Acid Etching Brass Plaques

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  • čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
  • In this episode of the adventures of Switch & Lever we're making custom brass plaques, using reasonably simple tools, and some basic chemistry. Enjoy!
    Also, huge thanks to Chris from Clickspring for the borrowing of his voice! If you haven't already, and I can't imagine how you could've missed it, check out his channel by clicking the link below:
    / clickspring
    Follow and like Switch & Lever on:
    Facebook: / switchandlever
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    Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?...
    And check out the Switch & Lever online store at:
    www.switchandlever.com/store/
    -------------------------------------
    Music:
    Nicolai Heidlas - Sunrise
    CC By 4.0
    Nicolai Heidlas - With You
    CC By 4.0
    Josh Woodward - Crazy Glue
    CC By 4.0
    -----------
    Random public domain videos from archive.org
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Komentáře • 387

  • @JoeGatling
    @JoeGatling Před 5 lety +84

    Great video! I particularly like how you included information about how to responsibly dispose of your waste materials.

  • @Mylitla
    @Mylitla Před 6 lety +16

    I've had good luck with the laser toner method but even better success using vinyl stencils cut on a Silhouette or Circut machine. Also, the ideal place to do your etching is on top of a running clothes dryer. It's nicely warm, and the vibration helps keep the etchant aggitated.

  • @BenRyherd
    @BenRyherd Před 5 lety +25

    I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you going over proper disposal methods. Great Video! I'm going to have to get some Brass stock from the local home center now.

  • @0nlyfranz
    @0nlyfranz Před 6 lety +99

    Haha, loved that Clickspring joke :D

    • @leprud
      @leprud Před 6 lety +3

      Oh yeah! Was surprised a lot! :)

    • @Figulus
      @Figulus Před 6 lety

      Just BRILLIANT!

    • @thomas6244
      @thomas6244 Před 6 lety +1

      That made me laugh so hard :D

    • @markpaas
      @markpaas Před 6 lety +1

      Brilliant, great humor! Chris is the boss!

  • @BlackBeardProjects
    @BlackBeardProjects Před 6 lety +9

    Great video as always man. Awesome results too! Well done :)

  • @GregsGarage
    @GregsGarage Před 6 lety +94

    Chris from Clickspring!!!! Awesome video

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +6

      He is an officer and a gentleman! Cheers Greg, appreciate it!

    • @qhack
      @qhack Před 6 lety +4

      Chris is a brass working god.

  • @robertqueberg4612
    @robertqueberg4612 Před 5 lety +4

    That, my man, is a very thorough and professional presentation. You answered questions that I didn’t know enough to ask. This one is going into storage.

  • @sefolug-softwareinnovation6202

    Thanks for that really well structured video. I was super happy to see you treating waste disposal seriously!

  • @ozsebszogeczki5543
    @ozsebszogeczki5543 Před 5 lety +2

    Finally someone described well the method to use only home tools. Thanks!

  • @tomsdreamshopworx
    @tomsdreamshopworx Před 6 lety

    So cool to see another video of yours. Always fun and interesting! About woke up the rest of the family laughing out loud at the Clickspring line.

  • @firebird8600
    @firebird8600 Před 6 lety +5

    That's so neat! I want to put brass plaques on everything!

  • @nortok00
    @nortok00 Před 5 lety +3

    Another great video!! Very detailed in the various methods of applying a resist along with what did and didn't work! The extra effort you put into this saves the rest of us having to go through the same experimentation. I also like your methods of finishing off the projects. As others have commented I REALLY appreciate that you went into how to properly dispose of the solution so as not to pollute the water! I find a lot of DIY videos that use toxic solutions of all kinds don't discuss this and I'm absolutely mortified to see what people pour down the sink which means we're all potentially drinking it not to mention contaminating the environment! Kudos and bravo to you!

  • @Chris-ox7qx
    @Chris-ox7qx Před 6 lety +4

    Excellent video! The Chris cameo was unexpected and funny (This Old Tony style). I love it!

  • @feynthefallen
    @feynthefallen Před 6 lety

    Awesome tutorial! Gotta try it some time soon. Good to see you being environmentally concious!

  • @CodeFoxAus
    @CodeFoxAus Před 3 lety

    The tip on using the foam to float the plates is brilliant! Thank you.

  • @ursaarcadius1
    @ursaarcadius1 Před 6 lety +1

    Thank you for being so thorough and addressing environmental concerns. Excellent video!

  • @mriggsdesign
    @mriggsdesign Před 6 lety +1

    Thank you for sharing this video. I can’t wait to give this a try!

