Stencil material, where to buy?

I would love to know of a wholesaler. The package of sheets last me about 2 years, but we use the material for a lot of things besides just logos(and charge for it). I make the stencils as small as I can and make a border for it out of black electrical tape. The tape helps hold the stencil in position too. I get several months out of a stencil. They last a lot longer if you don't use much power during the etch. You can burn one of the stencils up in just a few etches if you use too much power. They seem to last longer if you keep them in an envelope after use and cleaning. I don't know if the material deteriorates because of light or if they just dry out. I think maybe some of both. Spider cracks are a problem with this material too. I always check the etch on a piece of scrap before I use them on a finished blade. I have had to repolish one blade to many. I store the material in the black plastic sleeve and that in a can with a lid. It seems to keep pretty well.

I am not satisfied with the quality of the stencils I make and am still playing around with making them. The etch comes out great, I just don't get the life out of the stencil I think I should. The stencils that came with the machine I use are still rubbery feeling after 5 years. Mine will harden out and I don't know why.
 
Hi Bruce
I use IMG s material. It's blue with a film on both sides. The stencil washes out and is almost white if it comes out right. It is a fine screen.I expose for 2.5 minutes and develop as much as 7 min.
I use a sonic jewelry cleaner to develop in .
TJ
 
I have heard of people using sonic jewelry cleaners to clean the stencils in also. I have been meaning to give that a try. Any body have any ideas about what causes these stencils to harden and crack.
 
Bruce Bump said:
The material I have is very light blue before and dark blue after. It has mylar on both sides that need to be removed after exposure. The stuff gets spyder cracks very easy like its brittle. My MM stencils are plyable and work for years. I may not be getting the transparancy black enough either because I have trouble getting the letters cleaned out. The etch looks like it has dots.
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The stencil material I get from IMG has mylar that needs to be removed after developing also. Some of my stencils have developed spider cracks too, I'm not sure if its from over exposure or cooking it when marking a blade as was mentioned earlier. I would think both may be a contributing factor causing the spider cracks.

In regards to the transparency? I have my laser printer ink volume turned up all the way for the transparency and had the same issues Bruce..... letters and thin lines not cleaning out. I ended up creating 2 of the same transparency, matching them up and scotch taping them together for exposure. I also found that the light bulb I originally made my exposure box with, a spiral fluorescent light, would not evenly expose my stencil. I fixed that by picking up a straight tube bulb and I place my stencil right over the top of the tube. Using the double transparency and placing the stencil to be exposed right over the bulb tube for even exposure has simplified everything.
Prior to starting to make my own stencils I had some green ones made too, and yes, the material is much more durable. I would like to get my hands on some of the same also.

I really like the sonic jewelry cleaner idea Harry mentioned :thumbup: I'm picking one up for sure :)

It sounds like to me that we are all experiencing the same issues with the raw material. Where to get the green :confused: ;)
 
Hey Bruce

Will you share with us the etching fluid that you use? You said you are real happy with it. I just never got around to contacting you to get the description. I get inconsistent results with salt water. I also have the same problem with the spider web cracks in the stencil, I thought it was me or my etcher. I am anxious to find out a satisfactory material for shop made stencils. Keep us posted.

Thanks
Alden
 
KnifeWerks said:
The cheapo Harbor freight ultrasonic cleaners work great!
They go on sale often too.
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Thanks Brian. I'll be on the lookout at HF online. It will beat the heck out of agitating or swooshing by hand and probably be more thorough too. That is a great tip :thumbup:


Alden, I can't answer for Bruce of course but I've been getting pretty good results with IMG 110-A Electrolyte. I have about 5 other types that I'm experimenting with but so far the 110-A gives me a nice deep, black mark (DC > AC).
 
Alden Sherrodd said:
Hey Bruce

Will you share with us the etching fluid that you use? You said you are real happy with it. I just never got around to contacting you to get the description. I get inconsistent results with salt water. I also have the same problem with the spider web cracks in the stencil, I thought it was me or my etcher. I am anxious to find out a satisfactory material for shop made stencils. Keep us posted.

Thanks
Alden
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Hi Alden
I use MSC4 from Marking Methods. It does work on everything including pure nickel and stainless including all mixes of damascus.
 
David had a post above this one that said "The stencil material I get from IMG has mylar that needs to be removed after developing also." The mylar film has to be removed BEFORE developing or it won't work.
Light is the enemy of film, especially undeveloped as you should know. Developed film (stencils) should be stored in a dark place. Light (ultra violet) will harden the stencil and it will develop cracks over a period of time. Kept in the dark they last for years.
 
Plain ol Bill said:
David had a post above this one that said "The stencil material I get from IMG has mylar that needs to be removed after developing also." The mylar film has to be removed BEFORE developing or it won't work.
Light is the enemy of film, especially undeveloped as you should know. Developed film (stencils) should be stored in a dark place. Light (ultra violet) will harden the stencil and it will develop cracks over a period of time. Kept in the dark they last for years.
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I wonder if my stencil material is partially exposed from light seeping in the foil pouch. Maybe I just didnt have the lights in the room dim enough to open it to remove a peice. Maybe I need to build a dark room. Maybe I need to throw this thing out the window. grrr
 
Bruce
Thank you for that info.

Bill
How have you been? My stencils have cracked or at least allowed a random mark even with extreme care with light exposure before and during development. I also learned to store them in darkness with something on them to keep them from curling.

Thanks
Alden
 
Bruce you should store undeveloped film in its foil wrapper it was sent in -- plus put that wrapper in a tightly closed cardboard box that will not leak light or some other suitable DARK container. Turn off all lights in your shop or work room (and it needs to be DARK), THEN turn on your safe light so you can see what the heck you are doing. Now it is time to open the box and wrapper the film is in and use it. Do not turn any lights back on until the film is developed except the "safe light". IMG film use a yellow (bug light) bulb as a safe light and I have not had any problems using it.
Alden I have been fine bud. Just keeping on keeping on you know. Come visit.
 
Plain ol Bill said:
Bruce you should store undeveloped film in its foil wrapper it was sent in -- plus put that wrapper in a tightly closed cardboard box that will not leak light or some other suitable DARK container. Turn off all lights in your shop or work room (and it needs to be DARK), THEN turn on your safe light so you can see what the heck you are doing. Now it is time to open the box and wrapper the film is in and use it. Do not turn any lights back on until the film is developed except the "safe light". IMG film use a yellow (bug light) bulb as a safe light and I have not had any problems using it.
Alden I have been fine bud. Just keeping on keeping on you know. Come visit.
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Makes perfect sense. Where do you buy the stencil film sheets? They are pretty expensive at the two places I checked. The blue ones are about $6 each and the green ones are twice that much. I know Im cheap but I dont want to get reamed.
 
Sorry im late getting back to you, I havent been on line.Its McMaster-Carr not MSC. Its an 06 catalog page 1796. they have a pack of 10 2 X21/2 for 12.30 or 5 4x4 for 15.69 there # is404 346 7000 or WWW.McMaster.com.Hope this helps Wes
 
KnifeWerks said:
Those are the blue stencils sold by Martronics (etch-o-matic)
Current page is 1862 online @ www.mcmaster.com
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Thanks guys!
I ordered some although they are the same blue ones at least they come in a small size (2x2.5") so it should be cheaper this way. I must have let mine develop when I opened the pakage. More careful next time but if they dont work I still want the gold or green ones but at affordable prices.
 
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