First etchings, first time working with slate! Thanks to @jules for the settings and @kittski for the recommendation of a light coat of cutting board oil before etching.
Learnings from this project:
- Go ahead and save yourself some aggravation and make a jig from cardboard for the coasters in order to accurately place artwork.
- Yes, the darkness of color you choose for the words will make a difference in how intensely they etch. I know this should be blatantly obvious, but it was my first etching and up until now I’d only used colors to define steps and cut/score operations.
- You may need to adjust the “burn correction” depending on the type of wood and/or style of box. I’d just made some maple PG boxes with living hinges and with 0.09 the joints were pretty loose . . . for this one, (PG walnut) 0.07 was mallet tight.
- As always, the Forum is a fantastic repository of information - settings, experiences, and best practices. Thanks to everyone here for your contributions!