F-etching results - More About Etching

Thought maybe you'd like to see what I did with the metal I etched the other day. If you haven't read the post it is the last one I wrote and it is also located on the right side of the page in the popular articles section. I have GOT to find a good source of cheap copper! The pieces I used spoiled me because all four sheets were $4.99 on clearance, down from $19.99. I wish I had bought more, now! (I do have two more packages I found in my stash that I am very happy about! I am saving them for when I do a laser print of a photograph...;) )  I hear that the world is actually running out of copper, though, so cheap copper may be a pipe dream!

I didn't have any "spare" copper that I wanted to use to back up these little experiments, though so I ended up using of my favorite metals - sheets of aluminum flashing that I get at Home Depot (10 5x7" sheets for less than $3!) to back them with. I colored them with some dark colors of alcohol ink to blend them in with the patina'd copper a bit. I tried making rivets from copper wire but had no luck, so I dug out my eyelets and my Big Bite to punch the metal out and set the eyelets. (I saw a package today of eyelets and grommets at the craft store - the grommets go on the back to stop the ragged edges on the back of eyelets when you set them - I have to find out more about them! If you want to use these for jewelry, it's a must to have a smooth back! The ones I saw were a little expensive but if you want quality sometimes you have to pay for it. ;)) I already had my coupon used for a new product I am going to use for Christmas cards this year...it's a foiling pen and looks so cool! More about that another time....

I found out that both the 34g copper and the aluminum flashing are thin enough to cut with a scrapbooking corner punch I have for making Christmas cards so I rounded the edges of both the copper and aluminum with it.

As I said, I tried to make my own rivets and messed up the upper corner of the mermaid, so I ended up using eyelets with it. Now I have something to hang it from though. I have some copper chain I can use. :)

I love the stamp I used to make this. I've used it with my fused glass, too. Oddly enough I ran across this exact same etching on another persons etching post. :)

 I decided to make a bracelet out of this thin strip. I cut it with some decorative scissors and gave it a scalloped edge so I backed it with aluminum to prevent sharp edges. It isn't very strong, being that it is backed with aluminum but I now have a prototype to make more. ;) You can't see it but once again I used eyelets to fasten the two strips together. It is quite comfortable to wear though.

I have had this stamp forever! It's a four sided one and I love all four. :D

Like I said, this isn't a perfect etch but it's really cute, isn't it? I would hang it on a Christmas tree. :) 

The etching on this actually looks better in person. Same design as the other bracelet with a Christmas theme! :)

Someone on one of my Facebook metal groups asked about the Ranger patina paints or inks that exist. I decided to try them on some old diecut embossed pieces of my aluminum flashing that were laying around. The brown one in the center is actually alcohol ink like I used on the pieces above. I sanded them with sme fine grit sandpaper once they were dry. There is a real shine to these inks. I did not use the gold that is in the set I have, yet.  Jury is still out on what I think of them on the kind of metals I create, though...I did see someone use them for etched copper earrings and they looked really nice.

These are not etched. They were run through my Big Kick with a few Vintage embossing plates.

In my search for cheap copper I ended up going to Ace Hardware. I wanted to see if they had wire anyway. I ended up getting a sheet of copper that was much thicker than the previous sheets I had worked with and cost about $8. However, I hadn't thought about the need to cut this bad boy! I am not sure what gauge it is but it said .025 on the package...I was told that was thin enough to cut with scissors but oh heck no...! Not my arthritic hands! But I was lucky enough to get a set of aviator snips - left right and straight - for about $7 a couple of years ago and went to town with them. I guess I could have used my jewelry saw but I am not a patient person! Maybe next time. I have found copper at Hobby Lobby and with a coupon it will be really inexpensive...at least cheaper than Ace. :)

I don't know if you can tell how hard this was to cut from this photo. I had to use a file to smooth the edges after this. I think I need to ask my husband to do this stuff for me at this point! :P

The next photo is after etching. I really love the way they came out! I decided to break down and went to Radio Shack for their ferric chloride etchant and used that instead this time because the copper is so much thicker. I got a cheap fish tank pump and taped it to the side of the container holding the ferric chloride so the vibration would help the etching and left it in the solution for about two and a half hours. I think I may add the citric acid to it and see if it etches better with it next time. Here are some notes I took from someone on Facebook about this topic...using citric acid along with FC. I wish I could give that person credit but I forgot to get their name! Anyway, the method using citric acid is called The Edinburgh Etch and is supposed to be safer than using plain old ferric chloride.

