cut.

Pad
 
I hit my pad on DC for a thousand 1, thousand 2 thousand 3 ........thousand 5 then pick it up a few seconds then do the thousand 1-5 again. do it 10 times and get great depth etc on 12 volts. Then go to AC and do it another 10
 
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