etching stencils revisited.... (again, and again)

[Doug Lester]

Brock, you're not cutting out the letters, you're cutting out around the stencils. The black ink serves as the resist or ground. The letters and other art work are where the ink is absent and the steel is exposed to the acid or other echant.

Doug Lester

[elginrunner]

OH HELLO!! I had to go back and re-read your post... I must have been having an ADD moment... Yes that does sound pretty simple. Does the book specify what type of transparency.. like for an overhead projector? I used to do artwork in the print shop I worked at as a teenager... alot of knife logos do remind me of a cap logo.... I may have to give this a whirl for sh*ts and giggles.... : )

[moa_shooter]

Originally Posted by Ray Rogers

The advice you've gotten so far is right on the money. But, since money is a sticking point for you I will mention that the $25 you are looking at spending for stencils that can be used with a typewriter is about half way to what you would need for stencils that work with UV light.

I know you said you don't want to work with UV light but here's the thing: the typed stencils won't last long at all and they give very poor quality marks compared to UV stencils. Typed stencils can only use alphanumeric characters in straight lines. UV stencils last much longer, give extremely sharp and well defined marks, and can reproduce any kind of simple are work - letters, curves, simple pictures. UV stencils will require a laser printer or an ink jet priter, some kind of drawing program like Photoshop, and a simple UV light source which I or many others can tell you how to build (mine cost about $8 to build with all new purchased parts).

If money is guiding your choice in this case I'd hate for you to find out later you've been penny wise and dollar foolish .......

Ray,

I have purchased some UV sensitive stencil material and some developer from IMG and would like to build a light box. Can you give me some advice on how to build one. What type of bulb is required and is there a special type of glass you are supposed to rest your stencil on?

I have found some posts in the archives that describe the whole process but the pictures are missing.

Thanks in advance,
Kevin Miller

[pipecrafter]

Here's an oldie!

I make my own stencils all the time without a light box - I use the Sun. Just a piece of G10, some borosilicateglass (important), and some pony clamps. 45 seconds of sun exposure is plenty enough to give a great stencil.

I clamp the pattern printed on transparency and the stencil amterial between the G10 and glass, expose, then develop the stencils in plain tap water. It doesn't get simpler or less expensive.

[lelserg]

Andy,

I am interested in your offer. I've sent you the e-mail.

--
Sergiy

[Shankmaker]

Originally Posted by lelserg

Andy,

I am interested in your offer. I've sent you the e-mail.

--
Sergiy

I was interested also. I didnt realize this thread is 2 years old . Andy told me he got rid of his stuff.

[Geno]

Bob Warner has a video with CCIV that explains simply, how to build your own stencil box to make your own stencils, voltage supply, and everything you need to mark blades, anodize, gold plate.....It is called "Electrolysis" of knifemaking.
Logos, dates, even inscriptions are now simple to make like a pro.
Excellent info inside with step by step instructions to do it yourself.
Brother Bob makes it simple

For more video information click on the orange banner under my signature line.Thanks.
God bless us all!
Geno

[george tichbour]

I got a batch of stencils today from ElectroChemEtch in California. They are an excellent product and I forsee long life under heavy use.

George

[lelserg]

Originally Posted by Shankmaker

I was interested also. I didnt realize this thread is 2 years old . Andy told me he got rid of his stuff.

That's funny. I saw the date of his post 04-09-2007 and have not noticed that it was not today - 04-09 of this year. What a coincidence.
Anyone ordered his stencils form Ernie or is there someone else offering the same service for reasonable price?

[Pete Parsons]

Ernie gets two thumbs up in my book. He is great to work with and his prices are very reasonable.

Here's a plug for ernie and his stencils..........

