How to engrave on metal with a pencil. How to choose equipment. Making your own gravel

Applying a pattern to various objects by removing a substance from its surface has been known to mankind for many millennia.

With the advent of new materials, the need arose to develop working methods that allow engraving on objects that are much harder than wood and stone. New technologies make it possible to fully automate the engraving process when applying a design to a metal surface, but for a home craftsman, the most suitable option is to master the manual method of applying a design.

Do-it-yourself metal engraving is possible at home, if you have the tools and a suitable room to perform this type of work.

For manual engraving at home you will need following tools and materials:

Stichel.
Metal blank.
A vice or similar device for holding a workpiece stationary.

The blank for applying the pattern can be used from any metal, but for beginning craftsmen it is better to use aluminum or copper.

The graver is a rod up to 120 mm long. One end of this tool is cut at an angle and sharpened, the other is installed in a handle made of wood or plastic.

The graver can be of different shapes and also differ in the width of the working surface. If you do not have this tool, you can make it yourself if you have materials suitable for this purpose.

Making your own gravel

To make a gravel, it is necessary to use tool steel. The metal used in springs and ball bearings is excellent for this purpose. To make a cutting surface, you can use old files and needle files, as well as various cutters that need to be cut into thin strips.

The ideal material for making an engraving pen is P18 steel. From old circular saw wheels you can make a large number of blanks for the production of gravers at home. Next, the working part of the workpiece is sharpened at an angle that will make it possible to make a notch of a certain width on the metal surface.

The handle of the gravel is made of hardwood, and should be of such a width that the master can comfortably hold the tool in his hand. The recommended length of this part of the gravel is usually 50 mm.

A mushroom-shaped handle is the most suitable for making this tool, but you can experiment and make several various options, and already in the process of work choose the most suitable option.

Preparation of the workpiece

First of all, you should select a blank on which the drawing will be displayed. The selected product must be free of rust and chips. To prepare the surface you will need:

Sandpaper P400.
GOI paste No. 1 or No. 2

First, the workpiece is polished using sandpaper. Then final polishing is carried out using GOI paste.

To avoid damage to the surface, when carrying out polishing work with GOI paste, it is recommended to use this product only No. 1 or No. 2.

You should also do the following before finishing polishing with this product:

Prepare a flannel cloth and moisten it with white spirit
Pour GOI paste onto a dampened cloth.
Wipe the unwanted area of metal with a cloth to remove large pieces that could scratch the surface.

After such preparation, the workpiece is polished using uniform circular movements. After completing the polishing activities, the metal object must be rinsed in kerosene and dried at room temperature.

The process of engraving on metal

If you are engraving a metal surface for the first time, then before you start applying the main design, it is recommended to practice on an unnecessary piece of metal.

The ideal option for such training is to use a copper plate. A piece of copper should be securely fixed to a wooden board using self-tapping screws with wide heads. When the workpiece is secured, the board is laid on the table, additional lighting is turned on if necessary, the cutting tool is clamped in the right hand, and an even notch is made on the metal surface.

To prevent your hand from slipping when making a straight line, on the surface of the metal plate thumbs left and right hand must be connected and touch the plate where the design is made. Forefinger the right hand, at this time, rests on the cutter of the tool, and completely controls the process of drawing lines. It is recommended to first make several straight parallel stripes on the workpiece. When the smooth areas look good, you can move on to making semicircular lines.

When your hand is already a little full, you can begin to engrave the design on the workpiece. To carry out this work, the metal object must also be securely fixed. For this purpose, a device similar to the self-tapping locking mechanism described above should be made.

To engrave simple figures, initials and other simple images, you can begin immediately after securing the metal object. If you need to make a complex drawing, it is recommended to first transfer the image to the workpiece.

Transferring a complex image to metal

The original method of transferring an image to a metal base is carried out in the following sequence:

Varnish is applied to the surface of the metal being processed.
Using a soft graphite pencil, an image is drawn on a polyester film that will be engraved on the workpiece.
The drawing is covered with tape, pressed over the entire area to the film and carefully removed from it. In this case, the image drawn earlier will remain on the sticky surface of the tape.
When the varnish dries, the tape is attached to the metal surface, smoothed with a roller or other soft object, and then removed.

After correctly performing the described steps, a pattern will remain on the product, which can be used for engraving.

Other engraving methods

Except manual method engraving at home, you can carry out the following methods of changing the metal surface in relief:

Chemical engraving is a method that can be easily done at home, even if you have a regular table salt and a phone charger.
Using a drill is a great method for home use. The principle of removing metal by this method is similar to manual engraving, but instead of a burr, a drill or similar device with a rotating thin blade is used.
- is the most advanced way of applying a pattern to a metal surface, but equipment for this type of work will be too expensive. Application this method engraving is justified only when the hobby of drawing pictures on metal becomes a profession and brings a constant income.

