well i dont like learning from books. i just like to wing it more or
less. what im trying to accomplish doesnt seem that hard. im just
asking if its possible to get a pair of metal stamps that are like
small and round shaped. or maybe square. and then make a bunch of
"stamp" on the metal sheet with those to create one larger design. ?
so, do people do that?
Try Indian Jewelry Supply (ijsinc.com) for stamps of shapes etc.
They have over 6 pages of stamps that range in price from $2.50 to
$8.00 or more and different sizes too. Their web site is a little
slow so download their catalog (I think you can download just the
stamps part). I had to print out the stamp pages so I could select
the ones I wanted. You might want to order by phone instead of using
the web site if you know what you want. They ship pretty fast and the
shipping is reasonable. I ordered some of their stamps and just tried
them on some scrap and they appeared to work but I can’t attest to
they hardness etc.
Scott
Beginning silversmith
wow. im really amazed at how much sense this makes. thanks for this
awesome tutorial. now. what would help even more isif u had pictures
to go along with text? now since this is such a deatiled post, im
asking because i must assume u have these pictures somewhere/ please
post them now! im so excited to see what u have for me next post@you
well i dont like learning from books.
This is where you and I differ, I study first, then experiment next.
Reading from a book is good and sometimes the only option, there’s
the internet (the worlds biggest magazine) if you don’t like to read
books.
Winging it with ferrous metals will result in a lot of metal scrap
(which may be okay as ferrous metals are usually cheap, but waste is
waste).
Yahoo! groups, this group, other groups will have more than enough
experience to help you out.
As it happens I make knives so hardening metal is part of my bread
and butter.
Small and round shapes, even square shapes can be purchased or made,
either way they’re not out of your reach.
Embossing metal has been done for a looooooong time, so yes people
do that.
Regards Charles
what would help even more is if u had pictures to go along with text?
Sorry Laura, no pictures, really. I would suggest you take Scott’s
advise and download Indian Jeweler’s catalog (ijsinc.com). They are
a fine company and they have fine stamps. To see good examples of
how they can be used, search Google images for either “concha belt”
or “concho belt” - either one will bring up a lot.
30 years ago I did a huge amount of stamping, and I was taught how
to make them (as I outlined here) by an Indian stamp maker. Nowadays
I use engraving for the same sort of fancywork - just a different
marketplace and style.
And sorry but I forget the name of the lady who asked about using
square orround punches - It’s your work, punch away…
A couple of more bits on the topic: You need to have hardened tool
steel stamps because you’ll (probably) be stamping on a steel block.
Your stamps will blur and go to mush real fast if they’re not hard.
A good 80% of my work was done with a few stamps: large arc, small
arc, S-Curve, flower and a center punch. S-curve gives you ropes,
arcs can be “One up, one down” which is similar. You don’t need
elaborate stamps unless you just like to work that way. I made all of
the above, BTW - the easy ones are easy, with a bit of learning.
well i dont like learning from books.
I’ve sometimes wondered if learning from books hasn’t been
responsible for many of the innovations in different fields. When
reading, each individual comes to their own understanding or the
process(es) described in the book and therefore may execute that
process in a different way, perhaps slightly different, perhaps
greatly different, than the author had in mind when writing the book.
This may be additionally brought about by the writing ability/style
of the author.
Mike DeBurgh, GJG
Alliance, OH
well i dont like learning from books.
This is going to be a problem for you.
Books are these amazing things where the ideas and thoughts of one
person can be instantly transmitted into another persons head
without the use of wires.
As a professional we need to be able to put the “don’t like” to one
side and move on to a realization that we may not have to “learn”
from a book - just experience them.
Tony Konrath
Laura,
Look around you - if you are just intending to work in copper or
silver, any metal which is harder than them will do for a stamp. So,
you can use big nails as punches - the pointed end will make a dot
or maybe a small square and, if you file the end a bit flatter, it
will make a bigger dot or square. If you can find a horse shoe nail,
it will give a rectangle or a square - just try them as you find
them. If you then want to change the shape a bit, use a triangular or
round needle file to file a groove along the length of the end bit of
the nail or across its face. Use an old screwdriver to punch a line
or find any other interesting shaped bits of steel, maybe in a local
junk yard or the kitchen drawer. Remember, anything that is harder
than the metal you are wanting to punch will do the job - the only
reason that people use commercial hardened steel punches is that
they will last longer before the end gets messed up but if you can
keep finding new punches or can just clean them up with a file, then
you can manage without commercial punches. You can leave the ends of
the punches rough for an interesting texture in the bottom of the
stamping or you can polish the ends for a shiny effect. Put your
metal onto a block of hard steel if you are going to punch the
design into the front of the piece or onto a block of softwood like
pine if you are wanting to punch the design from the back (repousse).
