Adding Resist to Brass or Copper Tubes.

Resists are materials that will "resist" the corrosive action of the acid, leaving your design as the un-etched or raised metal on your finished piece. These are the options I've tried so far.

• White Out 
• Paper resist
• String or cord
• Sharpie brand markers
• StaZOn ink

Clean brass thoroughly before applying design - scrub with green scrubby and Barkeepers Friend or Penny Brite or other powdered cleansers to remove any oil if using rubber stamps or toner transfers. Water should sheet off, not bead up. Refrain from touching with fingers which adds body oils and interferes with adhesion of the resist.  
After-etching cleanup is important:

• neutralize the etching acid with a baking soda and water solution
• remove plugs and rinse again if needed
• scrub with toothbrush, soap and water to remove all the gunk from design
• use solvent of your choice to remove ink and adhesive (Goo Gone, Acetone) or steel wool, green scrubbie to remove marker or stamp ink.

Don't forget to protect your hands with gloves.

White Out use as a scraffito (scratching through a surface of plaster or glazing to reveal a different color underneath) resist. Paint casing with white out, let dry then scratch designs into paint with sharp tools. White out flakes easily, not very satisfactory results, IMHO.

 But the options are endless, and there may be better ways to do a scraffito method, especially if the materials is less flakey than white out. Or maybe with a better scratching tool.
 Or try
•    Gesso
•    Gel  medium
•    Nail polish

Paper resist I used standard 3x4" label stock from the office supply store.

Cut shapes with paper punches, scissors or get fancy with a Silhouette or Cricut cutter and computer designs. The design is the important thing….too detailed or tiny is very difficult, but the possibilities are good! You can also use the negative of the punch. The center bullet in the photo shows the stained label punches after etching, on the right after removal and cleaning.

String or Cord applied by winding tightly and tying. I tried both cord soaked in PVA glue and waxed linen, which worked even better! Just wind tightly and tie to prevent slipping while etching. This gives a random look to the etch.

Sharpie (or red Staedtler) brand markers Markers give lots of options, especially if you have a steady hand. Staedtler brand markers are supposed to work really well, but may be hard to find unless you order them online. Black Sharpie markers work best - other Sharpie colors  do not provide enough opacity to block the acid. Shown here, on the left marks made with a Sharpie, center after etching but before cleanup, on the right following removal of ink with Acetone.

A trick to put even stripes around the tube with a marker is to use a wood dowel with a diameter just slightly larger than the opening and 3" to 4" long. Use coarse grit sandpaper to file down the end to fit SNUGLY into the casing pushing it all the way in. Fit the other end into your drill press chuck. Spin the drill on its SLOWEST speed, and touch with marker, moving it up or down the side to put a spiral mark. Touch at intervals to add stripes.

StayzOn Ink and Rubber Stamps give great results and permit the most detailed designs. The metal must be very clean for this and remember to let the ink dry before touching. Apply ink to the rubber stamp and roll the tube one full turn. Remember the circumference of the bullet casing is only about 1.3" so over-rolling will result in a double image. Using a long bamboo skewer (or dowel) will help you roll smoothly.

 As with any other etched design, longer in the acid gives a deeper etched design. Shown,two pieces etched together, the front one has been cleaned.

These two were etched with a stamped design, then cleaned and treated with Liver of Sulfur to highlight the design.

Finish your brass with some type of protective coating such as Rennaisance Wax, PYM, Permalac, Gilders' Paste, spray varnish or your favorite finishing.

You can also experiment with other patinas, maybe you like what the metal looks like after etching before cleaning. These patinas will need to be protected with a layer of protective sealant.

To get a high polish on brass (etched or not) use Simichrome Polish, in small amounts with a soft cloth.

Plug Those Holes

Plug holes in Brass Shell Casings Prior to Etching

(Note: This tutorial is for information on etching tube shapes, and assumes you have also read one of the many others available for basic etching information. Not all etching details are included here.)

Part1, Part2, Part3A, Part 3B, Part 3C, Update from Esprit Mystique on Jewelry Making Journal
Another excellent  tutorial found on Pinterest: Debra Read Etching Tutorial
Cool  bullet jewelry for sale here. The Smoking Bullet
Other online tutorials are out there.

Materials:

• Bamboo skewers
• Toothpicks
• Dense foam, sliced to 3/8” thick
• Wood dowel the diameter of shell openings, or slightly larger 

Depending on your choice of etching you will want to plug the holes in the casing - to prevent the etchant from eating away at the inside of the brass tube. When etching flat metal (there are many tutorials online for this, including this one from DeborahRead.com) you can easily cover the back side with packing tape. But tubes or bullets must be plugged.

