Etching brass on laser cutter for acoustic guitar

Discussion
1

@lasertechs I am making an acoustic guitar and using brass on the headstock and rosette. I want to add some etching details. Can you let me know what I would need to do with the brass and laser cutter to get this to work correctly?

2

Hi Oscar.

I’ll let the laser techs respond to this one ofc. But if all else fails, you could also think about using the small CnC to engrave brass plates for your piece.

3

Thanks Jan, I’ll be using the small CNC to cut out the brass so I may give that a go and see what the results are like.

4

Yeah, there is a V-Bit there that should do quite nicely for engraving. I would love to see your results. Good luck!

1 Like
5

The laser cannot engrave metal - however you can look at anodised powder

6

You can spray paint the brass, engrave your pattern with the laser cutter and then etch in a ferric chloride solution

7

Hi,
I came across this answer and I am intrigued… would that work on tool steel too?

8

I don’t know!

9

I used this technique at uni on copper clad board with great results! We have used steel etching fluid in the space before but I’m not sure the rules are clear. @Jonathan have you tried brass?

10

Brass will work well with Ferric Chloride