"Recipe for Citric Acid Etching Solution: Place 3/4 cup of warm water in a glass or plastic container that has a non-metallic lid (an old, clean, mayonnaise jar# works) and slowly add 1/4 cup of citric acid power. Stir until dissolved. That's it. You can't make Edinburgh Etch by just sprinkling citric acid powder into your ferric chloride, you have to dissolve it first. To make EE, add one cup of citric acid solution to four cups of ferric chloride and stir to make it homogenous. <snip> There are several videos-just search for Keith Howard. He was instrumental in encouraging the chemists at the U of Edinburgh to develop a safer etchant." Apparently Keith Howard wrote a book called Non-Toxic Printmaking with this recipe in it in the late 1980s or 90s

Before adding patina. I bought the Beadsmith stuff - what a waste of money! Turned really black and then completely fell off, leaving shiny metal behind! :P

This is from one of the other packages of the thin metal that I had in my stash. I left it in a little too long, I think! But it really kept a lot of detail. This is two different stamps, btw, in case you are wondering why the right and left seem so different! This one has finer details compared to the others. I used a Stazon stamp pad alone instead of using Versamark and embossing powder. It gave a much finer, more detailed etch.

The picture with the two sets of trees is for comparison. The one on the bottom is the original one I etched with my vinegar/peroxide/salt mixture. The top one is the ferric chloride. I left it in a little too long, trying to get a deepish etch, and it started eating a hole through the metal. I think I actually got a better etch with the first mixture! Maybe the ferric chloride is better for thicker items though... 

The top one is very thin and fragile now. ..These were both done with the same kind of metal to begin with, just the etchant was different...I also discovered I have to make sure to use detail embossing powder instead of whatever the heck I was using, because the tree branches are much thicker than they were in the first etch. Another tip I just discovered on my FB etching group is that if you use embossing powder to etch and are having a hard time removing it, and don't want to sand because your etch is too delicate, you can use lacquer thinner...great tip, because I could NOT find out that information anyplace! :D Many thanks to Ruth Shapiro! 

Still pretty. :)

And then, my favorite of the experiments! These are slices of a copper pipe I cut a few months back when I was making copper bezels for my polymer clay with them.  I rolled them in stamp pads and also used Sharpie to put simple designs on by hand. It wasn't even Sharpie, it was el cheapo red permanent marker from the Dollar Tree! Worked great...those are the ones with lines on them. I also used my Stazon stamp pad to edge all of the pipe slices as well as the flat pieces. (You edge them to protect the edge so it won't get etched and ragged from the etchant.) Seemed easier than using a Sharpie because my hand kept slipping when I tried. :D And it was! They were perfectly smooth after etching. You will see these again, and soon. :) Watch this page! 

Rolling them on my stamp pad was a pain! I put a dowel through them (I rolled them individually) and rolled them across the pad with it, but my hands were still quite black when I finished! :D

And here is my etched Ace Hardware copper plate. Very happy with these!  I have more planned for them, however, so stay tuned! :)

Thanks for visiting and check back often. I have a new project in the works with RESIN that I am SO excited about! Come back soon now, y'hear? :D

F-etching Copper - Metal working

Lots of pictures and lots of info in this one! I'm on another Facebook group called Aspiring Metalsmiths. I don't know about anyone else but Facebook is terrible about showing posts to me from the groups and people I am interested in. But recently, I happened to catch a post where someone was talking knowledgeably about etching copper sheets with ingredients most people have in their homes. I was immediately interested because I've seen some beautiful etching and have been wanting to try it but didn't want to buy caustic chemicals or special equipment. I have some 34 g copper sheets I've been holding onto for a while now and decided to give it a try. Mixed results - but the final result is the important  one! I hope you are a patient person because I go into some detail about this!

