[Mike Kelly]

I have played with DIY brass etchings a few times, it's a fun project . Rather than paying for a highly overpriced repro Willys data plate set , I am making my own . Not claiming it's going to be a completely accurate copy but hopefully it will be good enough. I used the free libraOffice software which is rather good.

I use circuit board Ferric Chloride acid to etch the cut to size thin brass sheets which are cheap as chips. You use shiny photo paper and a laser printer, you print out a negative image which is then applied to the brass sheet and heated with a household clothes iron , in theory, the black toner adheres to the brass sheet. It is rather a fussy process , not perfect but with practice good results are possible. If you mess up a few times , just print out a few more sheets of the image and experiment . Some use a office type hot plastic sheet laminator and run the job through a few times rather than a hot iron.