Toothpicks work if the hole from removing the blasting cap isn't too big, but I've found that a piece of bamboo cooking skewer works better. (You only need a short piece, so cut it off, then resharpen a point in an electric pencil sharpener and you are ready to plug another one.)

The other end has a larger opening, which may be plugged with a piece of wood dowel that fits snugly, or try cutting plugs from dense foam. (I save the foam blocks from having my carpets cleaned, then slice them into 3/8" pieces with a serrated knife. Cut like a cookie -  do this BEFORE applying ink or Sharpie resists, or you risk rubbing off your art.)

The hole must be snugly filled or acid will seep inside. This one is NOT plugged properly.

It's better if the plug foam fills and overlaps the edges a bit.

After etching and neutralizing, the foam will be stained but should be intact. Be cautious when removing the plug, in case acid has seeped inside. If it has, rinse again in baking soda and water rinse until bubbling ceases, then re-rinse in water.

Sometimes these foam plugs are sturdy enough to reuse. Experiment with other types of styrofoam - the denser the better. The foam does help keep the bullets from resting completely on the bottom of the acid, which will hinder uniform etching all around. Some type of constant vibration (whether from sitting on top of your running dryer or from a small fish tank bubbler) will help keep the precipitates from collecting on the tube.

If you cut a foam plug that is too small, it can easily slide up into the casing. Now you need those narrower toothpicks - they can poke through from the end and help remove the foam.

Now, you are ready to decorate your casings by Adding Resist to Brass or Copper Tubes.

Brass Shell Casing Etching Tutorial

At a Fall 2012 KCPMC Guild meeting, Pat Kuehn gave us a great evening of etching, using PCB Etchant (available for custom etching circuit boards) or Ferric Chloride acid. This stuff is slightly nasty and very stain-inducing, so protect your hands, eyes, clothing and workspace. It corrodes any metal it touches so must be stored in plastic or glass. 

There are many online explanations of etching on copper and brass, so I will not duplicate those. (Some links provided below) or search for etching tutorials on YouTube and any search engine. There are great photos and links to several tutes on a Pinterest board of Janice Thompkins.

Most etching, especially that of very finely detailed designs, is done with PhotoPolymer Plates or Toner Transfers, both which require FLAT METAL. But I love the look of totally tubular bullet casings with designs and have a large bag of spent shell casings from my brother-in-law....

After looking all over the interverse looking for a tutorial on etching bullet shell casings and finding none, I decided to do my own experimenting. The results were demonstrated at the February meeting of the KC PMC Guild and summarized here, with photos.

Materials and tools

• Brass shell casings, any caliber, of copper or brass
• Nail punch or awl (must be narrow enough to reach all the way into casing)
• Hammer or mallet
• Riveting block or anvil with small hole available from Cool Tools,  Contenti or Beaducation, which also has a quick tutorial for using it to make rivet heads. 
• Vise or vise grip (sometimes needed to pull punch out of hole)

OR you can buy tools from the gun folks – such as MidwayUSA. Check for their hand tools for reloading. They also sell the volume presses for doing thousands….I learned a lot from reading online postings from various "reloaders" - gun enthusiasts who clean and reload shell casings. Many don't agree on techniques, but you can learn a lot from reading their tutorials and conversations.

• Bamboo skewers
• Toothpicks
• Dense foam, sliced to 3/8” thick (I saved blocks from recent carpet cleaning)
• Wood dowel the diameter of shell openings, or slightly larger (sand or file to fit)
• Tumbling mediums (ground walnut shells for cleaning, stainless steel for hardening and polishing)  

 Resists

• Sharpie black markers
• adhesive label paper and punches
• waxed linen thread
• fingernail polish
• WhiteOut
• StayzOn Ink pads and rubber stamps
• Gel medium
• gesso
• experiment!

First, clean brass casings, especially if they've been retrieved from outside and have dirt or leaf debris. The ground walnut shells do this well, used DRY in a tumbler. Fine them at pet stores (used as bedding for lizards, snakes and birds) or at Harbour Freight (used for sandblasting).

If you want holes, make them now. Use a drill press and some type of vise to hold casing while drilling - it is dangerous to hold with your fingers, plus the metal turns and gets hot when drilling. I use a jig made for drilling lentil beads, but you can also use a jeweler's vise or other small vise with leather or foam padding to protect the metal.

Drill two holes horizontally through the brass tube at either end, depending on your need. Note that drilling too close to the closed end is difficult - the metal is thicker there.

Shell casings already have a hole in the bottom for a blasting cap, punching the cap out seems easier to me than drilling and fighting with vises and drill bits.

You can drill though the ends using titanium bits, but punching them out is usually faster and easier. The caps have an inner piece so you are really drilling through a couple layers and you can end up with jagged holes and broken bits. 

Ammo reloaders have their own specialized tools for this step (see sample press here) but unless you are going into mass production, you won’t need this!!