Conclusion

How to make engraving on metal and which method to master to perform this type of work, everyone must decide for themselves. To begin with, it is recommended to purchase a professional tool for manual work. After working with hand tools for some time, you can move on to mastering the equipment, which will significantly speed up the engraving process.

Comments:

Engraving on metal always attracts the eye. This trade has fed artisans since ancient times. And today it has not lost its relevance. Craftsmen can turn everyday objects into real works of high art by decorating them with fancy miniatures. Sometimes you can see entire paintings of considerable size, made by engraving artists. And few people know that absolutely anyone can do this business.

Photo 1. Souvenir engraved hunting knife, perfect good gift which can be given to hunters.

Do-it-yourself engraving can become a profitable and interesting business if you really want it.

You can decorate small metal objects using engraving yourself at home. This activity will arouse the respect and envy of friends and acquaintances. In Zlatoust, thousands of craftsmen practice this craft at home. Engraved items are expensive. A saber costs approximately 300 thousand rubles, a hunting knife costs up to 100 thousand (photo No. 1). Agree, this is good money. How to make engraving on metal at home with your own hands? For this lesson you need to prepare the simplest equipment that can be found in any house, in any apartment.

Let's start experiments

Decorative patterns using the engraving method are applied to plates, knives, pistols, sabers, medals, cups, and apartment numbers. All patterns and inscriptions are preserved almost forever and do not require expensive and rare consumables or special equipment for execution. The design can be applied to steel, aluminum, brass, copper, and metal alloys. The method does not pollute environment. It is impossible to wash off or erase the drawing using conventional methods and means.

Photo 2. Engraved wedding rings, the wedding date and the initials of the bride and groom are usually written on them.

Nail polish that my wife doesn't really need.
Toothpick with sharp tips.
You may need an ordinary match.
Salt.
Charger for car battery. It can be successfully replaced by charging from a mobile phone.
Glass or porcelain dishes in the form of a glass, mug or jar.
Nail polish remover.

The work is done in this order:

Take a spoon and cover it with nail polish. The entire surface must be varnished very carefully, otherwise there will be defects in the work.
Using a match or toothpick, a pattern, name, or other image is scratched through the layer of varnish.
Pour 2 tablespoons of salt into a glass glass or jar. Some people add a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of soda.
Water is poured into the vessel, the salt is thoroughly stirred until completely dissolved.
Automotive or other Charger We connect the positive terminal to the product being processed, and the negative terminal to any metal object that will be placed in a vessel with water. This item could be another spoon, a piece of thick wire, or a metal plate.
The rectifier is connected to the network. Almost immediately, an etching reaction will begin in the glass with darkening of the liquid. It lasts 1-5 minutes. It depends on the magnitude of the current. The product is checked periodically. After reaching the desired etching depth, it is removed from the container.
The varnish is washed off with nail polish remover. The result should look something like this (photo No. 3).

Photo 3. Personalized engraved spoons and, interestingly, engraving can be done on various metal objects in a simple home environment.

In this way you can process any metal objects at home. If you make an inscription with varnish, it will be convex on the etched background. For better quality work, it is recommended to purchase a special tool - an engraver. It can operate from the electrical network and from built-in batteries. The kit usually comes with drills of different shapes. They can work on glass, plastics and other materials. Wedding rings with engraving - this is an excellent gift for newlyweds (photo No. 2). But you can do this yourself only when you are completely confident in the result of the work.

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Glass engraving

Photo 4. For home engraving you will need regular salt, nail polish, nail polish cleaner and a glass of water.

Do-it-yourself engraving on the glass surface is done chemically and mechanically. Mechanical method involves the use of a nozzle that is driven by an electric motor. Procedure:

Using a dark marker, the drawing is transferred to the glass.
A damp sponge is applied to the image on the glass. This must be done carefully so as not to smudge the drawing.
When working, you must use safety glasses.
After completing the drawing, it is washed and examined for gaps. If necessary, missed places are processed again.

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Engraving with a drill

The principle of do-it-yourself engraving can be seen in the dentist's office. The special tip is held in the hand in the same way as a regular pen when writing. The pattern can be applied to any object: a ring, a mirror, a motorcycle, a sign, etc. You can engrave a portrait or any other image. We must not forget that the color of engraving on glass, ceramics, stone, porcelain is always white. But it can be carefully coated with silver, gold and any other waterproof paint. The effect can exceed all expectations.

Drawings and patterns can be applied to wood coated with a layer of paint, to plastic, silver, plastic. Handmade requires patience and certain skills that develop over time. The skill is honed over the years.

Lettering on metal is a great way to make a unique gift or mark a valuable item. There are not many ways to make a clear and indelible inscription or design. One of them is electrochemical engraving...

