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Thread: Name Stamp

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Name Stamp

    I am after a name stamp for my furniture and tools, and need a recommendation. Or advice.


    As I discovered in my research, there are two types of stamps. The "Makers Stamp" creates the name in relief, while the "Owners Stamp" recesses the name. So about a month ago I received a Makers Stamp from a well-known stamp maker. This had letters 1/8" high (I wanted something small that would not dominate), just my name.


    As much as I tried, I could not get it to make an impression in either end grain or face grain. I gave the stamp as solid a wack as I could with a small hammer (actually a gennou). Any harder and I feared doing the wood damage. As you know, our local woods are hard.


    I know the stamp works as it came with an example in what looked like white oak end grain.


    So I contacted the (US) company asking for the secret. they replied ..


    Yes, the end grain is the only way to get
    an impression that does not crush the wood.
    Your piece needs to be on a very dense solid surface
    such as a cement floor, or anvil or other.
    And you will need a heavy hammer like a 3lb sledge.
    Depending on the size of the stamp.
    Face grain can actually be done by branding.
    The stamp can be heated about to a blue color, and
    then held on the wood. It actually can look quite
    nice making a black background with light lettering.
    Work with some practice impressions in endgrain until
    it works for you.


    A 3 lb sledge hammer! Are they nuts! And if I wanted a branding iron, I would have sought one out at the outset. I was not pleased.


    Anyone have the same experience and have a solution, or are my expectations simplistic? I think I may have to settle for an owners stamp as this has less surface area to imprint.


    Regards from Perth


    Derek

  2. #2
    Hit it as hard as you need to for the impression to look right. I'd hit it with something heavy to make the odds of a good strike better. A 3 pound hammer seems about right.

  3. #3
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    Hey Derek

    Yes you have found the problem with stamps, although I find their answer crazy - for simple marking of a piece I just use the individual letter and number stamps from LV - with care in alignment of each stamp initials and dates look great especially when filled with a fine point permanent artist pen. But all in all I prefer designing a simple mark and learning to carve it fast and well.

    Cheers - Bill
    Cheers, Bill Fleming

  4. #4
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  5. #5
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    As much as I tried, I could not get it to make an impression in either end grain or face grain. I gave the stamp as solid a wack as I could with a small hammer (actually a gennou).
    What is that old adage?

    When all else fails try a bigger hammer.

    Test it with the sledge on a piece of scrap. For best results one hit will be best. There could be a problem with registration if trying to do it with two whacks.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #6
    Derek, can you post a picture of the stamp? Does it make a patterned impression like Larry's stamp (the old clark and williams one?), or is it just some fairly faint letters? If it makes a depressed area, I'd imagine you're really going to have to nail it. If it doesn't work as it is (a gennou is too light), there's no real choice but to hit it harder, otherwise it's just a wasted tool.

    I wouldn't be afraid to really nail it, and if you're afraid of hitting it with a hardened hammer (presume that it's only moderately hardened), find something like a 2 pound chinese brass hammer and let it just mar the face of the brass hammer.

    Personally, I'd strike it as hard as i needed to for it to make the impression I wanted in the wood, regardless of the cost. Unless you learn to carve tidy marks, nothing else will look as good as the maker stamp.

  7. #7
    I think I have a stamp from the same company. I use it in the Beech and birch plane bodies I'm slowly working on.

    YEs it takes a very stout support like a cement floor or end grain log and a heavy heavy hammer. I use a 3lb sledge, but I'd go for a 4 if I could find one. Having the stamp square and well positioned then letting it rip is the only way of getting it right. Any hesitation or miss strike makes it look bad. You need a much bigger hammer than what you're using.
    Trevor Walsh
    TWDesignShop

  8. #8
    I've seen wood stamping done by applying pressure with a bar clamp (heavy duty).
    You might want to try that, make a jig to hold the stamp and the piece and apply pressure!

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    I am after a name stamp for my furniture and tools, and need a recommendation. Or advice.


    As I discovered in my research, there are two types of stamps. The "Makers Stamp" creates the name in relief, while the "Owners Stamp" recesses the name. So about a month ago I received a Makers Stamp from a well-known stamp maker. This had letters 1/8" high (I wanted something small that would not dominate), just my name.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Derek,

    Please pardon my simplistic response. No offense in intended.

    A name in relieve inherant means the letters stand proud of the surrounding area. This involves either elevating the letters or lowering the surrounding material. Elevating the letters (to the best of my knowledge) would require an applique, which I'm assuming isn't your desire.

    Lowering the surrounding area involves some combination of crushing the fibers, cutting or gouging the materia, burning the fibers, or lasing (yes I know, a form of burning) the material away. Those are the methods that come to mind.

    I do remember seeing a high-end builder in Boulder, Colorado who had lased "coins" made up for him containing his mark and he would inset them in his work. He used a contrasting color for accent but you could place an order with an assortment of lumber; I seem to remember the setup fee was the relatively pricey part but I don't know why (if you provide the material) it should cost much more to get them in assorted materials.

    The quality of your work would certainly warrant such an investment.

    Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

    Jim
    One can never have too many planes and chisels... or so I'm learning!!

  10. #10
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    On wooden planes the 18th.C. makers made really DEEP stampings. I think they MAY have soaked the end of the plane in water for a while to soften the end grain. However,there is never a trace of water marks on the planes. Other than that, I would just use a very heavy hammer,as suggested. Beech isn't as hard as some of your woods,no doubt.

  11. #11
    Hi Derek
    Not long after reading your post, I came across this:
    http://musingsfrombigpink.blogspot.c...ng-planes.html

  12. #12
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    Thanks for the link Joe. That was really helpful.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Neeley View Post
    Derek,

    Please pardon my simplistic response. No offense in intended.

    A name in relieve inherant means the letters stand proud of the surrounding area. This involves either elevating the letters or lowering the surrounding material. Elevating the letters (to the best of my knowledge) would require an applique, which I'm assuming isn't your desire.

    Lowering the surrounding area involves some combination of crushing the fibers, cutting or gouging the materia, burning the fibers, or lasing (yes I know, a form of burning) the material away. Those are the methods that come to mind.

    I do remember seeing a high-end builder in Boulder, Colorado who had lased "coins" made up for him containing his mark and he would inset them in his work. He used a contrasting color for accent but you could place an order with an assortment of lumber; I seem to remember the setup fee was the relatively pricey part but I don't know why (if you provide the material) it should cost much more to get them in assorted materials.

    The quality of your work would certainly warrant such an investment.

    Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

    Jim
    This link defines the two different types of stamps nicely;

    http://www.spanglefish.com/metalstam...?pageid=318975

  14. #14
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    Musings from Big Pink mentions using multiple blows to sink in his stamp. My previous thought of one hit being best may not be valid.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  15. #15
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    Nov 2010
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    Thanks for the links, guys. Very interesting!!
    One can never have too many planes and chisels... or so I'm learning!!

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