Getting a tool "signed" - how?

I have a couple of electric etchers. I will list one for sale soon. There is a few of them on ebay at any given time. They seem to be great for signing tools.

If you're going to retire the tool then just a sharpie will do. I like the idea of the resist-covered tool & scribe, but you may want to experiment with it first, and remember that you'll get all the scratches in the resist as well as the signature, so wrap it in something soft coming and going.

The sharpie itself may be good enough resist -- you could have him sign it, then paint resist around the signature leaving a rectangular box, then etch out everything in the box but not on the signature. Again, you should experiment first.

Depending on the tool, a good sharp awl will work fine. I've got a bunch of steel tools that my grandfather signed (to keep them from walking). Looks as much like his signature as the ones I have on the some of his old books. Probably wouldn't work on plate though.

You could have him sign with a Sharpie, then scan the signature with a flatbed scanner into a graphics file. Then a laser engraving company could use that file to engrave the signature where it was signed. They might do it cheap for the novelty of it.

Fred

Fred, Good idea. But it raises a question. Is this not forging a signature? You are in fact duplicating a signature.

On a funny side note, you can in fact forge your own signature by using the wrong date.

It would only be forgery if the intent was to deceive or defraud. For example, if more than one engraving were done and each presented as the original, say for financial gain, that would be forgery.

It's very difficult to have an original laser-etched signature.

I like the sharpie resist method (if necessary, ask him to go over it twice, or use a circuit board resist pen). Might have to use some gnarly acids to work with chrome plating though.

Tim

-- Deep Fryer: a very philosophical monk. Website:

You can electrostrip chrome with muriatic acid.

That's interesting. Have you done it? If so, what are the basic requirements (acid strength, voltage, current, polarity, any special requirement for the other pole)? How fast is it?

Thanks, Bob

Thanks for the tips. The substantive part of the tool is non-plated fine cast iron, with some good large areas for signing.

I'll look into resist/etch ideas.

BugBears

I have no idea whether it can work on steel tools, but I've actually used those, on aluminum. I used to work at a place where we used pens with a special ink that contained an acid, to write serial numbers and other data onto completed products built from aluminum parts machined in-house.

-tih

A 12 V lantern battery, Sam's Club 500 W inverter, and engraver/dremel? Oh yeah, 'n' a backpack... :)