etcher problem

Holland Bramlitt

Well-Known Member
I just built an etcher from chris crawfords website and tried it out today but it doesn't remove metal and doesn't mark very good. It is filling my stencil up with a black residue. Should I try a different etching solution or could it be something else? Any help will be much appreciated.
 
Can't help much but DC will do that . I etch with ac to get the depth then switch to dc to make it black.
 
Can't help much but DC will do that . I etch with ac to get the depth then switch to dc to make it black.
Bass Ackwards.

DC Etches, AC Blackens...

Did you tape off the spare wire on the transformer, or ground it like the Crawford instructions state?
Do NOT ground it, tape it off.
Are you running 12v or 24v?
12v is better than 24v, 16v is better than both, but requires a doorbell transformer instead of the radio shack transformer.

Do you have the leads connected properly?
I don't care about colors, the Crawford plan has screwy colors.
Positive is the Blade, negative is the electrode.

What are you using for electrolyte?

Salt water works, sort of, but proper electrolyte is inexpensive and orders of magnitude better.

Same thing, better schematic found here.
http://www.knives.mlogiudice.com/knifeshop/etcher/
 
Last edited:
I did it just like he said on his tutorial. I wired the on off on switch wrong then when I figured it out I wired it up right. when I checked it with a voltage meter ac was 24 volts but the dc read negative 24 volts so I swap the leads on the meter and it read 24 volts. I tried it and it etched down a little but I think I have the wrong king of etchant fluid. Going to order some for carbon and some for stainless from boss and try it. It also ruined my stencil with like brownish smut on dc and on the blade was brownish but it wiped off when I cleaned it.
 
Table Salt will work!
There was a time when I used it for about three months before I order more etchant.

On Carbon & Stainless steels. Some guys add some Vinegar instead of water.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
Back
Top