Graduated Dials, and Stamping the #s

Different stamps require different amounts of force to drive them the same distance into the workpiece. For instance, a lower case l would require less force than an upper case H simply because there is less area in contact with the work. That means the depth of the character is what needs to be controlled, not the force with which the stamps are hit.

Tom
 
Looks like a graduated Dial Project soon to come ;)

But first, Ill be pondering over all this information that has been posted here.
I am glad Tony has had extensive experiance on this topic, Thanks Tony, and that
link just added to the subject. I must say, I really like Tom,s thoughts on getting the depths all the same. Makes me think about ways to make a jig that holds a small hydraulic cylinder with a hand pump. I just so happen to have lots of that stuff sitting around. Hell, then I dont need to hit it at all. I like that plan. Getting all the stamps the same length would be a easy enough task. So this is another possibility to look at more closely.

The jig would need to be simple and ajustable for depth, and with such a jig i think getting repeatability would be given, with out errors. This would be a project that would require some deep thinking. ;)

The first thing I have in the plans it to get these stamps centerd up, and while Im into that, I might as well get them all trimmed to the same over all lengh. I like all the idea,s going on here. All are being tooken into concideration.
Seems as though this topic has opened a can of worms , so to speak. Its all good, it exercises the mind. Those of us that have a interest in this will find use full tips posted by all!

This is quite the think tank ;)
Ive got a few things in the shop callin my name, so keep it coming guys.

Thanks for all the infro, idea,s, and comments.
 
Tony,first of all,these cheap stamps that have round ends on them,with the number in the center of that big flat circular end are not any good for trying to get aligned.

If I get stamps that are too fat on the ends,I grind away the excess metal right down to the edge of the number. This way,I can see where the blasted number IS. So,grind off those blunt ended stamps. Sometimes the number or letter is not quite square with the body of the stamp. If so,grind the ends down better,making sure your NEW FLAT MARKS are SQUARE with the letter. Ignore the original square shank,and just look at the new grinding you've done. Even good quality antique stamps with serifs sometimes have their characters out of square with the shanks.

I have just developed a lot of skill using stamps,but here are some suggestions: Some use DYMO tape from the Dymo hand held label makers to rest stamps against. I haven't done this,but the Dymo plastic tape is a lot thicker and harder than masking tape. Masking tape is just too thin and soft to stamp against for alignment.

I learned years ago from Lynton McKenzie,the great engraver,and a friend,to scribe a sharp line. IF your stamps are nice and crisp,you can place them on the metal,angled back towards yourself at the top. Drag the stamp downwards,and you can feel it click into the scribe line. Then,without shifting the stamp,make it upright. Stamp the stamp vertically,and WITHOUT REMOVING IT,stamp with the stamp leaning into the 4 corners. This makes sure you got the whole impression,and not PART of it,which you may NOT get the stamp back into perfectly,resulting in a double impression.

I always file a hash mark on my stamps showing which way is "up". It is too easy to stamp a mark upside down or sideways. GOOD stamps used to come with the hash marks.

I use a steel faced dead blow hammer,especially on full name stamps. With a regular hammer,it often rebounds,resulting in a strike with a less deep,annoying double strike that has to be filed off.

DEFINITELY get rid of raised metal around stamp marks. It looks BAD,BAD,BAD if you don't. I do sometimes re insert things in the lathe and take a last cut without advancing the cutting tool,to wipe off the raised areas around the stamp marks. Then,wet or dry,etc. to finish the surface nicely. DON'T buff things to death. Too often,stamps will get drag marks on the surface from excessive buffing,plus it rounds off the edges of the stamp mark. Workmanship is such that you even see guns with raised metal around the stamp marks. It's UN TASTEFUL.
 
George, I was not talking about the stamps with the circular face, but stamps that had, instead of a sharp, chisel-like edge on the stamp, the "edge", if you will, was not sharp, but radiused so that the impression did not have a sharp vee bottom that was viewed as a stress riser. I agree on the stamps you referred to. The character is rarely, if ever, centered on the square shank. Perhaps even more error than other styles.
 
If the stamps have rounded bottoms,they won't be good for clicking into a scribe line. I still suggest strongly that the excessive metal around round bottom stamps be ground away,and squarely with the character.

Get a steel faced dead blow hammer. The Stanleys are expensive,but I have seen Asian copies of those for much less.

Try using the Dymo tape with rounded edge characters,since the scribe line won't work. Just grinding away excess metal is extremely helpful,too. You HAVE to see where you're putting that stamp down. THEN,you must have skill to do it accurately. Dymo tape is my best suggestion,then for alignment.
 
You're certainly right about that, George. The purposely "dull" stamps were a little difficult to align along a scribed line. I also used that method when I could get away with a line. The sole purpose of that style stamp was to eliminate, or minimize any sharp corners, edges or any thing that might eventually lead to a crack. This was not the norm, fortunately. We only saw that requirement on parts that were exposed to H[SUB]2[/SUB]S service that were either case hardened, as in nitriding or carburizing, or through-hardening tool steel wear parts that already had extreme internal stress factors. I have some of those if someone wants them, but I don't think they will give the results most people want.


Low Stress Dot Stamps were more popular, for the same reason. They are a lot easier to get a clear impression, since they force is concentrated in the dots, but they tend to flatten out when stamping heat treated 4140/42/45.
 
Seems there are yet more tips from the experianced stamp masters.
Though Ive been busy doing other projects, and a bit late getting back to this post, I will be testing out the information gathered from this thread. I have at least now see, where im going wrong. The input from Tony & George, many thanks.

I do have a few dials that are in need of stamping, but Im going to work on the stamps this weekend. Im going to try to get them set on centre. Im going to test my learning on scrap first, as the last stamping job was so bad, I re chucked it, and had to turn it down , and start again.

George,s commet about the hard faced dead blow hammer, was surprizing to me.
Ive never seen one of those yet. The only dead blow hammers I ever see are those orange coloured jobs, sold buy most tool outlets. I,ll be on the look out for the hard faced dead blow now, and will order one if need be. In one of my posts in this thread, I had mentioned about the bouncing, so I suspect this should help that matter.

I will be taking a look over at the local Princess auto, at their stamp sets over the weekend. They usually have a variety of sizes, and brands, and they are cheap. I might pick up a few different sets, just to try them out. The only other thing Im still running threw my head is some type of fixture to hold the work piece, and a fixture to hold and align the stamps. I dont think I will ever do the stamping free hand as some guys do.

I will try what george mentioned about rocking the stamp to even out the imprint. But thats more a free hand thing, but will try it any way. Ill let you guys know whats working, and not ,as I try them. Perfection may never come, but improvements are bound to happen too. Thanks to all that have posted on the topic.
 
I think I paid about $52.00 for an orange Stanley steel face dead blow hammer. Grizzly has one now for about $18.00. Get the 32 oz. one(the larger of the 2). I'll bet they are just as good as Stanley. I had black Stanley plastic dead blows turn whitish and fall apart at work. Haven't had an Asian one do that YET. Maybe I haven't had one as long as the Stanley.
 
Stamping

Came across this site.
Might be something to look into.
I'm sure a standard zip gun could be modified to fire once once, there by eliminating bouncing of the stamp. Also a stamp holder could be made without too much trouble.
http://www.argontool.com/ezy_stamp1.htm
 
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