Just experiment…
Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
well, let me tell you i have done quite a bit of research online for
the resin jewlery i have been attempting.
i am still posting in this forum because i need to figure out if i
can indeed just order two small metal stamps, hammer them into a
metal sheet and then what do i do after that?
im the gal that was asking about round and square things. what is a
center punch? is it just a round stamp?
i dont understand about this “punch” word. is it an action or
something? because i was under the impression that metal stamping was
done on sheet metal with like metal stamps that are hammered? into
the sheet metal? like am i wrong or something? and i was under the
impression that after u hammer the indent from the stamp or something
need to be filled with some black oxidizer?
i can understand the stamp needing to be strong/hard or it will lose
its “consistency” for the shape, but what i see at like online store
when i search the term “metal stamps” is what they call "metal stamps"
is there a specific metal or something?
Sorry Laura, no pictures, really. 30 years ago I did a huge amount of stamping.
I would love you to show some pictures of how you make stamps— on
your blog maybe?. I am most interested in how to make stamps the way
you describe. A tutorial possibly? It is something I have never really
been able to nail down.
Cheers, Hans Meevis
Dear Laura,
As gently as I can I’m going to suggest that you have been given a
great deal of and you still won’t go and get a book!
You need to get a book!
The illustrations and paragraphs will lead you through the process
step by step and you’ll be able to grasp the concepts such as
"oxidize" (which is a coloring technique not a filling) and “center
punch” (which is used to mark a piece of metal with a tiny
indentation that you can put the pointed arm of a compass into.)
I know you don’t like them, they can be threatening if you’ve had
bad experiences or are dyslectic, but it’s a lot like saying that
you want to go and see the Grand Canyon… but don’t want to travel
to get there.
Tony Konrath
i dont understand about this "punch" word. is it an action or something?
Laura, I’d suggest you don’t get all wrapped up in the words. You
get a piece of steel and whack it with a hammer on any piece of
metal. Without looking up the language, I’d say that punching
involves piercing through things, except when it doesn’t. That’s
largely what punch presses do, is “punch” out parts. But the two
words are used interchangeably a lot in common usage. A center punch
is a round punch with a tapered point on the end - a dot. It’s
intended use is to make a spot to start a drill bit, so it won’t
wander and has a place to start. But they are good for other things,
too. They make a nice wide dot when used for stamping - nice and
round, too.
I can appreciate that some on this thread are looking for guidance,
but you (guys) don’t need THAT much guidance. Get any piece of steel
and bang it against any piece of metal, it’s all up to you. This is a
place where there are no rules. If you don’t use good steel when you
make your own tools, you’ll find they will have a short life for all
the effort you put out - that’s a rule. Other than that, just
bang away…
Dear Laura, Research online is not the same nor (in my opinion) as
much fun as playing. A nail can make a variety of patterns.
… Add a flat head screw driver ,/…/…/.\ …//…
/// …/…/… A Phillips head screw driver with the point sanded
off can be added to the mix. *///There are many variations that
Ican’t do on a keyboard. JUST PLAY!
Any piece of metal can be used to play with but an aluminum can
takes a light touch. Flea markets and construction sites are great
places to look for large nails and such. Harbor Freight has the
letter and number stamps for under $10. They can be turned sideways
or upside down.
Bobbie Horn
Brownfield, TX
well i dont like learning from books.
Too bad. They’re traditionally one of the richest and most accurate
sources of the wealth of human learning built up over time. I know
you are able to read, or this list would do you no good. How is this
somehow more acceptable (printed words on your screen) than is a book
(which often took longer to write because the writer likely took the
time to proofread and edit what they’d written, not to mention taking
the time to fully organize the topic. Many also have good photos, for
people who just can’t seem to wrap their minds around the value of
literacy…
i just like to wing it more or less.
Well, there’s much to be said for the learning that takes place via
trial and error and teaching yourself. But if you don’t bother to
read what’s out there either before, or concurrently to your efforts,
you’ll spend a lot of time asking simplistic questions that have long
been answered many times over in the first look at the subject in the
books. And you’ll save yourself the need to completely invent the
wheel from scratch. The books, and hands on experimental learning
need to go hand in hand. Both together are much better than either
one alone.
what im trying to accomplish doesnt seem that hard. im just asking if its possible to get a pair of metal stamps that are like small and round shaped. or maybe square. and then make a bunch of "stamp" on the metal sheet with those to create one larger design. ? so, do people do that?
An example of one of those simplistic questions you’d not need to
ask if you’d done any reading at all on the subject. And by reading,
I mean a trip to the library or book store. Please don’t make the
mistake of many in the under 30 crowd, or assuming that everything is
available on Google. It’s not. Not yet, at least. The answer, of
course, is yes, they do, and have done for eons.
