Hello! I am looking into making some steel punches for stamping
designs into sheet goods. I don’t have the money to have someone
else do it but I prefer to make my own tools most of the time
anyway. I’ll be using heat treated carbon steel for the punches. The
designs are going to be too fine for files and the like so I’m
wanting to try a chemical etch. Any advice concerning different
mordants, resists, or anything else of a related nature would be
appreciated. Most of the things I’m hoping to etch will be 1/4" or
so and smaller. If this sounds like a pipe-dream I’d also like to
hear that as well, along with any reasons you might care to share. To
start off, I’ll be stamping annealed brass and copper sheet but I’d
like to be able to use them on sterling and the like at a later
date. I’m wanting to use my own custom designs. Thanks, folks.
Mike