So after viewing several YouTube videos on engraving dog tags with the glow forgge, I decided to try my hand at it.
I picked up a 100 pack of stainless steel dog tags from Amazon for a few $, and was greeted with failure on my first go. Not fully undstanding the issue at hand because it * should* be doable I gave it another shot, full power, about 300 speed, 2 passes. It bent the dog tag like it got rolled over by a train. (Sorry I apperently forgot to take a photo of that one)
I then went back and read through the comments, found some users who had the same issues I did. And the creator commented back to them saying he had sprayed a dry lube from Lowes or Home Depot onto the project before doing the engraving and forgot to mention it.
I picked up a can of the dry lube he mentioned, tried the settings he suggested with still no avail. After looking through more posts and videos it was determined that user may have been doing a couple more steps between setup and engraving (Including replacing the tag with one done professionally.
I started looking to see if anyone else suggested anything similar or different and came across this YouTube video
So I picked up some of the Dry moly lube from bexoa mart, and here’s some things I learned: 1) Dry Moly lube smells like wet dog and cat pee…you have been warned.
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clean up requires a lot of isopropyl alcohol 90% or greater to clean up the object effectively when you are done.
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it will stain your skin the moment it touches. Gloves are HIGHLY recommended. I’ve washed my hands several times since yesterday and I still have some stained to my finger tips.
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Once I finally got the DML, I found that you may need to double layer the spray depending on what you are trying to engrave. A stainless steel knife for example needs 2 layers of buildup and at least 2 passes for all the words to show up properly…hard lesson learned.
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Depending on the target item more then 2 coats may be over kill. Dog tags need 2 coats max and it’s a very quick spray. Additionally do 2 passes at about 230 speed full power for the best over all image results.
Here’s what my experience has turned out
I think I have a few more settings to nail down but hope this helps someone speed up their journey in the process!
Hock