Stencil help

Keith Willis

Keith Willis

Well-Known Member
I am hoping someone can tell me what I am doing wrong.After I received my stencils from Ernie G,I had a few blades that I wanted to mark.My first attempt was on a piece of scrap,and besides being a little deep it looked good.My second attempt was on a blade and it had one small void that I could not get to etch.On my third attempt,all I could get was just a really light mark,no matter how long I left it on.I even sanded it out 3 times,and got the same light mark.This is the first stencils I have ever used,and I know it is something I am doing wrong,just someone can help me figure out what it is.

Thanks for any help.

God bless,Keith
 
What are you using for an etcher and etching solution?

Was you etch pad close to being the same wetness everytime?

Were you holding the pad down for the same amounts of time on all three tries?

All these things can be variables in a good etch.
 
sounds like an AC etch hook up the second wire or get one for DC current. then it will etch deeper and make it black . kellyw
 
OK i'm back on my computer.
Ernie....I am using a PC power supply,and saltwater solution
The pad should have been about the same wetness,not sure though
I was trying to hold it down about the same.

IG....I thought of that one,but no I did not clean between first and second etch.

Boss....PC power supply

Kelly....It's DC current,or at least I think it is.It's showing about 8 DC volts.

Thanks for the help

God bless,Keith
 
if you are using an old power supply on DC and not getting a mark, reverse the leads.
the amount of salt in your solution will help (or hurt) sometimes.
DC removes metal, AC deposits black marks.
 
Thanks Boss,I will check that on the next one.

Anyone else here use saltwater,with their etcher? If so I was wondering how much salt to water do you mix.Does it matter the type of salt?
I may need to ask this on another post.

God bless,Keith
 
I use salt water!
I never measured out the salt but it was 1 or 2 tablespoons with about 1 cup of water. I just used table salt.

I have a homemade etcher that I built using these plans
http://chriscrawfordknives.com/#/electro-etching-unit/4535265119


This is how my etch turned out
047.jpg
 
A PC power supply is DC. It should output either 5 or 7-8 volts depending on which leads you use. Most devices require 12v to operate, so they'll use both sets out of the 4 pin molex connectors. Just be careful using them... I wouldn't recommend opening them up. There are some pretty serious capacitors in there that store quite a bit of juice.
 
Thanks Ernie,I'll try one of those and see.

Thanks Mark.So I need to hook them together to get the voltage up?

God bless,Keith
 
Honestly, I'm not even sure it's a good idea to use a PC power supply for this. I was pretty much just confirming your suspicion that they are DC. Now, I'm no electrical engineer, I work in IT and got my start many moons ago working on the hardware side of things. Yours should have a sticker on it that show the output ratings for each lead. Do you have a picture of your setup?

My biggest concern is that the amperage may be on the dangerous side of things. I know back in the mid '90s before system boards had soft power, we had to wire up case switches directly to the PSU. I got some pretty good jolts (enough to lock the muscles in my hand) when I was careless and forgot to unplug them. I honestly can't remember if that was from the AC input lead though. Another thing to mention is that PC PSUs are pretty picky about over/under voltage. You may short it out pretty easily. I've also seen instances where the fuses were just about the last thing to go, and that can be VERY dangerous.

Have you thought about using an old DC transformer? I would think these would be safer, and probably a little more reliable.

I might be entirely wrong about this... I would welcome some more input.
 
Thanks for your input Mark.I have used this same power supply for a year and a half with good results.
This is the first time I have used a stencil,so I figured it may be something I am doing wrong.I am going to try what you and others have said.I am sure it is just something small that I need to work out.

Thanks again for all input.

God bless,Keith
 
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