Shop built etchers are pretty much the same thing as the ones they're selling, at least in my opinion.
Actually, some of the plans for building etchers are twice as strong as the professional model I bought! I know that having it (I think) 24 volt can be too much, but mine, I believe is a 12v, its just not as strong as I'd prefer, and there are other things the stronger etcher can do as well! Other than a makers mark that is! That mine would have a lot of trouble doing, if it can do it, at all.
If I had to do it over again, I'd go with Bob Warner's plans , awesome guy with an incredible mind...., in the 'smarts' dept., anyway! I'd have a stronger etcher, and a lot more money left in my pocket! And if I wanted, I could probably have a annodizer too!
Most of the plans out there for sale give a detailed list of what to buy and where to buy them, with parts numbers and the costs of each item , I know there are some plans that are free as well, but I don't know much about them or if they have kept their price lists up to date,etc.
I think I would add that to apply to everything, like Ken H. said, if you have the cash to buy whatever you want, I'm asumming within reason, if you bought a DECENT Mill, (look at the Little Machine Shop's) Hi-Torque Mill as well as their Hi-Torque Lathe, if you work on your abilities to run those two pieces of equipment, you will not only have an endless supply of your own manufactured blades, you could build MOST of the machines you needed to boot! That is the approach I wish I could have understood when I first started thinking about making knives!
Machinist in my opinion, go into knifemaking with more understanding of Metalurgy, of the mechanics of how to make things "square", there is so much they have a huge head start on that people like me did NOT benefit from! People like me are driven more by passion, by some freaky URGE(!) that made me WANT to, MADE ME NEED TO, make knives, I didn't want to make anything else when I started, until I had a little ( meaning a lot) of help from one of our resident Mastersmiths, Ed Caffrey! He helped me build my first forge, and he really opened my eyes that I CAN DO IT!! Something as simple as a forge, gave me the confidence to try to build other things, I've since built a 2nd forge, and several other things that would have costed me hundreds of dollars, if not thousands! It was just that little boost in the confidence in myself to be able to do it, was all I really needed, now I want a Mill, a Lathe, a Press, and several other things, the press I plan on building myself, once I get my funds in better order, to start the commitment! I don't think I'll need a mill to build the press, but I'm sure I will to make the Dies.
There are as many approaches to getting into knife making as there are to making knives! I'm not sure why your being defensive about your skil level, but do know if you have NEVER used a 2 X 72 grinder running a couple thousand RPM's, then you will learn the hardest way possible that the learning curb to making knives, is SHARP! The only reason anyone would ask about your skills, would be to better answer your questions, the same questions all of us have already asked, and answered! Some did it the hard way(me!). Some eased their way into it, maybe started off learning to forge their knives to shape first, then progressing into a grinder after they learned how to Draw file first. Like I said there are a lot of different ways to make knives, none are wrong as long as the end result is what the original goal was for.
BUT, PLEASE UNDERSTAND, as a group Knife Makers are solid gold!!! They are the most giving of themselves, their knowledge, and I think their most precious commodity, their patience! Please try to understand that when someone comes asking for that knowledge, no matter what that may be, that being defensive is the wrong approach, when the original intent is to help you no matter what you may want to know.
One more thing that might be a big help, is by using the SEARCH feature, in each section there is a SEARCH button , you will more than likely find your question asked already. Hope this helps, Rex