I was a silversmith for about twenty years with my own Indian jewelry store. I went to law school, retired from the practice of law, and am now returning to making jewelry. I no longer have any of my tools and must acquire all new ones. I made quite a number of stamps from old files, punches, and such, but I live in an apartment now and will not have the facilities for grinding them flat that I that I once had. I will however be able to harden and temper, so I am looking for steel blanks in about three inch lengths. Using new blanks as opposed to old tools is new to me, and I need to locate sources for them. I would greatly appreciate any help you very knowledgeable folks can give me.
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Welcome back to jewelry making. You might start by buying and reading The Art of Stamping by Matthieu Cheminee to refresh your memory about stamp making. In it he suggests that you look for material to make stamps out of in old files and other tools. If you want to buy new metal, there are many online metal supply stores as well as McMaster- Carr. You can also just skip making them and buy them from people like Chris Pruitt. Good luck…Rob
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Thanks a lot for your response. I actually already have that book; it was quite helpful both in relearning what I once knew and in gaining new knowledge. It has some excellent material on using old tools to make stamps, but as I mentioned I do not have the facilities in my small, new apartment jewelry shop to do the heavy grinding with water cooling that I once had. I was acquainted with Chris Pruitt’s stamps and will get a few when the time comes. I had not found McMaster-Carr, which looks very useful. My greatest difficulty in making my own stamps is in getting blanks that are cut to my needed length of about three inches.
That may be a problem, but keep looking at other online metal suppliers. I will let you know if I find any myself. Others may also have some ideas. Good luck…Rob
I’ve bought tool steel from McMaster Carr many times. It’s my favorite source for handmade stamps and punch steel.
McMaster Carr tool steel always comes annealed. (you can double check that in the description before you buy it.)
That means it’s very easy to cut to whatever length you want with a hack saw and a vice. It’s no big deal at all. Technically you could even use a jeweler’s saw, but you’ll break a bunch of blades.
Since you don’t want to do a lot of grinding you should get it in the narrowest width to meet your needs.
If you’re grinding, hardening and tempering tool steel in an apartment, I’d be more worried about that. As you know making hand made stamps is a messy, noisy process. Plus, there’s all of the red hot steel involved.
I don’t have a bench grinder in my current studio, so I use the diamond wheel on my lapidary grinder. That not only keeps the dust down, it also keeps the steel cool.
But I’ve ground lots of stamps throughout my lifetime with a bench grinder and a cup of water.
Best of luck!! Let us know if you have other questions.
Jeff
At the moment, since I’m no longer going to producing lots of pieces, I am only going to use my Foredom and a drip for the quite limited lapidary work I’ll be doing, so I don’t have plans–yet–for a lapidary machine. I’m watching my limited available space fill up and am still quite unsure about what my final setup will look like. For example, I’m thinking about a single arbor polishing motor with some sort of small dust collector as I get into operation, though for the moment I’ll be able to do my very limited polishing with sandpaper and Foredom. I have not the slightest doubt that I will need to expand my capabilities beyond that very soon. Since I’m going to working from an apartment, I won’t even be able to use the air-acetylene torch I’m so used to but will have to rely on a butane torch, which I have never used. So at this point my facilities are limited, though knowing myself as I do, I cannot even guess where this will all lead.
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That should work! Remember hardened and tempered tool steel can cut annealed tool steel. That means you can do a lot of shaping with of your stamps with just hand files. When I was younger and didn’t have any power tools I shaped stamps just with files and a jeweler’s saw. Jeweler’s saws are great for cutting straight line patterns.
I’m a big fan of diamond burs as they tend to not bounce and chatter when grinding.
I’ve mentioned this before, but this is my favorite set of diamond burs.
All that is probably is Matthieu Cheminee’s book. I’m familiar with him, but I’ve never read his book.
I think you’re going to have a lot of fun!!
Jeff
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I have found many online suppliers of O1 and W1 tool steel. It is mostly round or bar, no square other than for McMaster-Carr. You might inquire if they will cut the rod to size for an upcharge. Other sources would be those who sell chasing and repousse tools. I have an acetylene torch that I used for years. It sits in storage having been replaced first with an acetylene and O2 regulated torch with big cylinders. That was soon replaced by a propane and O2 (Meco) torch with big cylinders. I now run that torch and a Little torch on 1 lb. propane cylinders and a medical O2 concentrator. I also have an EZ torch on 1 lb. propane and a butane torch that I am using more and more. Using a torch in an apartment limits you to butane probable, but you might look into 1 lb. propane and an O2 concentrator. You are going to get frustrated soon. Is there a nearby studio where you can rent space or a garage unit attached to your building where you can work? Keep us posted on your progress…Rob
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Hi,
regarding stamp blanks, you might also search on ebay for ready made stamps that you can modify or repurpose…
try search with the following words:
metal punch stamping tool jewelry making
there are also inexpensive number and alphabet sets that you could also repurpose
julie
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Hi,
regarding using your flexshaft to modify stamps, you could look into
cutoff wheels or separating discs to cut metal
heatless mizzy wheels for grinding
abrasive sanding discs such as moores snap on discs for shaping/ finishing
instead of a drip system, you could use a small cup of water…
julie
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Hi,
regarding torches, i do not own but have seen the bernzomatic creator tool torch in instagram videos, and it looks like a possible option for people not wanting complex torch and gas systems indoors…
see melissa muir demo below
also, there are a few sizes of the hand held butane torches…ie: gas capacity, flame size…i have seen andrew berry of AtTheBench.com make pretty much anything with 2 sizes of butane torches…opened my eyes to their functionality!
julie
Online Metals sells square O1 bar stock, but not in 3” lengths. I cut it down to size with an angle grinder and cut off disc. Julie’s suggestion of purchasing inexpensive letter stamps is a great idea. Harbor Freight has several sizes from which to choose.
The Orca setup uses a 1lb propane tank has 3 different size tips and would give you more heat and flexibility than a butane torch.
Pam
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Just a caution, I am not sure if the inexpensive Harbor Freight stamps are high carbon steel. A spark test would tell…Rob
I will echo Pam’s comment about the Orca (also known as EZ) torch. I have been using one for over 10 years and have been very happy with it. (I gave away my oxygen tank and put away my little torch many years ago). While every city/apartment complex/insurer has different rules that you might want to check into, I suspect that if a butane torch is acceptable, the Orca torch run on a 1 pound disposable propane tank may also be acceptable
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Thank you all for your helpful replies. I guess I was being a bit lazy in how I was looking at obtaining steel blanks that were ready for the design to be applied. I used to use cutoff discs heavily and I was always pleased at their effectiveness with different metals. I have several carts going at online stores such as PMC, Pepetools, and Rio Grande and I have added an angle grinder and hacksaw. I love tools and have been getting a few beat up old tools looking better than new ones, so now I’ll simply include potential stamps to the list.
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Hi,
Otto Frei is another wonderful source…their search function and navigation is good
julie
Thanks Julie. I’ll be sure to take a look.
Take a look in pawn shops that have tools. They usually have a box of Allen wrenches that are about the size you are looking for. They come in different thicknesses. Just need to cut off the L. Normally pay less than a dollar. Take a small file with you and you can test to see if they are hardened.
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Online metals.
They have air hardening, water hardening, and oil hardening tool steel.
I have made punches from there stock.
Get the book or get online for tempering whatever steel you choose.
Jim
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