There are several ways to apply inscriptions or drawings to metal:

paint applied by hand or stencil. The easiest way available to everyone. The main disadvantage is that even after complete drying, the paint can be easily removed with a solvent or mechanically. Therefore, only a temporary inscription can be applied with paint.
mechanical engraving. Engraving requires an engraver and a suitable cutter. The main disadvantage is that working as an engraver requires sufficient skill and a steady hand. It is difficult for a beginner to apply a clear straight line even by markings. You can take it to an engraver’s workshop, it’s not very expensive. But they are unlikely to bother with anything more complicated than standard inscriptions, and it’s much more pleasant to do it yourself
laser engraving. Allows you to apply any drawings and inscriptions with the smallest details and halftones. Requires expensive equipment, only available in the workshop
electrochemical engraving. The method is relatively simple and fast. When working from a template, you don’t even need artistic skills

Electrochemical engraving - what will you need?

Electrochemical engraving of metal using a stencil is done using laser-iron technology, which is well known to radio amateurs. You can also make a stencil by hand if your artistic skills allow it.

To engrave metal you will need simple and affordable materials and equipment:

DC source 5-15 volts, capable of providing a current of at least 0.5 amperes (electronic power supply, cell phone charger, car battery or power tool)
wires (it’s convenient if they come with clamps)
packing or stationery tape
thin glossy paper or backing from self-adhesive film
plasticine of any color
cotton pads or cotton gauze swabs
saline solution(2 teaspoons table salt per glass of water)
clear nail polish

Electrochemical engraving - process description

As an example, consider applying a personal mark to a knife blade. In principle, inscriptions and drawings can be applied to any more or less smooth, preferably polished, metal objects. It’s okay if the surface is slightly convex or concave. Objects with an embossed or otherwise textured surface are completely unsuitable for electrochemical stencil engraving.

The inscription or drawing that needs to be applied to the metal is prepared in any graphics or text editor that allows you to print the result. Please note that the final result needs mirror convert to get the correct image later.

The image is printed on laser printer. An inkjet printer is completely unsuitable for the laser-iron method.

Thin glossy paper (paper from various cosmetics catalogs works well) can simply be inserted into the printer; the typographic designs and text on the sheet do not matter. You can also immediately print on the glossy side of the backing from the self-adhesive film. In the printer settings, you need to cancel the toner saving mode (if it is enabled) and set the maximum brightness (“blackness”) of the image.

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a small piece of the film backing that the printer couldn't grab. Therefore, I had to attach this piece to a regular sheet of office paper with scraps of the same film.

My printer successfully chewed this sandwich and even printed everything successfully, but I don’t recommend repeating the experiment. It felt like a little more and the film would have melted and remained inside the printer.

After printing, the inscription is carefully cut out. In this case, under no circumstances you can't touch the drawing fingers, it is better to wear cotton gloves.

The metal surface of the object (knife) is thoroughly cleaned of dirt and degreased with alcohol or acetone. After this, the work area is also can't touch with fingers.

The stencil is applied to the desired location. If there is any doubt that you can keep it from moving on a hot knife, prepare tweezers or something similar.

Now the stencil along with the knife is well heated with an iron. The temperature and heating time strongly depend on the properties of the specific toner and the object on which the inscription is applied, so you will have to select it experimentally. You can start with maximum temperature and 1-2 minutes.

If the surface is not completely flat, then after heating with an iron, you can walk with a cotton pad or a cotton-gauze swab, pressing the stencil onto the metal surface over the entire area. During the whole process cannot be moved stencil on a knife!

After cooling, the paper can be removed. The backing from the self-adhesive film comes off without any problems, but you just need to soak the glossy paper for a few minutes in warm water.

Now you need to evaluate the quality of the resulting drawing. If some places did not transfer to metal, then the heating temperature or pressure was insufficient. Too much heat will cause fine toner lines to blur and become less clear. In case of major defects, the pattern is washed off with acetone and the operation is repeated.

Small flaws can be corrected - the missing parts can be filled in with nail polish, and blurred lines can be corrected with a scalpel or razor. It is also advisable to cover large areas of the design covered with toner with nail polish - pores in the toner that are invisible to the eye can ruin the entire effect. There is no need to rush here; the finished engraving cannot be corrected.

If you have artistic abilities, you can do without toner altogether. To do this, the entire surface of the metal is coated with varnish and an inscription or design is applied, removing the varnish in in the right places suitable tool.

If everything is in order, then you can start etching. To do this, you should arrange a small side of plasticine around the drawing. To be safe, I covered the adjacent areas of the knife blade with tape so as not to accidentally damage it.

A saline solution is poured into the resulting pool. The positive terminal of the current source is connected to the knife, and the negative terminal is simply lowered into the solution so as not to touch the surface of the knife.

