Marking Parts By Electro-Etching

[randyc]

That is about as slick as glass!!! I have a need to etch a few items and that would work perfectly for what II need done. Right on time with a great idea!!

Bob

No, the large sheet of letters is transparent so the entire sheet is positioned so the desired letter is in the desired location. The letter is then rubbed with a ball point pen, dull pencil or whatever (I used a nut-pick) to transfer it to the work. You have to be a little careful holding the transparency to prevent undesired letters from sticking to the work in odd places.

After all letters are applied, another sheet of coated paper (comes with the letter set) is placed over the letters and they are burnished to assist in adhering. Follow the instructions in the original post above and Bob's yer uncle !

 

[randyc]

Oops, I replied to the wrong person. I was answering the following:

"so do you cut around each letter exactly and apply it? got any pics of the how the letters look when you are putting them on?"

 

[davidh]

i thought i asked. . . with the letters rubbed onto the metal, and after applying shellac to the whole surface and letting it dry, did you carefully remove just the rub on letters, prior to putting the hammer in the solution so the letters would be raw steel for the etch to attach or am i missing something completely here ?
on a side note, we used those letters to pretty up our mechanical drawings back in the 60's

 

[randyc]

i thought i asked. . . with the letters rubbed onto the metal, and after applying shellac to the whole surface and letting it dry, did you carefully remove just the rub on letters, prior to putting the hammer in the solution so the letters would be raw steel for the etch to attach or am i missing something completely here ?
on a side note, we used those letters to pretty up our mechanical drawings back in the 60's

Yes, you're missing something

What you suggest would work if one desired etched undercut letters but I wanted raised letters so the background material is not masked - only the letters. Shellac is applied to the rest of the part but not to the immediate background area where the letters are positioned.

I used the transfer letters back in the sixties too but a Leroy set was faster for most work.

 

[Cb750r]

Wow I remember those letters from my youth, my Grandad was an architect and must have brought some of those sheets for me to play with! Cool project you have on your hands!

 

[davidh]

Yes, you're missing something

What you suggest would work if one desired etched undercut letters but I wanted raised letters so the background material is not masked - only the letters. Shellac is applied to the rest of the part but not to the immediate background area where the letters are positioned.

I used the transfer letters back in the sixties too but a Leroy set was faster for most work.

your age is also showing. . . ok, makes sense what your saying. my thought was you were adding a material to the steel similar to brass and chrome plating. . . . thanks for the clarity. my age is showing too. . .

 

[randyc]

your age is also showing. . . ....my age is showing too. . .

We're old warriors and don't need to be stripped, sanded and repainted. The external wear marks are badges of honor, right ?

randyc
2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division
B Troop, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division