Will this work for etching?

[mpcoppin]

I saw this on Amazon. For under $20 it goes up to 3 amps. Thoughts?

2W Power Supply Adjustable DC 3V ~ 24V Variable​

(please don't post links to sales sites - moderator)

 

[Crag the Brewer]

You need both dc and ac for output .

DC etches (deepens), and AC blackens the relief

 

[mpcoppin]

You need both dc and ac for output .

DC etches (deepens), and AC blackens the relief

Ideally, yes. But there are tons of people using DC only to etch and a chemical blue to mark because they don’t want to dump the $$$ for an AC/DC.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

I've seen people using a couple of 9v batteries in series too, that's still even less

 

[JV Knives]

I guarantee it will do something ! Getting it to do what you want will be the trick.

 

[Hengelo_77]

If you are on a budget, try an old phone charger

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

There are many plans in the forums and online to build one with AD and DC for around $30.

 

[D Bloch]

This type of old battery charger works very well for me since I only etch with DC, plus you can get them very cheaply, often free

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

A few wires and a switch or two and that can be made to be AC/DC.

 

[Taz]

Model Train controllers can be used, too! They often have AC Outputs (for lights and whistles and stuff on trains) as well as the DC speed controller! You can find them fairly inexpensively on Ebay and stuff.

I picked up a used AC/DC Benchtop power supply on Ebay a couple years ago:

Brass screw, wood dowel section, Graphite block, some washers, felt and alligator clips and it works great to etch!