  • @Bubblestheghost
    @Bubblestheghost Před 2 lety

    I’m obsessed with this. You’re amazing.

  • @MaltandMake
    @MaltandMake Před 6 lety

    So glad you're back with a new video... going to have to give this one a try! Looking forward to what you bring in 2018.

  • @Lemongrasspicker
    @Lemongrasspicker Před 6 lety

    Pretty cool stuff! Enjoyed watching this project

  • @klayjones724
    @klayjones724 Před 3 lety

    Great video. Perfect level of detail. Thank you so much. I've had my laser for 8 years and thought a CNC mill was my only solution for working metal. This opened all new doors

  • @christophersimmins3181
    @christophersimmins3181 Před 6 lety +1

    Most excellent 'real' descriptions ...and a humorous intro

  • @brucewilliams6292
    @brucewilliams6292 Před 5 lety +1

    I also love the fact that you showed how to dispose of the material afterward.

  • @SebastiaanMollema
    @SebastiaanMollema Před 6 lety

    Great video! Very well made! As a tutorial it is very complete as well!

  • @nigelhowell3674
    @nigelhowell3674 Před 3 lety

    Was searching for a commercial option to produce a name plate. Couldn't find a thing, then I stumbled across your video. Brilliant, bought materials and followed the laser printer method. It's worked better than I could dream of! Thank you :)

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 3 lety

      Well if you only need to make one there's hardly a place you can find which will make it and make it worth the cost. For serial production though, making lots of them, you can probably find a lot of producers willing to make it for a price point that makes sense per plate.

  • @brucewilliams6292
    @brucewilliams6292 Před 5 lety

    Excellent video! Thank you. The foam idea is neat.

  • @Match2100
    @Match2100 Před 6 lety

    Excellent video! Clear and to the point!

  • @georgemoua
    @georgemoua Před 2 lety

    Great tutorial. I appreciate the discussion on how to dispose of hazardous waste properly.

  • @Xellurat
    @Xellurat Před 6 lety

    Your animations are getting better every video. Great project btw

  • @josuelservin2409
    @josuelservin2409 Před 6 lety +17

    Wonderful and useful, and thanks for that clicksping cameo, it certainly made my day 😂

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +2

      Haha! Thank Chris, he made it all possible 😀

  • @evilutionltd
    @evilutionltd Před 5 lety +2

    A 4th option that I used was to cut the design on a vinyl cutter, stick it to the metal and etch. Same way I did a few PCBs too.

    • @ryanbarker5217
      @ryanbarker5217 Před 5 lety

      i was wondering if that would work. the ex kept our trophy/plaque shop and she does tons of vinyl, mostly for shirts, but can do other materials, too. we could use an oxidizing solution on brass plates that would turn the engraved parts black very quickly.

  • @Geckomayhem
    @Geckomayhem Před 5 lety +4

    I like how you can do this with just a laser printer, ferric chloride, enamel paint, and sandpaper. Very DIY!

  • @BruceAUlrich
    @BruceAUlrich Před 6 lety

    Really interesting process. Thanks for teaching me some things.

  • @issammoumeni4620
    @issammoumeni4620 Před 2 lety

    Believe me, the best and most beautiful video I've seen, I benefited a lot from it, thank you

  • @johndilsaver8409
    @johndilsaver8409 Před 5 lety

    Excellent video, thanks for posting!

  • @tinygreenleaf
    @tinygreenleaf Před 2 lety

    Thank you for this! Super helpful and just what I needed, thank you for providing a method I can easily diy.

  • @ianSapo
    @ianSapo Před 4 lety +3

    Best anime crossover : Switch & Lever and Clickspring

  • @SmokyFrosty
    @SmokyFrosty Před 6 lety

    Thanks for showing how to discard of the leftovers properly. Great video

  • @v3gp45ty4
    @v3gp45ty4 Před 6 lety +1

    This is an excellent tutorial, Thank you.

  • @Bravo-ry9st
    @Bravo-ry9st Před 5 lety

    Best tutorial video I have ever seen!!!

  • @GetHandsDirty
    @GetHandsDirty Před 6 lety +3

    Love it! I want to try this out :D

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +1

      Do it! You make amazing stuff already I'd love to see what you make with this!

  • @TheRecreationalMachinist

    Like that. Thanks for sharing! 🇬🇧

  • @PhunnyConflicts
    @PhunnyConflicts Před 3 lety

    This guy really produce too notch quality videos!!!

  • @pjhalchemy
    @pjhalchemy Před 6 lety

    Thanks Daniel! That Craftsman DP badge gave me an idea using your technique to restore the number plate for my 1950 King Seeley that I messed up during cleanup...the trick is matching the original font. Great that you gave a fun shout out to Chris. An amazing man...like you!

