lazer/engraver to make stencils?

The paint gets burned ONTO the metal, not into.
It will scrape off.
 
Bill, that's the way of doing it without electroetching. Scott says:
scott kozub said:
Paint some black nail polish on the blade. Laser your logo on the nail polish to burn away the logo. Wipe off with alcohol then etch.
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That's what I'm talking about with electroetching. My question was asking how well the black nail polish would burn away leaving clean metal to etch.
Scott: does the nail polish sorta form ash type residual that is washed away with alcohol, while the alcohol leaves rest of nail polish intact to form the stencil? "IF" that's how it works, but would be really neat. I saw the pin you showed on IG and that was impressive with the fine detail achieved. Any idea of the wattage of your laser? Perhaps an Amazon link to your laser?
 
You are confused. I'm talking about the paint that you use to mark metal with a CO2 laser. The laser burns this special paint ON the steel.
You may be able to burn other kinds of paint off the steel for etching.
 
Nope, not confused. I know the type you're talking about and have looked at that before but wasn't very interested in that. It just burns some paint to the surface. The process I'm interested is what Scott is talking about where the image is etched in using electroetching same as with stencils.
 
time will tell Im getting the 10 watt not just for knife making but for other projects . looks like it will be a while before i get the laser . Its now coming from china , not stocked in USA like website says lol
 
Ken H> said:
Drew, you've responded with exactly what I thought that it required the "paint" that gets discolored and "burnt" into the metal to give the final image. Atomstack site kept talking about the tiny .06mm (<.001") spot and how much better the cutting/burning was. For the use of making stencil it seems like the 10 watt laser doesn't really offer much advantage over the 5 watt laser?

In post #9 an ""80 watt" was asked about - that's the power drawn by the power supply, NOT the power of the laser. The laser is more like 10 watts..... maybe. All depending on the efficiency of the system. The 50 and 60 watt lasers are spec'd as a 10 watt laser.
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Yeah, the wattage is another favored method of misleading advertising.

As for 5w vs 10w for burning nail polish or other coatings to etch with, I think you're right; there's probably not an appreciable difference.
 
my laser is a 3 watt laser. More than good enough to burn nail polish and burn deep into wood. You can cut very thin material but that's it.
 
Thanks for the info, I sorta suspected that. I just might look for a low wattage (cheap:) laser just for etching custom patterns on blades.
 
So laser will arrive on Jan 11th if the container does not fall into the sea lol That gives me time to set up a table for it. Or I'll procrastinate and do nothing till then . Most likely option #2
 
Thanks for the update - once you get it we all expect a full report and a WIP on burning a "stencil" into a blade, then etching.
 
The laser arrived from China on Jan 8th , so pretty impressed with speed of delivery. There is a steep learning curve to get it up to speed . Not much documentation . Set up was easy took about 1/2 an hour to assemble and I am going to have to get an exhaust system going .
This weekend I should have something to post.
 
ok a quick update
Finally got a quick enclosure made(cardboard) and ran a quick test, material was precision ground 01 tool steel not hardened. Just want to see the resolution I can get from the laser.
this is using black nail polish as a mask material .The laser burns off the part that you want to etch
Laser is Atomstack x7 pro
Best results were 100mm/ min (4inches per min) and 85 % power
even at this speed my table was shaking a little have to fix that up.
Pic shows the 100mm/min one and faster speeds are to the right
www.amazon.ca

test2.jpg

www.amazon.ca www.amazon.ca
this one is same with tape for reference
www.amazon.ca

test1.jpg

www.amazon.ca www.amazon.ca

I plan to do some test making actual stencils with different materials . If anyone has suggestions? please share
 
That looks pretty good - I'm assuming the etch should turn out good?

Is the desire to make stencils so you don't have to use the laser each time? I would think cutout stencils wouldn't be as good as developed stencils due to any "islands" need to make letters, etc look good. Burning the paint on blade to make stencil wouldn't have this problem.

Thanks again for keeping us updated on how well the laser works - and it looks pretty good. Looking forward to seeing the etched design.
 
Ken H> said:
That looks pretty good - I'm assuming the etch should turn out good?

Is the desire to make stencils so you don't have to use the laser each time? I would think cutout stencils wouldn't be as good as developed stencils due to any "islands" need to make letters, etc look good. Burning the paint on blade to make stencil wouldn't have this problem.

Thanks again for keeping us updated on how well the laser works - and it looks pretty good. Looking forward to seeing the etched design.
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This week I will try this with nail polish and laser, looks like a great solution, at least for me . I do that once with nail polish and letters scratched by hand. I got what I scratched
FOxFRWp.jpg

3kJAWEa.jpg
 
Ken H> said:
That looks pretty good - I'm assuming the etch should turn out good?

Is the desire to make stencils so you don't have to use the laser each time? I would think cutout stencils wouldn't be as good as developed stencils due to any "islands" need to make letters, etc look good. Burning the paint on blade to make stencil wouldn't have this problem.

Thanks again for keeping us updated on how well the laser works - and it looks pretty good. Looking forward to seeing the etched design.
Click to expand...
If I can make reusable stencils even better . The advantage of using the laser is that your stencil can be different every time. You can put your makers mark and if you want a different serial number on each blade The type of material can be different each time . like 440c etc etc. It just seems to open things up a bit for more designs
 
Ken H> said:
Nope, not confused. I know the type you're talking about and have looked at that before but wasn't very interested in that. It just burns some paint to the surface. The process I'm interested is what Scott is talking about where the image is etched in using electroetching same as with stencils.
Click to expand...
I have had some great results using Rust-oleum 2x paint. I put 2 coats on the area of the blade where I want my image. Obviously, this is done after hand sanding and before the scales on epoxied. Then use the laser to burn in the image (just removes the paint). Finally electroetch the image in.

I am using the Ortur Laser Master 20w. In doing some research after I got the laser, the 15w would do finer detail that 20w.

I tried nail polish. It really smelled when burning the image. Plus I think in the end, it is more expensive than using the rattle cans.
 

I posted this video i found in another thread but for those wondering this should explain it.

To answer a question above once the logo is burnt into the nail polish a bit of residue is left. I give it a quick wipe with alcohol which doesn't touch the nail polish. After 1 or two taps with on DC I'll wipe again afterwhich the logo will be clean and bright. Acetone takes all the nail polish away.

My DIY etcher runs off a doorbell transformer. I have it currently set on 16v. I have to do quick taps. If I hold too long, too much heat is generated and the nail polish can lift and stick to my felt etcher. On 12v I never had an issue.
 
Since you can be so precise I have even etched handle pins. This customer wanted a maple leaf with veins in the pin. Obviously I had to etch it after the handle was mounted. The center pin is a 1/4" pin.

Screenshot_20220119-201427_Chrome.jpg
 
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