Making an Etched Copper Cuff Bracelet

A few weeks ago, I watched a video on Craftsy about etching. I have to admit, I had never really considered even trying this before until I saw how cool it was, and how relatively easy. So tonight I decided to hone my metal forging skills while at the same time experimenting with etching. I decided to make a copper cuff bracelet with an etched eagle design.

Tools:

Jeweler's Saw, saw blades, and bur life
Metal file
Bracelet mandrel (or something round and wrist-size to form the bracelet around)
Plastic or rubber mallet
Household iron
Wood block
Cloth
Tweezers
Glass or ceramic tray big enough for the flat bracelet to lie flat
Sharpie marker
Polishing cloths

Materials:

1 sheet of 18 gauge copper (big enough to cut a 1/2" X 6" piece)
e3 etching papers
Copper mordant
Liver of sulpher

Ready? Ok take your copper sheet and measure a 1/2" X 6" piece and cut out with your jeweler's saw. Hopefully you'll do a better job than I do and will NOT break 4 saw blades in the process and will actually cut a straight line. At any rate, I got lots of practice installing new saw blades.

Since mine was so crooked, I had to spend quite a while filing it until it was fairly straight. I kind of like things a little bit rustic so I was fine with it not being 100% straight, but file it however you like. Filing also removes sharp edges. I tapered to corners a bit so they weren't too pointy. 

Now, you need to find a design to use, which you will print on your etching paper. I just googled "free vector eagle art" or something like that. Vector art is good because you want something with clean lines. You also need a black and white image. This was the image I found: 

This is not the exact image I used, but this would work well. You don't want too many thin lines. Now whatever is in black will NOT be etched, and whatever is in white WILL be etched. I wanted my eagle to be etched, not everything else, so I used photoshop to create an inverse image, so my eagle was in white and the background was in black. Then I printed it out on a sheet of the etching paper. 

I sanded my copper slightly to give it some tooth for the paper to stick to, and then cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. Then I cut out my eagle and laid it face down on the copper blank. I placed it on a wood block and then placed a cloth over it and set a hot iron (no steam) on top for several minutes. I used some pressure to make sure it stuck.

Then I waited for it to cool off and I put it in water for 10 minutes. 

I opened my mordant. This must be dangerous stuff because there were warning all over the box. I felt like I was opening a shipment of uranium. Be careful with the stuff and dispose of it properly. Do NOT dump the leftover down the sink. Not good.

Ok, now VERY CAREFULLY peel off the paper. This didn't work well for me, so I ended up leaving a lot of it on. If you unintentionally peel off part of your pattern, you can touch it up with a sharpie. This will have the effect as the transfer paper, which is essentially to create a "resist" where the mordant will not etch into the metal. Now you will also want to cover the back side of your blank and the sides with a sharpie. Just color it in until you can't see the copper anymore. This is important. 

Now, in a well ventilated location, pour the mordant into a glass or ceramic dish and lay your copper blank in it. Use safety glasses and gloves. Let it sit for 30 - 60 minutes. The mordant will now eat into the metal anywhere where there is no resist, which should only be where your design is. I let mine sit for about 45 minutes, but could have gone longer. Don't let it sit too long though or it will eat through the metal too much.

When it's ready, use your tweezers to remove and rinse thoroughly. I used steel wool to remove the mordant, the leftover paper, and the sharpie. Then I cleaned it again with rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of the mordant. You won't want this anywhere near your skin. Here's what it looked like... very subtle. Uh oh... But wait. We're not done.

Now we're going to patina it with liver of sulpher to really make the etching pop.

Place the blank in a dish and add 4-5 drops of liver of sulpher.It will turn black, essentially. 

Take it out, rinse it off and sand it, being careful not to sand it where the design is. You want to keep the patina on that section. Then give it a good polish and buff. NOW you should be able to see your design. In addition to the design, there are other sections that are etched, where the paper came off or the sharpie wasn't applied thickly enough. I think this is ok - it gives it a nice rustic look. I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out, especially since taking the paper off looked a bit like a nightmare. 

Now, just take your bracelet mandrel and carefully but firmly wrap the copper around it until it is the size and shape you like. Use a rubber or plastic mallet to get the ends at a flat angle (so they're not pointing out). 

 Voila!