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +1

      How bad is it messed up? Maybe you can take a good quality photo of it and trace what you can't match through fonts? There are also good services like WhatTheFont and Identifont that can help you identify fonts, but oftentimes for these old vintage stuff the fonts were simply not standardized how they are now, and many of those old fonts may never even have been digitized.

    • @pjhalchemy
      @pjhalchemy Před 6 lety

      Very. I used a 10:1 cleaner solution (10 H2O) in my ultrasonic to remove a decade worth of being in a horse stall on the ground. It was fine until I pulled it out and touched it...all the enamel came off but the Stamped numbers are fine. Luckily I got it's sister Band Saw with it which is pristine (well covered) and its plate is identical & pristine. The originals are .050 AL but for all the time and energy I've put into restoring it been kicking around a brass one with the OEM detail and numbers that I can put a nice Restored by and date for whom ever gets it next...likely my son. They don't build them like these anymore and hopefully never sees a horse stall again.
      Your etching gave me the idea to hi res scan the one from the Band Saw and the stamped numbers from the dead one (again archaic font) and trace them if necessary in AI or ACAD to get it as original as possible. Thanks much for the Font links, I'll check them out and if none match, on to the tedious tracing. Thanks again! Always enjoy your work and videos!

  • @kjellski
    @kjellski Před 3 lety

    Fantastic video man! I guess I'm a bit late to the party, but it's still great - thanks for the tips on properly discarding the leftovers as well!

  • @fynbo1007
    @fynbo1007 Před 6 lety +1

    Thank you for sharing your amazing video.

  • @r1w3d
    @r1w3d Před 6 lety +2

    I loved the brief commentary of clickspring 👌I love both of your channels.

  • @recurveninja
    @recurveninja Před 7 měsíci

    Using the closed-cell foam as a float is very clever. Another thing that will speed up etching is agitation - either mechanically (stirring or tilting) or with an aquarium bubbler. Parts that sit still etch slower because the etchant in contact with a given surface becomes saturated and thus etches slower, so you want to give it a swish to make sure that "stale" etchant is getting replaced frequently.
    Another option for exposing photoresist, used by some who make PCBs, is to use a dry-film photoresist that gets ironed or laminated on, and then exposing it with an MSLA 3d resin printer.

  • @RedSmith
    @RedSmith Před 6 lety +13

    Guess what I'm working on...?😊 Great tutorial and cool result. Well done Sir!

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +1

      Hahaha! Shoooooow meeee!!! 😄

    • @RedSmith
      @RedSmith Před 6 lety +1

      Switch & Lever Sunday of everything goes well 😊

  • @danthemakerman
    @danthemakerman Před 6 lety

    Fantastic video! I'm going to have to try this using my vinyl cutter.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +1

      Hmm, interesting! I'm sure it would work, but I wonder how fine details you could get with it.

  • @mog-gyveroneill2500
    @mog-gyveroneill2500 Před 5 lety +4

    ...me from the beach in Weston-super-Mare, England (much too cold!) !! Lol! I only own an ink jet printer, but a shed load of Sharpies, so will try this, everything will have brass labels!!

  • @RRINTHESHOP
    @RRINTHESHOP Před 6 lety

    Thank you for the review of the process, I have several projects i plan on doing this with.

  • @smartrajful
    @smartrajful Před 4 lety

    simple and straightforward.. .. great video thank u.. .

  • @LukePettit3dArtist
    @LukePettit3dArtist Před 6 lety

    You get a sub for having Chris and joking around.

  • @yourunclesam6780
    @yourunclesam6780 Před 3 lety

    Awesome result.I di it!.Thanks

  • @lisag2771
    @lisag2771 Před 5 lety

    I love your humor as much as you videos.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 5 lety +1

      Thank you Lisa! Comments like yours warms my heart and makes doing all this worth it! 🙂

  • @DIYGarage_SoCal
    @DIYGarage_SoCal Před 3 lety

    Nicely done!

  • @reforzar
    @reforzar Před 6 lety +2

    Brilliant!

  • @debaserNYC
    @debaserNYC Před 6 lety

    excellent video. I especially like the comments on clean up as other similar videos omit that part. thanks!

  • @MLFranklin
    @MLFranklin Před 6 lety

    Great video. Thanks for sharing it.

  • @MLFranklin
    @MLFranklin Před 5 lety

    Really cool process and video.

