Engraving and stencil tool with video

Video coming when I get more time. It will make more sense when you see it.

Thought I’d explain how a hobbyist can easily make stencils for cerakote and electrochemical etching (engraving). Easily put names, calibers, serial numbers, etc. You can etch deep enough to be atf legal.

What you need:
Stencil maker - Cricut explore is what I have
Vinyl stencil paper
Battery charger
4” x 1/2” x 1/2” piece of hss
Tape to cover area around stencil
Dense cloth - I cut up old wash rags
Etching fluid - I use a pint of vinegar mixed with a table spoon of salt

All of this can be modified however you like. It works for me and produces good results, but can always be improved.

This process has been around for YEARS. I've seen and used several variations to mark parts and firearms, including EVERY firearm I've ever made. Martronics Corporation sells "kits" under the name "Etch O Matic". Search Etch o Matic and it will come to the top of the page. The KEY to this type of process is the stencil and they sell kits for that as well. From the material list above I can say that OP has more than a clue what hes doing...

Thanks milbill. I just learned last week. I read some good posts on a knife forum that helped. I’ve done stencils for the last year for cerakote with the cricut. Makes them easy. This video is taking longer than I hoped. After I get done editing it, I’ll have to figure out how to post it. Sorry it’s taking so long.

The machine your using will work and work well! But at $150 for the base model and $400 for the top end model it's a little spendy for some (hobbyists)... And I feel the same about the "Kits" from Martronics Corporation. But the supplies are very reasonable. It wouldn't take much to cobble a UV light source together. You could do the stencil route for about $60 or so and have enough material to do 20 or more marking firearms. The only hitch is that it does require a B&W laser printer.

Ive also seen and used a method where you print your "stencil" onto a crappy grade of paper using a laser printer as a negative then iron it onto your work and wash the paper off. It's a little cumbersome but it does work.

Depending on what I'm doing I either use a photo editor or CAD to do my design then print it onto transparency film. From there it takes about 5 minutes to finish a stencil.

The depth of the etching is dependent on how big the design is and how deep I want it. Important to note is that the deeper you etch the design the more FINE detail you will lose. Beyond a couple .001s you start to get some undercutting. When just marking a (non-firearm) part I can get some amazing detail. Even at .005" deep the detail so more than acceptable as long as you are not trying to get to crazy.

With this said... The stencils I'm using have a very fine weave through them. Think silk screen. I don't know how that would work for spraying cerakote. I have never tried it.

You can get the cricut explore at Walmart for under $140. Much cheaper for the hobbyist than paying to get a caliber placed on a barrel or a cerakote job. All depends on how much they’ll use it. For me, even 5 barrels paid for itself quickly and much more. It allows so much flexibility owning the stencil maker

What kind of stencil paper did you use? The stuff I tried didn't stick well when there were fine details.

Aaron