homemade dykem

[J Tiers]

Nothing wrong with making your own.

I like to get stuff done, so I personally would have just grabbed a marker instead of fiddling with it, but that is not to say mixing up some when you have the material is wrong..

I bought some bigger markers on purpose for that, because I didn't want to buy the Dykem for as much as I (do not) use it, so the markers are my substitute. They don't seem to dry out, and I figured the Dykem would before I used even half of it.

[DennisCA]

I've gone through half a dozen markers myself, normal size, they seem to gum up for me. Maybe the really huge ones are better.

Anyway I also bought some brush pens that take fountain pen ink for other reasons, they are like 5 bucks for a pack, I'm gonna try and fill one of them up with this stuff I made, might also try with the commercial marker later on. Just to try new things you know! Think outside the box, maybe I'll find a better way of doing things, maybe I'll fail 999 times out of 1000. It's the one time that matters.

[reggie_obe]

Just to try new things you know! Think outside the box, maybe I'll find a better way of doing things, maybe I'll fail 999 times out of 1000. It's the one time that matters.

Machinists also used a copper sulfate solution. Something else you might want to try.

[cameron]

I use markers because it's quick and easy. Aside from that, they have no merits I can see, they're a poor substitute for the real thing. Poor visibility, rub off at a touch. Trying to cut to a scribed line on the band saw, the ink softens with the heat and the chips coming around with the blade stick to the surface and obscure the line. Bah, humbug!

[gld]

How about finger nail polish thinned with ass a tone (ha). Should work quite well and many colors to chose from.

[alanganes]

I've gone through half a dozen markers myself, normal size, they seem to gum up for me. Maybe the really huge ones are better.

Anyway I also bought some brush pens that take fountain pen ink for other reasons, they are like 5 bucks for a pack, I'm gonna try and fill one of them up with this stuff I made, might also try with the commercial marker later on. Just to try new things you know! Think outside the box, maybe I'll find a better way of doing things, maybe I'll fail 999 times out of 1000. It's the one time that matters.

Interesting, I was not aware of refillable brush pens. Guess I don't get out very much. It will be interesting to see how this works out. Please keep us posted!

[Dave C]

Thanks you did help and I appreciate it. Sometimes just the satisfaction of doing or making something yourself is enough.

+1 on the satisfaction. Isn't that what a hobby is all about?

[DennisCA]

Interesting, I was not aware of refillable brush pens. Guess I don't get out very much. It will be interesting to see how this works out. Please keep us posted!

I have obscure hobbies, I always liked fountain pens since I was a kid reading Donald Duck magazines (Donald Duck is ultra popular in finland and sweden, we don't care for mickey as much, he's not as genuine and relatable to us as the angry duck), alot of the best stories were old Carl Barks and Don Rosa stories which were set in the 40s and 50s when those were still the norm. I always noted these small differences between the reality of DD and real life, they had fountain pens, we had boring old pencils in school. I complained to the teacher in first grade about this.

Anyhow, what I ordered:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/322688992394

IIRC the brush is nylon, which is somewhat resistant to denatured alcohol, not sure about the plastic body. The wide flat brush one seems the best candidate.

Machinists also used a copper sulfate solution. Something else you might want to try.

I was indeed looking at that but the sulfuric acid part stumps me. I had an old car battery but I recycled it last year. Seems not anyone can buy it here anymore...

[Dave C]

Does it have to be sulfuric?

[MattiJ]

I
I was indeed looking at that but the sulfuric acid part stumps me. I had an old car battery but I recycled it last year. Seems not anyone can buy it here anymore...

I bought sulfuric acid from "Puuilo" -shop probably less than year ago. Biltema also used to sell "akkuhappo" from the spare parts desk but I can't confirm or deny the availability at the moment.

Edit: Motonet and IKH should have also "akkuhappo"

[tlfamm]

Wanting to see what Amazon offered in copper sulfate, I found the following among many. I assume (because of its deep blue color), that the pentahydrate form is preferred:



Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate Crystals, 2lbs, $15.79
https://www.amazon.com/PURE-Copper-S...copper+sulfate

Copper Sulfate powder, 2lbs, $11.95
https://www.amazon.com/2LBS-Copper-S...copper+sulfate


"This salt exists as a series of compounds that differ in their degree of hydration. The anhydrous form is a pale green or gray-white powder, whereas the pentahydrate, the most commonly encountered salt, is bright blue. Copper (II) sulfate exothermically dissolves in water to give the aquo complex [Cu(H2O)6]2+, which has octahedral molecular geometry and is paramagnetic. Other names for copper(II) sulfate are "blue vitriol" and "bluestone""

[cameron]

Wanting to see what Amazon offered in copper sulfate, I found the following among many. I assume (because of its deep blue color), that the pentahydrate form is preferred:

One may work better than the other, but in either case, the plating is copper.

[Mcostello]

I occasionally use it. It seems to stay put and not burn off as easy when grinding to a line.

[DennisCA]

I bought sulfuric acid from "Puuilo" -shop probably less than year ago. Biltema also used to sell "akkuhappo" from the spare parts desk but I can't confirm or deny the availability at the moment.

Edit: Motonet and IKH should have also "akkuhappo"

Thanks, guess it's in sweden they banned it then for private persons. I didn't find anything for rikkihappo so I tried in swedish and there I got the info it was banned, figured it was some EU thing. Good thing it wasn't.

I have copper sulfate already, a salsa jar of light blue solution left over from etching a circuit board.