Apparently there was a coating on the "clear" side of the copper sheets I had. The other side had a bluish-green paint or something so I started on the side that looked like it didn't have a coating...erf. Then I made the mistake of trying to remove the coating on the etched side with 0000 steel wool instead of wet/dry sandpaper, which was a biiiig mistake....left a lot of scratches...so I started over on the other side of the sheets. Used sandpaper to take off the blue coating and restamped everything. Not a great picture but this shows how awful the first try was. :D

Fail!

I guess I should talk more about the method I used. Equal parts of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide - I was told 100 ml of each and 7 ml of salt, which is something like half a teaspoon, I gather. I am pretty sure I used more. I bought fresh supplies of vinegar and peroxide but had sea salt on hand.  The original person said to use iodized but an article I read said don't use iodized so I used what I had. :) The first attempt I tried with Staz-on ink and stamps only. It wasn't a total failure but I saw several sites that said using a Sharpie and/or Staz-on is not tough enough to survive this method, and I agreed after the first attempt's results. So the second try, I used a Versamark embossing pad (yep, same one I use with my fused glass technique!) and embossing powder with some of my many rubber stamps. The problem with using embossing powder is that it is hard to tell how deep the etching is.  I decided on a Christmas, my mermaid, my favorite tree stamp (as seen on many of my glass pendants!) and some other odds and ends stamps. 

This is my setup. Sea salt, vinegar, peroxide, takeout containers with lids (don't use the lids except for storage),  nitrile gloves, wooden stick for stirring, plastic bag for protecting the surface of my washer and under the bag, a heating pad...more about that later! NOT pictured (and not absolutely necessary): citric acid.

I did finish off my vinegar so I am using the empty bottle to store this solution in. The solution is blue in the photo above because I had already used it on my first failed attempt...it starts off rather clear! The blue is the dissolved copper in solution, believe it or not. I had been told there would be a LIGHT blue color so that tells you there is a LOT of copper in my solution! A word of caution....yes...these are household ingredients but once the copper is dissolved in the liquid, it is VERY TOXIC. Do NOT just pour this down the drain OR into the ground! Some said to take the solution and use it to make concrete with then throw the brick away. Others say you can clean the dissolved copper from the solution by submerging balls of aluminum foil in the solution, which then captures the pure copper and makes the liquid clear again but I haven't tried this to see if it works, yet! That sounds like the way to go, though. I have also been told you can just take it outside and let it evaporate, then dispose of the dried residue in a regular garbage landfill. You can also call your local garbage company and see what methods they recommend. Wear gloves, goggles, don't breathe it in, keep away from pets, and take any other precautions you think you should! Yes, it is less toxic than using other methods (like muriatic acid, etc) but does require sensible precautions!

Okay back to my experience with this science experiment! :D

I did this out in my laundry room because I think the solution is an irritant to breathe in. It should be stirred frequently and I believe this is because it tends to bubble up a bit and an area under the bubbles might not etch as well. Some use a cheap aquarium bubbler to agitate the solution but I did not go that route...yet. :) Do not use metal utensils or containers for this. I used a wooden popsicle stick and plastic containers I don't care about. Don't put a lid on it unless you want to transport or store the solution. I was impatient about this process and did two layers in each container...one face up and one face down. The directions for etching usually tell you to take a Sharpie around the edge of the metal so it won't get bumpy (which I did and which worked well) and put clear packing tape on the back or anywhere you don't want etched. Makes sense. Since I did mine twice (the coating preventing the etching from working well) the tape did not seal the already etched back well and I got some leakage. I didn't really care though since I plan to use these backed with other materials. I suspended one facedown, using the long tape ends to support it and keep it from touching the bottom, and put the other one on top, face up. Both were backed with tape for ease in handling plus protecting the back. I don't know why the directions to etch metal ALWAYS tell you to etch facedown but it seems to me that you could see it better face up. :D I didn't see any bad reactions from doing it this way and got more bang for my buck doing it this way. As you can see from the picture above, I got a little careless and made so much solution I had to use two containers. I picked them because the sheet fit into them nicely, they had lids, and they were free. :) I had four copper sheets on hand and cut one into slices so I was able to etch them all at once this way. 