This picture shows 3 same-caliber casings. On the left, drilled with the cap coming out and leaving a messy hole. The middle one was drilled successfully, leaving just a small hole outside. The one on the right was punched, removing the cap and leaving the small interior hole which was already there.

How to punch out spent blasting caps is in the next post - this one is getting long. Click here to jump to next step.

Punch Caps from Shell Casings

How to remove blasting caps from shell casings:

See previous post for list of tools and materials.

Blasting caps in bullets are just what they sound like - a small cap (or cup shaped piece) which contains gunpowder which explodes when gun is fired, sending the bullet on its destructive way.

Before decorating or applying etchant resist, you will need to punch out the spent blasting caps. You can drill though the ends using titanium bits, but punching them out is usually faster and easier. The caps have an inner piece so you are really drilling through a couple layers and you can end up with jagged holes and broken bits. Ammo reloaders have their own specialized tools for this step (see sample press here) but unless you are going into mass production, you won’t need this!!

Once fired, the cap pieces remain in the bullet. Three shown here - left one is inverted, lower right one has small three-legged piece removed. (I have no idea how this works - you can find lots more info on the interweb if you need it.) That said, I do save all these pieces. They look a bit like tiny bezels or may find their way into use as inclusions in resin or as tiny endcaps someday.

Set up your work space on a bench or sturdy place not affected by hammering. I use a slab of wood, cushioned by a piece of non-skid shelf liner on my workbench. This keeps the block from damaging my counter.

Place punch (nail punch, awl or other) into the empty casing. There is one (sometimes two in larger calibers) divot inside the end of the casing which you can "feel" with the punch.

Sent punch into this small hole and center over a riveting block hole, larger than the end cap. Rap the punch a couple times with the mallet or small hammer. At first the casing may slide when struck - carefully hold it upright with your non-dominant hand until the cap begins to extrude.

(By the way, nails, brass screws, even cheap awls are NOT good for repeated used. They bend, which can damage the brass shell, and even break themselves - see blue punch above.)

Knowing how hard to hit is something you will learn. Too timid and nothing happens, too hard and your punch will get stuck - which may happen anyway. Usually 3-4 good raps will pop out the cap, however some bullet brands are "tougher" than others and seem more difficult to work with.

As the cap will begin to come out it becomes easier to center over the hole in the anvil. (MidwayUSA and other gun supply places carry decapping bases and hand punches, which may make this step easier.)
Soon, your  punch will poke through, pushing the cap pieces out and into the hole in the riveting block.

If you didn't force the punch too deep, the casing should pull straight off. You may need to twist it a bit - use a rubber jar opened/gripper to grab the casing.

IF that doesn't work you need stronger measures. Wrap the casing end with a piece of leather and gently grip with pliers or vise grip. If it's really stuck, wrap the brass with several layers of masking tape and try again.

If you are careful, your brass will remain un-marred.

However, it is easy to scratch and damage the brass. Rough edges can be filed smooth and maybe incorporated into the design.

Now that there is a hole in each end, the next step is to PLUG those holes (to keep the etchant from going inside the casings).

NEW: Found a better way!! You can buy special narrow punches from gun suppliers that are designed to punch these! Check at www.midwayusa.com and search for "decapping punches".
Be sure to check the gauge of your shells so punch is correct size. They also have corresponding "bases". Using this punch and base is MUCH easier.

Please to the next step, Plug Those Holes.

Scrub brass with green scrubby and Barkeepers Friend or Penny Brite (if you can find it) or other powdered cleansers to remove any oil. Especially if using rubber stamps or toner transfers. Water should sheet off, not bead up. Refrain from touching with fingers which adds body oils. Or soak in your jeweler's pickle solution. Other things work as well, but oils hinder the etching.

February 2013 Meeting

KCPMC Guild is alive and well - kicking off 2013 with a gap in our blog. Sorry if you were looking for current info over the holidays.

The February KCPMC Guild meeting is Tuesday, February 19 at Harder Driving School.

Meetings are held at the NEW Harder Performance location,10362 Mastin in the Wycliff Shopping Center, Overland Park, KS 66214  From I435 take US69 N and exit at 103rd. Go East to Mastin, then South into the shopping center. Lots of free parking available.  (located in the Wycliff Shopping Center, near National American University and Skate City.)

We will continue our look at etching onto copper and brass - this time focusing on tubular shapes, such as empty bullet shell casings.

March will be a busy months - lots of PMC classes taking place locally. Barbara Becker Simon will be in town to teach some Certification Classes and more at The Office Studio. Contact Susan Silvy to register.

Leigh Ann Prier (founder of the KCPMC Guild) has returned to the KC area and is teaching classes in March. Check them out on her website.