Ernie Grospitch
Custom Knifemaker, Sole Authorship
Quality, Pride, Craftsmanship
1-407-568-5438
erniesknives.com

[BDH1]

I need some help making the photo stencils for electro etching. I have tried making a stencil. After developing, I end up with a plain white stencil.... no sign of my pattern.
What I did:
I bought photographic stencil material from IMG (very nice people). I made a pattern and copied it to a transparency. I opened my stencil material in a dark closet with a yellow bug light. I placed the stencil with my transparency in a picture frame to hold everything still. I exposed the stencil to a white light... an "Ott-lite" that is supposed to be full spectrum. I exposed it for about 5 minutes.
I went back to the closet w/ the bug light and removed the stencil. I had a hard time getting the plastic off both sides of the stencil but finally did.... at least 5 frustrating minutes had elapsed. I developed the stencil in the developer diluted with 1/4 cup develper and 3/4 cup water warmed in the microwave. I developed the stencil (still in the yellow light) for 8+ minutes w/ constant agitation. The blue coating eventually desolved into the developer. At the end of the 8 minutes, I renised the stencil in warm water for about 1 minute and started air drying the stencil.
What I have is a white stencil with no evidence of my pattern. Any ideas of what I have done wrong. I used to work in a darkroom and have some feel for light sensitive photo paper but do not know if my results mean everything was over exposed to the light or if it means that it did not get enough light.
I did build Warner's electro etcher and it seems to work great! Just problem with my stencils.
Help appreciated.
Thanks,
BDH

[Ray Rogers]

Sounds like an exposure problem but it's difficult to be sure exactly what form that takes. Several possibilities that I see:

1. You said 'picture frame'. That's a cool idea but was the dark backing still in the frame? I'm not sure that would matter but all of the exposure units I have seen and the one I built consist of two pieces of glass with the stencil and film sandwiched between and the light can pass completely through it. Maybe that's important, maybe not, but having the stencil and the film pressed together between two pieces of glass is definitely important.

2. I don't know the 'Ott' bulb but if it's rated for 5200 K degrees (I think that's right for normal daylight) then it should be fine. If not, no go.

3. 5 minute exposure seems a little long (I use 2 minutes) if the bulb is about 2 inches from your glass plates. I develop in 4 minutes, you could be over doing it.

4. The plastic is supposed to be removed from the film before you make the exposure otherwise you can't know which side of the film has the emulsion on it. If everything else was perfect you might get an exposure with the film on but I wouldn't think it would be as good as without the film.

5. Bug light can expose the film too, it's just slower. My bug light is 20 feet from where I work with the film and it is partially blocked off so almost no light reaches me, just enough to barely see by. Try that.

6. The plain white result you get means that either the film was extremely over developed or extremely over exposed. Any chance the sheet you are cutting the film from ever saw daylight? From the moment the film comes out of the carton, through exposure, and until it is finished with the developer the whole process should be done in near darkness.

7. The logo itself needs to consist of lines that are fairly bold. Very fine print or fine lines can easily be burned out in the development process....

[george tichbour]

I have had a chance to use the ElectrochemEtch stencils, excellent results.

One problem that I did incur was a bubble in the middle of my maple leaf component of the logo...hydrogen developed during etching. I talked the problem over with Sy at ElectroChemEtch and he suggested taping the stencil down tight and wiping the electrode sideways across the stencil to squeegee the bubble out....worked just great.

I now get a strong black etch all over.

George

They also have a stencil kit for making your own, haven't looked into that yet though.

[BDH1]

Ray,
Thanks for all the good advice and insights. I will start working through your suggestions. I did get a stencil to work by exposing it to sun light. I have not etched with it so I don't know how good a job I did but the logo is there.
Thanks again for your help. I know as a "newbie" I really appreciate seeing your posts.... especially when they address my particular questions.
Thanks,
BDH

[calharkins]

I have a friend that has a sign company. I had her make some stencils. There were two problems with them. Problem one is that you can't make a very small stencil because the blades won't cut that small (according to my friend). The stencils stick real well to the blade, but when you try to remove them after the etching, they pretty well stretch out of shape. The small stencils are fairly cheap, or at least they were for me. I decided to let Ernie cut my stencils. They work real well and he was very helpful and service was very fast. I would do it again.