This is my first try at this method and I am sure I made mistakes all along the way! Most directions I could find using this were for circuit boards and I don't have access to a lot of copper sheet but I certainly want to do this again! A few more notes: I discovered some saying that heating the solution makes it work faster. I didn't find that out until mine had been in solution for several hours, but you can see I put a heating pad underneath my setup, under the plastic. I also heard that adding citric acid to the solution could speed things up as well, so that was also added to the mixture during the last hour or so. I can't tell you if it helped or not...all I know is I didn't die! :D I put my metal into the solution with the intention of only keeping it in there for a couple of hours (the person on my FB group did hers for 90 mins but said she would do it for longer next time) but kept them in the solution for about SIX HOURS. As you will see, it didn't seem to hurt anything.  I left mine in the solution much longer than I needed to because (as I read around the time I read about the heat and the citric acid) I should have been running a sponge across the surface to encourage the etching to reach deeper into the metal.. it seems like it forms a skin or gunk or something and unless you do that it will only go so deep. I think if I had sponged them off during that time it may have gone faster. I'll try it next time.

Sorry about all the text - this is dangerous stuff and you should know as much as possible if you are going to attempt this! And please don't just rely on me and this article, I am a newbie at this! Go do some further research, as I did, before attempting! I just wish to inspire you to try new things! - but on to some pictures! 

Here you can see me testing one of the face up pieces.  Oops, wasn't wearing gloves but you can see them in the photo! :P This would have been a good time to run a sponge over the surface to see how much it has etched and possibly to give the etchant a fresh surface...As I said, hard to tell when using embossing powder how deeply it is etched...

If your mixture doesn't seem bubbly enough you can spike it up with additional peroxide or salt, which will give you a slight foamy reaction after you add them. As you can see in the photo above, the lighter color is the bare, etched metal, while the stamped trees are where the melted embossing powder protected the metal. If I had run a sponge across it, maybe the etching would have gone deeper. It etched far deeper on the bare 1/2" copper pipe I put in there than the sheet did, and I am not sure why. As I said, this is only my first (and second!) attempt so I have more to learn about it! If any of you reading this can contribute to this discussion, please do in the comments!

You can see how bubbly it got at first. I added some 1/2" copper pipes that I had on hand already - and ran over a stamp pad and embossed. It seemed to be a different kind of metal or maybe there was still something on the sheet metal because the pipe turned black in the etchant (around the embossing powder) while the sheet did not.

If you have been following my blog at all you will remember that I used thinner slices of 1" copper pipe as a bezel for some of my polymer clay pieces in the past. Guess what I will be doing to the pieces of pipe I have already cut, ready for my next mokume gane? :D  All I did to these besides the stamping was coat the edges and inside with Sharpie ink. The last step after etching is complete, before using patina, is to neutralize the metal after removing it from the etchant by putting it into some water containing a good amount of baking soda. I also used it as a paste to scrub off the embossing powder, and then rinsed and dried the metal well.

Here is one of the pipe pieces as I put the patina on it. This product is what I've been using to patina my copper with since I had it on hand already to use with my stained glass!