  • @citylockapolytechnikeyllcc7936

    Awesome video. I will link this to a forum of my peers

  • @xanderguldie
    @xanderguldie Před 5 lety

    Awesome video, I also saw a video where they uses a type of plastic foil designed to use for etching. It uses UV light to transfer the protective layer. This method was very easy to use.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 5 lety +1

      Yeah, it's called a UV resist, and does offer a little better result, but it requires the film and a source of UV light. The sun works, but is not reliable.

  • @nowayjerk8064
    @nowayjerk8064 Před 6 lety

    happy new year and thanks for sharing

  • @PeteBrubaker
    @PeteBrubaker Před 6 lety +1

    Beautiful work! The toner transfer method produces an amazing result. With such a high resolution, I bet you could do simple gradients and patterns using dithering. If it works well, it might be possible to do a dithered photograph.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +3

      Indeed, though I wouldn't do so high resolution. You can look at etched printing plates which were commonly used in letterpress printing up until the '80s for inspiration. I would recommend checking out the short movie "The Collection" on Vimeo, by Adam Roffman about a collection of old printing plates with some beautiful shots of plates displaying this halftone patterning. I think that quality is about the highest you can expect working.

  • @martin.musale
    @martin.musale Před 6 lety

    Beautiful !!

  • @kookyflukes9749
    @kookyflukes9749 Před 6 lety

    Clickspring Chris. The engineered presicion voiceover. So clean..........sooooo clean and crisp. Nice etching btw.

  • @Cactusworkshopchannel
    @Cactusworkshopchannel Před 6 lety +2

    excellent video 100%!! super cool to include the whole lifetime of the project (disposal and recycling) fantastic! why did the special laser paint fail? again super great job

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety

      I honestly don't know. I'm guessing something in the paint was attacked by the acid. The coating bonds with the brass (or steel) which it is laser etched onto, and it's tough to the point of needing to be sanded off if you want it gone. My assumption is that whatever they use to make this special paint doesn't hold up to ferric chloride. I did another test off camera and had the same result, so all things considered it's most definitely an issue with the paint+acid.

  • @westonmeans7321
    @westonmeans7321 Před 5 lety

    Lol I came here from watching the etching video on Clickspring with the photo resist. This seems like a really good DIY alternative if you don't want a whole setup.

  • @grantrettke4851
    @grantrettke4851 Před 2 lety

    Thanks for the detail and also how to safely dispose of the copper.

  • @TheDutyPaid
    @TheDutyPaid Před 6 lety

    So happy to see the printer method worked so well. Now everyone has a laser to play with.

  • @hohmmicrophones
    @hohmmicrophones Před 2 lety +1

    This is the most comprehensive and informative video on this topic i've seen. I've been using the toner transfer method on aluminium for the branding on my product, and am thinking of offering a premium brass version so it's awesome to discover I can use similar processes. Also I never thought of using a laser to create the mask on a painted coating. I think i've gotta start using this approach as the printer and heating method has a high failure rate for me due to 'ghosting' and pinholes.
    Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge :)

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 2 lety

      My pleasure! I checked out your stuff and you make some really high quality and gorgeous microphones! Let me know how it works out for you 🙂

    • @brba
      @brba Před 2 lety

      Inkjet won't work, this is done with a laser printer. Laser toner is a thermoplastic that can be transferred with heat or solvent, inkjet ink is not.

  • @ifell3
    @ifell3 Před 4 lety

    When I use this method I will be posting a link in my video to this useful piece of resource!!

  • @DaniloAbrao20
    @DaniloAbrao20 Před 2 lety

    Amazing video! You give me a great idea with paint and laser. I will test it.

  • @timberdish
    @timberdish Před 6 lety

    Very cool!! Great vid man :-)

  • @que_dijo
    @que_dijo Před 3 lety

    this si well explained, thank you brother! GruSSe

  • @sheloves13
    @sheloves13 Před 5 lety +3

    Great video! Appreciate the comparisons and the disposal information.

  • @usamazahid1
    @usamazahid1 Před 3 lety

    Excellent video

  • @glennextra
    @glennextra Před 6 lety

    excellent instruction !!!

  • @Mosfet510
    @Mosfet510 Před 5 lety

    I've used glossy photo paper for pcb's and it worked well and was wondering if it would work on brass too? I got a pack of them at the $ store and it worked first time for the circuit boards with the iron on process. Good video.

  • @joshwarner5676
    @joshwarner5676 Před 6 lety

    The clickspring cameo was spot on

  • @ISTOmaker
    @ISTOmaker Před 6 lety

    Very good, thanks.

  • @syedalishanzaidi1
    @syedalishanzaidi1 Před 5 lety

    Beautifully done video, very instructive and useful for people wanting to try it out for themselves.
    I have learned a great deal from it, and may want to try it out one day. Thank you very much!! I have a question here: If I had a sheet of A4 or A3 size paper with printed text on it, can it be engraved onto a copper plate using your techniques? Please respond. Thank you.

