Hand Tool Name Stamping

[Kirk Poore]

A few years ago, my grandfather passed a toolbox of his father's and his grandfather's tools on to me. This included a wooden spokeshave, wooden plow and rabbet planes (with some brass fittings), a very nice ratcheting brace, some keyhole saws, and various other small items. The spokeshave and two planes were marked with my great-great-grandfather's name stamped into the wood, in addition to some other names (probably the makers). These letters are less than an eighth of an inch tall.

I routinely use the spokeshave and brace, along with a couple of spokeshaves I made myself. I'd like to stamp my name on at least these tools, to show some family lineage for whoever gets them in a few decades. Does anyone know of a source of letter stamps that are that small? Should I be looking for something to stamp wood, or should I try to find some stamps that are intended to stamp metal?

Thanks...

Kirk

[Michael Pilla]

Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=800). Just bought them myself recently but haven't used them yet.

I hope this helps-
Michael

[Jason Christenson]

Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=800). Just bought them myself recently but haven't used them yet.

I hope this helps-
Michael

That looks like the same set I bought at Ace Hardware.

[Steve Beadle]

That also looks quite like a set I received as a gift from Lee Valley. Somewhere in the literature there was a warning, however: do not use these to stamp on steel, just wood or soft metals. Whether the same warning should apply to these Harbor Frieght stamps, I don't know--but I would suggest you proceed cautiously at first!

[Roger Bell]

I dont know why hand stamping wouldnt work, but s an alternative to hand stamping, you might consider laser engraving.......

[Kirk Poore]

Thanks, guys. I'm not a regular patron of Horror,err, Harbor Freight, but for something like this that I'm not likely to wear out, it's worth a shot. On the other hand, I've got to put an order in with Lee Valley for some cut nails, so I'll check there too...

Kirk

[Michael Pilla]

That also looks quite like a set I received as a gift from Lee Valley. Somewhere in the literature there was a warning, however: do not use these to stamp on steel, just wood or soft metals. Whether the same warning should apply to these Harbor Frieght stamps, I don't know--but I would suggest you proceed cautiously at first!

No, I wouldn't use the Harbor Freight ones to stamp steel either. I bought them to stamp wood and brass and they should work fine for both.

Michael

[Phillip Thorne]

I wonder how much one of the customization shops would charge to laser etch a tool...that would be a great way to show lineage....

[Bob Smalser]

A set of stamps is a lifetime investment. Buy good ones from Brownell's made for steel and professional use.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=16655&s=

http://www.brownells.com/Images/Products/990501101.jpg

And stamping neatly isn't easy....an electric pencil may be a better choice.

I set the workpiece in a lead block and clamp a 1"-thick bar to it to act as a straightedge and index to rest the stamps against. The straightedge must be sufficiently tall to reach the flat, square section of the stamp above its taper and insure the stamp strike is plumb. I set letter width using a machinist ruler and make a small center mark for each letter using the electric pencil. The lead base insures all the force of the strike is applied to the workpiece, not an uneven or rebounding surface beneath it. Second strikes are iffy, the cleanest letters come with one strike only.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/2080858/199944182.jpg

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000GATCH6.01-A3ONVYY4BUAORQ._AA160_SCLZZZZZZZ_V34011599_.gif

http://www.amazon.com/DREMEL-290-01-Engraver-Electric/dp/B000GATCH6/sr=1-1/qid=1168538446/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8706817-2552815?ie=UTF8&s=hi

[jeremy levine]

FYI the Brownells carry the caution

NOTE: Steel Stamps are intended for softer steels, barrels, etc. DO NOT use on hardened or plated steels, knife blades, tough alloys. Misuse voids guarantee.

[Andrew Swartz]

I wonder how much one of the customization shops would charge to laser etch a tool...that would be a great way to show lineage....
I've been corresponding with a company called "Infinity Stamps" that specializes in custom made stamps. I asked for a quote on a stamp similar to those found on old wooden planes, with the postage stamp border. So far they haven't been very helpful. I'll post again when I get a difinitive answer from them.

If anyone has experience with another company that does this type of work, please let me know.

[Bob Smalser]

You're simply not gonna successfully stamp hardened tool steel, period. Banging away at your cast iron isn't wise, either. That's why they make electric pencils.

On soft or annealed steels, the stamp gets hit pretty hard....my concern is that cheap stamps aren't just more likely to wear out early, they are more likely to break and cause injury.

[Dave Anderson NH]

My stamps for the Chester Toolworks Logo are made by Harper Mfg in Las Vegas NV and were quite reasonably priced. A 3/8" x 1/2" stamp was less than $130 including the shipping charges. You send them a pdf, jpg, gif, or any CAD format and they will make it for you in about 3-5 weeks depending on their work load at the time.

Bob Smalser is right, no stamp will work on hardened tool steel. I stamp my tool steel before heat treating and tempering. The stamps also work well on wood. I don't strike my stamps to make the impression, I use a fixture and a 3 ton arbor press.

[Rob Millard]

Kirk,
I use to work part time at a machine shop, and they did contract work for a stencil company ( daytonstencil.com). The stencil company made me a stamp that matched fairly closely the font seen on molding planes. I didn’t have to pay for it, but I think they were about $70.00-80.00.
Rob Millard

[Phillip Thorne]

There's a store in a local mall around here called "Things Remebered"...the wifey seems to think they'll engrave anything you bring into them...so while i was typing this i decided to call their 800 number...nice lady said she thought they could engrave pretty much anything, kind of varies by store, and that there is a walk-in fee (also varies by store) and a charge of three bucks a word...while not as handy as the stamps you might end up with something that looks a lot cleaner...we had them engrave a Christmas ornimate to give our parents, looked awesome when they got done...anyways...enough rambling...have a great weekend...