About This Book

This book is about electro chemical etching for decorating tumblers, tools, and knives. The process of using low voltage electricity, electrolyte, and a stencil to decorate stainless steel. You can add text, drawings, monograms, and more.

Etching and Marking

Decorations can be on the surface - a mark, or cut into the steel - an etch. Both are very durable.

Easy To Make Etching Machine

You can assemble a low cost, very good etching machine with easy step by step instructions for buying the right parts, then putting them together. The only tools are a wire stripper and a screwdriver. No drilling or soldering. If you are more adventurous, you can use batteries, transformers, or thrift shop adapters, and even make your existing machine work better if it does not control power.

Easy To Make Stencils

Stencils are the hard part of electro etching, but I explain how to make thermal stencils and screen stencils, and some of the ins and out of vinyl stencils. The thermal stencil is my favorite and works every time.

How To Electro Etch

Getting good results is easy with a good machine and stencils and electrolyte. A mark is dark and mostly on the surface, but is very durable, and takes less than a minute. An etch cuts into the surface like an engraving, and takes a minute or two. They work on all kinds of steel like tumblers, tools, and knives.