  • @adolfogomez-herrera1348

    great will be trying Friday.

  • @reilly3771
    @reilly3771 Před 5 lety +1

    I'm curious as to what grit sandpaper you used?
    I seem to have a lot of scratches on mine. The polishing compounds will remove the paint.

  • @doc.voltold4232
    @doc.voltold4232 Před 6 lety

    Will use this on my kt120 tube amp. Thanks mate. Subbed

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety

      Cool! Would love to see the results! Shoot me a message when you've made it 🙂

  • @SargonKasto
    @SargonKasto Před 6 lety

    Åh herregud vilket bra avsnitt!

  • @rajoooprakash2465
    @rajoooprakash2465 Před 6 lety

    wow! Amazing! Video... I Thank you very much. Really helpful video for starting hobby as business! please do post more... Rajoo

  • @JaakkoF
    @JaakkoF Před 6 lety +2

    One method more is to do as in making a PCB. You spray the positive or negative etch resist on to your part and let it dry. Then have the design printed on a transparent sheet as black as you can get. Put the print against the etch resistant surface, shine UVA light on it enough (experimenting needed, usually 5-10 mins), remove the transparent sheet, develope the etch resist in sodium hydroxide solution (lye) and finally etch away :) Works always, doesn't creep under the resist much.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +1

      Yes, this is the traditional way of doing it, however the method I showcase doesn't require any special materials or tools. You can even forgo the laminator and use a clothes iron instead.

    • @jjbailey01
      @jjbailey01 Před 6 lety +2

      Most of the UV/photo resist materials will expose in simple sunlight. No special light exposure setup needed. And if spraying stuff isn't your thing, photoresist film is available. This also has the benefit of being able to reuse your printout. You can use inkjet or laser printer to print on transparency film. You could even use dot-matrix if you still have one of those. This method is less specialty tool intensive since you don't need a heat source other than the sun. This may be difficult for cave dwellers though.

  • @muhammadmerajuddin6012

    wonderful nice ,well done sir

  • @enriquegonzalez2802
    @enriquegonzalez2802 Před 6 lety

    Superb!

  • @Waltkat
    @Waltkat Před 5 lety

    Thank you for the tutorial. I've been using ferric chloride for etching PC boards for years but never thought about using it for etching brass. Would using a bubbler (like in an aquarium) help/speedup the process? And could stainless steel be used as a etching container?

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 5 lety

      Bubbler may make a difference, but I doubt it will help as much as gentle heat will. Heating the etching solution up to just 50 deg C will significantly speed up the process over room temperature.
      I would not use any metallic containers at all. Stick to plastic or glass. Stainless steel will stain, and corrode. Therefore it's also a waste of the etching solution.

  • @darwi4
    @darwi4 Před rokem

    This is perfect for my needs. I have many sign plates that would have cost an arm and a leg to have made in order to comply with boat safety regs. I will get a laser printer and make them myself. (May also look at the cost of a small vinyl letter cutter as one of the responses mentions good results.)

  • @JohnMadeit
    @JohnMadeit Před 5 lety

    Daniel i knew you was a good guy because you contact me after a silly comment about the make knife on the we like to make stuff group . (i missed a a email about filling a form and you help me) but im so glade i found your video lots of details on how to do the process 👍🙂🤘 you rock

  • @nancyeaguiar
    @nancyeaguiar Před 3 lety

    Instead of shiny magazine paper, can the smooth backing of label paper be used to transfer toner to the metal?

  • @mrdavidurquhart
    @mrdavidurquhart Před 4 lety +1

    THIS is how you show how to make something. Bravo!!

  • @casacustoms
    @casacustoms Před 5 lety

    What is a good printer to get for doing this?

  • @DesignBuildExecute
    @DesignBuildExecute Před 6 lety +2

    Microwave the etchant for a few seconds to heat it and that will speed the process up. I do this for PCB etching.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety +2

      I did this in the workshop at my previous workplace. I think they would have objected to me microwaving ferric chloride in the kitchen 😄

  • @alexandramarberry1023

    FYI, a strong base is better for disposing of a body than a strong acid is. Acid can take a few days to dissolve a body, but lye heated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit can dissolve a body in about 3 hours.

  • @Badgerworkshop
    @Badgerworkshop Před 6 lety

    That is great. Now I want a plaque on everything I make.

    • @SwitchAndLever
      @SwitchAndLever  Před 6 lety

      I can only recommend it! It really classes up everything!