Carefully! If the wire touches a metal surface, a short circuit will occur! If the current source is powerful (battery), strong sparking, splashing of the solution, heating and ignition of the wires are possible.

To prevent a short circuit, it is better to wrap the negative wire with cotton wool, thoroughly soaking it in a saline solution.

The engraving time depends on the power of the current source. If the solution turns black and foams, then everything is in order. After 20-30 seconds, you need to drain the solution and evaluate the result. If necessary, a fresh saline solution is poured into the bath and the process continues. Etching for too long will cause the drawing to lose clarity, and closely spaced lines may merge.

If the result is satisfactory, then the tape and plasticine are removed, and the toner is removed with acetone. The result of the work is visible in the photograph. It all took about an hour.

When applying the stencil, I cheated a little and did not varnish the design, for which I paid - in some places the solution penetrated under the toner and etched areas that should not have been etched.

Conditions yourself. After all, it looks very beautiful and impressive if you decide to give your friends or loved ones a valuable personalized gift with wishes that will never be erased or fade in the sun. The inscription will always remind a person of you, making you remember the most wonderful moments spent together.

Let's watch the video and then move on to the process:

We will need:
- photo varnish for printed circuit boards Positiv 20;
- product for engraving;
- glass;
- alkali NaOH;
- acid or ferric chloride; UV lamp;
- a bone for etching;
- container for solutions;
- acetone, for removing varnish after etching.

A stencil for engraving is prepared in advance.

A stencil can be made using the program Adobe Photoshop. Just don’t forget that after making the desired text or drawing in Photoshop, it must be mirrored horizontally so that the text can be read properly on the product. You can also use QuarkXPress, but also be sure to mirror the image you created.

It is best to print a stencil on a laser printer. Just plain paper will not work for this; you need to use a special film. If the toner is not dark enough, then you can take two identical stencils and carefully glue them together.

Engraving is done using photo varnish for printed circuit boards. You can purchase it at almost any radio market.

The principle of operation is as follows.

A thin layer of photo varnish is applied to the product to be engraved, which must first be shaken. Don't forget to put newspaper on your work table to avoid getting it dirty. After application, allow some time for it to dry thoroughly.

Then a stencil with the desired text or engraving design is applied to the product. Turn off the bright lights first, otherwise flare will occur. Then it is pressed with glass or a thin film, which can also be fixed to the metal using small magnets; they should not overlap the inscription.

The assembled structure is illuminated with an ultraviolet lamp. Don't forget to wear special safety glasses to avoid harm to your eyes. The exposure time should be 5 – 10 minutes.

The stencils are removed and the metal is washed with a NaOH alkali solution of the correct concentration or a sewer cleaner, observing safety precautions.

The exposed varnish is washed off to the metal, after which you can begin etching using acid or ferric chloride, depending on the metal from which the product is made.

, using a 9 V power supply. It probably couldn’t be easier. By the way, you can also use an ordinary 9 V Kronov battery. We will do engraving using the example of an ordinary teaspoon (we will make a personal inscription).

We will need the following materials:

Power supply (battery) 9 V;
A glass of water or another container (not metal), depending on what you are engraving on:
Nail polish;
Nail polish remover (solvent);
regular salt;

You can engrave on metal as follows:

Apply a layer of varnish to the surface of the metal (in our case, the handle of a teaspoon). It is necessary to completely cover the entire surface that will be immersed in water for engraving. Let the varnish dry well (about an hour). As a rule, poorly dried varnish will peel off the spoon in the future, and engraving may not work. Then we write the inscription (in our case, a toothpick is used) on the varnish in such a way that the metal shows through. It is in this place that the metal will be etched.
Take 2 full teaspoons of salt and dissolve in a glass of water.
We strip the power supply wires so that they can be connected to metal, and determine where is the plus and where is the minus. The negative wire is usually a single-color (black) wire. Plus, on the contrary, it is either red or another color, but with some kind of stripe.
We attach the minus to another teaspoon (you can also use a piece of steel), and attach the plus to the spoon on which the engraving will be made.
We immerse the whole thing in a glass with a salt solution so that they do not come into contact with each other.

I would like to warn you right away that during etching harmful fumes (chlorine) are released. Therefore, it is necessary to work in a well-ventilated area. In general, you shouldn't stick your nose in a glass of water. Then we connect our 9V power supply to the outlet. We wait 10 - 15 minutes and disconnect the power supply from the network. Let's look at the resulting result. If the engraving is not of the depth that you would like, then you can turn on the block for another short period of time.

At the end of the engraving process on metal, we erase our varnish with a solvent (nail polish remover) and enjoy the result. By the way, I also made small engravings on the knife using this method.

Video of engraving on a spoon (knife):

In my opinion the simplest and affordable way engraving on metal. You can make a personalized spoon or knife as a gift. It will look very original and unique. Do not forget to follow basic safety precautions when working and see you again.