I had to remove the embossing powder to get the patina to reach the metal underneath. I tried to find out what you can remove embossing powder with but couldn't find any info. It came off the pipe much easier than the sheet, for some reason. As I've been saying all along, the pipe acted very different from the sheet in every step of this experiment! The embossing came off easily on the pipe but the methods I used on that didn't seem to work on the sheet...I used acetone first and then alcohol, and then scrubbed it off the pipe but the embossing didn't want to come off easily from the sheet metal! I was afraid to use the sandpaper at first but even that really didn't seem to do much. I then used baking soda as a scouring powder and it finally came off with some more elbow grease. Weird that I didn't need to do all that with the pipe.

Here are the pipe pieces I etched. I used alcohol on the one on the right and it seemed to take the embossing powder off easily whereas I used a scubbie on the one on the left, which left it duller than the alcohol did. This is before patina. The stamping shows up pretty well though, doesn't it?

After patina. the one on the right is not perfect but I still like the way they came out! They are laying on the stamp I used on them. I don't know what to do with them but great experiment! Can't wait to try it with my clay copper bezel slices!

I am going to cut this one up into pieces. Fresh out of the solution.

You may recognize my tree stamp from some of my mica stamped fused glass pendants. I love that stamp! The Christmas stamp matches one of my embossing folders that I used to make Christmas cards last year! These are fresh out of the etching solution., too

Here's a couple of the slices I cut the metal sheet into before etching. The floral one is the same stamp the pipe was etched with. I think I'll try to make bracelets with these.

Here is the same mermaid from the fail in the beginning of this post (the other side, of course, after sanding off that blue crap - well, most of it...you can see some around the edges in this photo!) You may recognize my mermaid as the inspiration for the glass painting I posted about back in June or so! 

I really thought you'd be able to feel the etching when it was done. It is not very deep and it is hard to feel it if run your fingernail across the metal, but the results show up nicely when you put the patina on! I am very happy with the end results...especially since I didn't have to invest any money to do it! :D Now I just need a cheap place to get copper sheeting...I believe this also works on brass, but not silver.

This is the scary part! (Well, one of them, lol!) As you can see I had gotten the embossing powder off that piece to the left better than the others as it turned completely black!

After patina. I love the way they came out! I still have to seal it...and figure out what to seal it with! I keep hearing people talking about something called "Kamar"...

The last step is to sand off the excess patina. I used 400 grit wet/dry sand paper that I had on hand to use on my polymer clay. I could probably take it through the smaller grits to polish it some more, if I want to.

Love my trees! The Christmas stamp did not come out perfectly but somehow I still like it, imperfections and all. :)

And my favorite, the mermaid! Very happy with the way she came out. What does not come out well in my pictures is that they have many colors in them, as a real patina would/should. There's even some blue in the one below. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my foray into the world of metal etching...are you having trouble keeping up with all my many different skillsets yet? Lol! Stained glass (although there hasn't been much of that discussed on this blog!), fused glass, clay, scrapbooking, Christmas cards, stamping, wire work, beading, and now etching. Have I left anything out? LOL! Thanks for looking and come back soon! Please give my  FB page a like if you haven't already!

Tree Weaver - Wire Weaving

Hi again! Been working on pieces from Lisa Barth's book Timeless Wire Weaving lately. Love her work and so glad to learn how to do it! I was using wire that was a little too thick and they were coming out rather large...but it's okay, since I come from a family of giants. :) I am 5'8" but my one aunt is 6'4" and another is 6'9"!

The book calls for small square diagonally drilled turquoise beads...no luck on those! So I adapted...:)

 Side view of the bracelet above. This wire is 18g and probably 14g. The cool thing is the turquoise pieces spin! Great for fiddly people like me. :D

 The bracelet above was the same pattern but made with 20g wires. And additional turquoise! Spin, spin spin!

You can see the difference between the two above, just because of the wire size. I haven't decided whether to put a patina on these or not, I like them so much like they are!

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The one above is also from Lisa's book, but I put one of my polymer clay mokume gane pendants in it. I wish I could take a good picture of these stones! That red color is actually a brilliant pinky/purple. :) With lots of sparkle! I love the color with the copper wire though...