Stamps are as simple or complex in form and use as you wish to make
them. That could be just a nail used to make dimples when held to the
metal and tapped, or center punches, or the working end of
screwdrivers, or other things you might find. Or you might take
something and make an intentional shape on the end, starting with
that nail, or using better tools steel (drill rod from machine supply
shops works great) than filing or sanding or grinding a desired
shape on the end. For permanence, you might want to then harden and
temper the working end. But anything harder than the metal you’re
stamping can work, from found objects (rocks from the driveway?, nuts
and bolts, etc…) Most people using stamps for decorating metal
often use multiple impressions of the same or different stamps.
Whatever you wish, and which works for you, is fine. A variation of
what you describe is the use of hammers. You can use tools or
whatever (stamps?) to texture the face of a hammer, for esample,
which is then used on your metal to produce the end pattern. There
are several commercially made texturing hammers out now that do this.
Some of those will give a pattern fairly close to what you’re
describing, or you can easily make your own to experiment with cheap
(kmart quality of harbor freight) ball pein hammers. File, hack,
stamp, chop, grind, carve, or whatever, into the hammer face, then
hammer the metal. The result is usually finer in texture than the
hammer due to overlapping blows, and can be surprisingly effective.
In another variation, stamping, carving, etc, into a piece of harder
sheet metal, then using that sheet to run through a rolling mill
sandwiched with your desired end metal, to roll print a texture. Like
the hammers, or direct stamping, in all cases, you’re using a tool of
some sort, forced into the metal surface, to impart a desired tool
mark to create your pattern or texture. By whatever means, and to
whatever level of sophistication you carry it, this amounts to one of
the very basic and broad methods by which we work with metal.
And please. Get over your fear of books. They’re your friends, and
can and should be among your most valued of tools.
Peter Rowe
i am still posting in this forum because i need to figure out if i can indeed just order two small metal stamps, hammer them into a metal sheet and then what do i do after that?
Laura, perhaps you are not getting the answers you seek because your
questions are vague and difficult to understand.
There are a large number of books and videos that explain, quite
clearly what you want to know. Check out beaducation.com and
jewelrylessons.com, you can find a free or inexpensive tutorial or
online class that will have pictures or video and show you what
you want to know.
If you don’t like learning from books, try a real class in person.
thanks guys, i figured out i need a brass or chasing hammer as big
rubber malllets arent the best. i also figured out theres a gel
“liver of sulfur” that i can just paint on to oxidize the letters i
found out that the center punch can be an automatic one, that created
a indent of a solid circle that is best to use right before drilling
a hole in the actual metal so the drill says confined in the indent
or whatever. i have seen some tutorial on metal stamping on
cutoutandkeep.net that says permanent marker can work as an
“ozidizer like silver black or liver of sulfur” is too chemical or
something im kinda leaning towards the permanent marker in that area,
but really do know that a more permanent oxidization is ideal. so i
probably wont go the permanent marker route.
i also figured out that i will have to saw my own shapes out of metal
sheets and aluminum ones can work too i gues? and i have to use some
kind of file to get the rough edges of from sawing? to make it more
safe for whoever wears the jewelry?
am i leaving out something or does anyone else have a diferent
opininion. i did not et any of this directly from a book,
just online LOLO
Laura, From your posts I gather that jewelry making is new to you,
and you don’t like to learn “from books,” I suggest that it would be
valuable for you to take some introductory classes. You will find
them very helpful. In addition to learning basic techniques, you
will get an understanding of the terminology used so that you will
know what the word “punch,” as used by jewelers means.
Basic techniques are confusing for someone new to making jewelry and
trying to work on their own, but a class or workshop will be of
great help, and you will make great progress. There are many
inexpensive classes offered in some of the community colleges, or
local recreation centers, so do check them out.
Alma
figured out i need a brass or chasing hammer as big rubber malllets arent the best.
First off - yes, get a book or three. “Metal Techniques for Craftsmen” is kind of the “Joy of Cooking” for jewelry - if you could
only have ONE book…
Go to the hardware store and buy a ball pein hammer of around 8
ounces, if you are really “stamping” as it seems you are looking to
do. Steel tools are going to ruin your (exxpensive) brass hammer in
about an hour, and chasing hammers are for chasing - “tap tap, tap
tap”. For stamping you want to hit it once, and once only, and be
done with it. And the hammer does ALL the work, your arm just moves
it up and down. If you are exerting strength with any hammer beyond
lifting it and swinging it down again, you need a bigger hammer.
Just thought about the fact that Victoria Lansford covers making
your own stamps in her Eastern Repousse’ and Chasing DVD… also how
to use the hammer with the tools, etc. I haven’t watched all of it
yet, but have been quite pleased with what I have had time to watch.
No connection other than a happy customer. My husband bought me her
set of chasing and repousse’ tools for Valentines, and I am quite
happy with them! Learning curve involved, as they are different than
the ones I was used to, but I’m really pleased with them.
Beth Wicker
Three Cats and a Dog Design Studio