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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 02-22-2015, 09:52 AM
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Hunter10139 Hunter10139 is offline
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Having trouble with etching.......

Hey guys,

So I just got a chance to try out my stencils and my new etch o matic. I took a section of steel mounted the stencil with tape, and saturated the etch o matic pad with electrolyte. I clipped onto the piece of steel and pressed the pad down onto the stencil, presto nothing happened.

Has anyone else had this trouble?


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Old 02-22-2015, 10:44 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Did you plug in the Etch-O-Matic? Just kidding. Either the etcher isn't working or your stencil isn't well made and maybe the electrolyte isn't good.

So, put a volt meter across the alligator clip and one of the screws that secures the metal grill and see if you get a reading.

Where did you get your stencil?

What are you using for electrolyte?

How long did you apply the pad?


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Old 02-22-2015, 10:57 AM
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Just to add .......
when I use a stencil (not very often) I don't saturate the pad but just a few drops is plenty for the general area , hopefully you get yours resolved


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Old 02-22-2015, 10:03 PM
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Hunter10139 Hunter10139 is offline
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Etch o matic is working, I tested it without a stencil and it worked fine. I'm using the electrolyte provided by etch o matic. I applied the pad for about 6-8 seconds each.

I ordered my stencils from ernie. It just doesn't seem to etch through the stencil.


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Old 02-24-2015, 10:57 PM
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Hey so am I missing something about ernies stencils? Am I supposed to peel something off them? I really don't know what's going on. When I touch the etching pad straight to the steel it starts to etch. However, when I put the stencil on there it's like it completely protects the steel.


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Old 02-25-2015, 08:39 AM
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QUOTE: I applied the pad for about 6-8 seconds each.

By 'each' I assume you mean for the AC and the DC cycles. That's not enough. Start with the DC cycle (alligator clip in place) and etch 3 seconds on the steel and 2 seconds off, repeat 5 times for a total of 25 seconds. Remove the alligator clip and repeat the whole process.

There shouldn't be anything to peel off the stencil but those blue stencils can be a little resistant. You might try washing it under running water, gently rubbing the artwork area. When clean you should be able to see bright light through the artwork. If the light looks heavily diffused then the stencil isn't clean or it isn't made well enough and that's unlikely with Ernie's labels ...


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Old 03-01-2015, 07:14 PM
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Just a thought. If there is any oil on the steel it will not etch. I have an Etch-O-Matic and love it. It does seem to take a little while to etch. I usually run mine 15 on 5 off. for a total of 45 sec on time. Clean with windex and polish the etch with 800 grit. It will etch hardened steel much better than annealed .


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