DIY brass etching

[Lonsdaler]

Ah yes, the little known chemical compound ferret sulphate.
Etches metal, catches rabbits, quite reactive and pongs to high heaven.  Needs to be kept in ones trousers. Mined near Doncaster in Yorkshire I believe.

And so begins another sketch in Goon Manor...

[Big Jim]

Its all in the mind you know.....

Back to the topic slightly. Be careful how you dispose of any solution as it is used as a herbicide. Might be handy for killing off tree roots though.

[Peter Butler]

Might be handy for killing off tree roots though.

Save some for me next time we meet Jim.... I have that cut down stump to dispose of if you recall?

[MDLR]

Save some for me next time we meet Jim.... I have that cut down stump to dispose of if you recall?

You are aware that Real Creosote is good for that, too? Remember to cut a criss-cross pattern on the tree stump with a chain saw to help absorption..........

[Peter Butler]

Thank you Brian, I have already drilled loads of large diam. holes in the stump for that purpose but have nothing to fill them with. From other posts on the Forum I believe Jim might have Creosote too, so if you are reading this Jim, I'll be popping over soon!

[Big Jim]

I may have the odd drop kicking about somewhere.......

[tuppenced]

Be careful how you dispose of any solution as it is used as a herbicide.

Not sure what the "it" in this sentence is, but if it's just Sulphates, they are not herbicides.

- Ferrous Sulphate is used to kill moss without affecting grass.

- Copper Sulphate is used to kill fungi without affecting plants, and is also used as a source of essential traces of copper.

However excess copper IS detrimental to plant life, and once in the soil stays there long-term, so spent etch electrolyte could prove damaging and care is indeed needed when disposing of it.

On which point I have heard that copper roofing nails are good for killing stumps.

David

[GTB]

Not sure what the "it" in this sentence is, but if it's just Sulphates, they are not herbicides.

Sulphates aren't an issue (there's an appreciable amount in seawater) and gypsum (calcium sulphate) is commonly used as a soil conditioner.

The problem with disposing of used etching solutions is that copper salts in water are biocides. So is zinc, which will be present if etching brass, although it is a less powerful biocide.

Water authorities go troppo if they find someone is disposing of etching solutions into their sewers, or drains. The activated sludge in a sewage plant is very sensitive to copper salts.

Electrolytic etching has the advantage that the copper removed from the workpiece just ends up making the copper cathode thicker, so the electrolyte can be kept and re-used again. There's no need to dispose of it after use.

Graeme

[Alan P]

Thanks for the kind words.

I should like to add that this is very much a cheap and cheerful way of doing it.
You can use proper toner transfer sheets. However they cost a lot more than inkjet paper. OHP transparency film is supposed to work as well.
If you could still find it, Letraset rub down transfers would do as a mask.
If you were feeling really clever, just a sharpie pen will work.
But what ever you do the mask has to be dense.
If you read about brass etching the issue of undercut is often mentioned. I don't know if this will be a problem with this method and really for my purposes it doesn't matter anyway.
The biggest problem I had was getting the image right. I found that if I just saved it as a MS Publisher file the quality was not as good as a PDF file.

I think the plates should have been spaced a little further apart as cutting them out will be a nuisance.

The brass needs to be at least .030 thick, trials with thinner stuff did not work so well.

First up, i would like to thank Jim for posting this tutorial. I would never have even considered etching my own plates if i hadn't read this.

I've just successfully etched my first set of plates and would like to add a few notes to Jim's guide if i may.

I found to get the best transfer of toner to the brass, iron the paper until you can see the print showing through from the other side. This gained me a 100% transfer of toner to the brass.
I also used Ryman's own brand A4 150gsm Photo Gloss paper.

I found that i couldn't get 8oz of copper sulphate to fully disolve in a pint. I think about 6oz is the maximum.

I didn't cover the back of the etched plate and found that all the uncovered area (including the back) had been etched.

I used an identical bit of brass plate as the cathode and made a simple wooden jig to hold the 2 plates parallel to each other in the solution 2" apart. This appeared to work fine.

Anyway, here's a pic of my first effort.

[Annie]

Wow! They turned out well

[LnBmad]

This is a great thread! Thanks for posting it jim!

I it certainly something I will take a look at.

[Alan P]

Wow! They turned out well  :)

Thanks Annie, they're not too bad.

[Big Jim]

Alan, I doff my cap to you Sir!

They have turned out brilliant, well done.

The etch seems to have given it a good bite into the brass.

How long did they take?

Come on folks have a go and post your results and tips, the more the merrier!

One thing I should add is if you are planning to use a lead acid battery charger, make sure it is an old fashioned, non computer controlled one, not a 'smart charger' as they may supply the juice in a slightly different way and might protest and could get a bit confused and end up letting the magic smoke out.

(for those who don't know, all electrical infernal machines run on magic smoke. If this smoke happens to escape they will never work again!)

[Alan P]

Thanks Jim.

I left the plates in for 45 minutes as per your instructions, seems to be about right.

By far the most tricky bit of the whole process is ironing the transfer onto the brass. I just don't think the male of the species has a natural aptitude for it

If you have a bench power supply, needs to be able to supply at least 5 amps, then that will do in place of the battery charger.

[philipy]

Alan, I doff my cap to you Sir!

....Come on folks have a go and post your results and tips, ...

Attached is an example of some that I etched a couple of years back, using Ferric Chloride ( from Maplin).

It's a bit battered, having been trodden on a few times by clumsy 12":1ft feet that can't read, hence the flaking paint! It is soldered to a piece of brass BH rail as a post.

As for tips: give the back of the work piece a blast of any old rattle can paint. It will stop the etching process from wasting itself and speed up the etching of areas you do want removing.

[Big Jim]

Looks alright Philip,



What did you use for a mask?

[Big Jim]

Alan I quite agree with your comments about the use of an Iron.

What I would like to find is an old fashioned electric iron. The very heavy ones with no steam setting. Ours is very light weight and a trip to Currys to try and find a heavy one resulted in nothing.

I am going to try using a laminator machine next time to see I that will provide enough heat and pressure to transfer the toner. It might need a few passes though but would be less hassle than setting up the ironing board and risking being caught by the current Mrs Bigjim in a compromising position.

[philipy]

Jim,

I used a laser printer and printed it on to glossy magazine paper, then ironed it.
Essentially the same method as has been discussed.

The magazine paper idea came from some on-line articles that I read up on at the time. The point being that the glossy paper has a laquered finish, this prevents the laser toner from binding in to the  paper fibres, so that the iron can then melt the toner on to the brass and the paper washes away cleanly.


FWIW, I wrote an article for the old "Model Railways" magazine back in the mid 80's, about DIY etching. I actually etched a complete 4mm coach sides and ends again using Ferric Chloride. The masking for that was done with Humbrol paint in a bow pen, not something I'd recommend really!

[Alan P]

A let up in the weather allowed me to get the plates sprayed. I used etch prime before spraying the black on.

[Gralyn]

I bet that you are very pleasd with the outcome.