This one is a dyed crackled agate with copper wire. It comes this color, I did not put a patina on it and it won't change or come off...My own design. 

Side of the dyed agate pendant. Just wanted to show that weave....I just love it, looks like knitting!

This is another bracelet from the book. I used a tiger eye donut I already had, just waiting for a design like this!

CSL Designs on Youtube has a tutorial for elven ears and I thought I'd give it a try. 

These are copper with Swarovski AB crystals. 

And then I got on a Tree of Life kick after I made one for one of my FB groups. I had seen one someone made with a crystal and decided to try a similar project. 

The one below is much smaller than the one above, which is more of a fan pull or window hanging than a pendant! The one below is nice, though, I wore it the other night and it doesn't scratch or anything. Kind of important when you have so many wire ends!

And finally, this is the one I entered in the FB contest on my group. Love how it came out although the swing is a little too delicate to wear this! Again, much larger than you would probably want to wear for a pendant, though that is just MY taste!

Thanks for looking and come back soon! Please give my  FB page a like!

Good Copper & Braided Mokume Gane - Wire Weaving

Warning - This post contains a lot of photos! :) I recently got inspired to buy Lisa Barth's book on wire, called Timeless Wire Weaving: The Complete Course. I love it! I've made three or four projects from it already. They aren't perfect but I could not have made them without this book!

The bail on the stone is similar to one in the book. The bail on the VK chain is my own design

Closer view.  That is triple Viking Knit...I made the chain, as well (first picture).

I need to find a good source for turquoise, or make my own from polymer clay!

This bracelet was made with much larger wire than the book suggested. It is quite large...but I don't care, I love it! The square stones in it are some kind of agate, I think. They are green, which isn't coming out in the photos too well!

The beads on the side are glass Toho matte finish beads. They were the closest to turquoise I had!

I just love that weave at the back! I will be using it frequently! The large wire I used (the outer wire is some I stripped from electricians wire, I think it's about 16g! The inner base wire is some 18 I got at Home Depot.) made this huge but very striking!  I am going to try this one again in the right gauge next time! I think it will look much more delicate. I believe the wrapping wire was 24g.

This is the second bail I made from her book. Love that weave! :)

On this bracelet I decided to use the correct gauge after how large the other one came out! I love it...it is so delicate and lacy looking. I am so glad I bought her book!

Here's the both of them together so you can see the difference! Lol...

Last time I posted I promised pics of my last batch of Marilyn's MG technique after I put resin on them, so I thought I'd put them in this post as well, since I finally got them wire wrapped. I decided on a five wire braided wrap. I did not use the Magic Glos this time, I used Clearcast Resin and I have to say it is much cheaper and I am just as happy with the results!

The wire rose below I entered into a contest on Facebook. I didnt win but I still like it! It can be easily removed and put on another chain, as well. Yes, in this photo is the same Viking knit I posted up top. :D

The one below is unique in that I used a gold colored copper wire for the 5 strand braid and the Viking knit it is shown with. That Viking knit is different because it is double wire for a portion right in the center, where the pendant is. I got the idea for the clasp from the book by Lisa Barth, as well! And yes, again it is from my last Mokume Gane batch. :) Love the colors I got this time! Not sure where the purple went though....

The last pendant is a little smaller than the rest. It is unique because I didn't really use a tutorial for it! A fellow group member on one of my Facebook groups told me how to do the zig zag weave and I had to try it! I really like how it came out. The stone is only a little over an inch so it is one of the smaller pendants I've made.

The other side...which might be the front? Hehe.

And this odd character is a polymer clay bead I made years ago and didn't quite know what to do with. It is a faux ivory piece. I saw someone on my Viking knit FB group make something similar and decided my egg would work! :D Maybe better around Easter? The wire I used is Parawire and came darkened like that....

Thanks for looking and come back soon! Make sure to like my FB page!