Thread: making homemade etchomatic stencils..?

I have seen how some stencils are made and if I recall they all have photosensitive paper processes. Unless you can cut a film by hand I can't think of another way. And then you have to find the film. I would think any thin somewhat stiff would work. I used to cut lacquer film by hand for silk screen shirts and printing art. It is very time consuming and requires a very steady hand. That was back before all the stuff they have now. I would search You tubes for etching. I have seen some homemade stuff there.

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I have seen how some stencils are made and if I recall they all have photosensitive paper processes. Unless you can cut a film by hand I can't think of another way. And then you have to find the film. I would think any thin somewhat stiff would work. I used to cut lacquer film by hand for silk screen shirts and printing art. It is very time consuming and requires a very steady hand. That was back before all the stuff they have now. I would search You tubes for etching. I have seen some homemade stuff there.

I've been lokking at youtube vids but havent come up with anything yet. I'll keep searching. there's gotta be a way.

Making these type of stencils is never that easy. Even the etch-o-matic ones have problems, or so I have read on various knife forums. Their process needs the film, a developer for the film, a positive for the film, a UV light source, a chemical electrolyte and a power source of suitable amps/volts.

You can make the positives easy enough by using a hi-def ink-jet printer to print onto suitable transparent film. This is then sandwiched with the light-sensitive paper and exposed to UV light (you have to experiment to find out how long) then developed and fixed. You can buy the film - it's quite costly, but you can make a lot of negatives from it. Graphic Art Supply houses carry it. What you don't want is full-spectrum film, like you would use in photography - you want a graphics art type film that really only processes out to black.

YOu will have trouble securing the negative to a curved surface like the hollow of a razor. If it is not in intimate close contact, the edges will be blurred instead of crisp.

Regards,
Neil

I was looking at 1 system and yes it costs some money, but the good news was the stencils can be reused may times. It's not like you have to make 1 for each etch. It may be cheaper to have somebody make you a stencil. I have seen that offer somewhere also. Like Niel says there is also a learning curve to it.

I found this link. Has anyone tryed these..? What do you think about the price? They are only to be used once...

http://pintocustomblades.com/shoppin...ct&id=47&cid=0