Laser Etching Stainless Steel

Tests of laser etching stainless steel using the alcohol and plaster process.

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  First two etchings on one hip flask

I was compelled to attempt this hack found on Hackaday: http://hackaday.com/2014/12/25/laser-etch-stainless-with-only-plaster-alcohol/

Using cheap stainless steel hip flasks and a lasered jig to hold the flask in exact position with respect to a known origin, I worked out a good process running a very slow etch. Two etches were done on the first hip flask at different rates: one for the lettering and one for the large image. The etch time for the image was over an hour!