Hi to everyone and thank you in advance for any insight. I am
looking to purchase a hallmarking stamping tool for easily and
accurately stamping the inside of rings. Currently I use a brass
block and my hands. It just seems unstable and I always worry about
messing it up on a gold ring. So far I have looked at a $25 stand
that holds the stamp and the ring sits on a little nylon anvil. Then
I have looked at two different brands of pliers, $125, plus cost of
stamps that fit the tool. The pliers holds the ring and the stamp
and you squeeze the handles together, but comments were it’s hard &
time consuming to change the stamp out to a different stamp. Lastly
there is a bench top tool that has a handle on it and looks very
sophisticated, it is $415 and comes with the various stamps that fit
the tool. The price range varies so much that I am having a hard
time decided on what is best without seeing any of them with my eyes
or using one first hand. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
It would get daily use on a variety of metalsas I make anything.
Thank you again for any positive comments on any of the above tools
to help me make a better choice. Sincerely,
joy kruse
Try microstamp. Inside bent ring stamp
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep815t
Hi Joy
I just have the curved shank stamps. Use a 20 oz metal hammer to
strike the stamp, stops any bounce.
Richard
I use a curved ring stamp often in conjunction with a brass stamping
block. However, there are time when the shape of the ring does not
fit the stamping block and is unstable. Under these circumstances my
hot glue gun comesout and a put a dollop of hot glue onto my bench
bock and place my ring into that. Holds it like a dream and is stable
enough to allow for a good whack with stamp and hammer. The glue
peels off very easily. My hot glue gun is also used at times to hold
pieces for stone setting. Marvelleous stuff!
Mieke
I got my stamping pliers from Sparks Steel Stamps (3726 34th Street,
Long Island City, NY 11101 Phone: (718) 729-7506, apparently they
have no website) for $35 or so (if memory serves). They have many
different sizes of the standard stamps (925, 18K, PLAT, etc.) and can
custom make a stamp with your logo in any normal jewelry size from a
PDF for around $25 (again if memory serves). My logo is pretty
complex for a stamp 1.75mm in height, but they nailed it and the
resulting imprint even in a 2mm wide rounded ring shank is very clean
and easily discernable.
The stamps themselves are small, maybe 10mm in length and 6mm
diameter and are held in the pliers with an easily removed set screw,
making stamp changes very easy and fast. But they are too small to
work with a hammer. The anvil side of the pliers (which is also
changeable) will mark the opposite side of the piece with a flat spot
just like a stamp and block will however, so I stamp my work prior to
doing any finishing opposite the stamp. A piece of leather helps but
doesn’t eliminate the marking and can create more problems than it
solves. My pliers came with a curved anvil designed to minimize
marking the outside of ring shanks in the same manner as using a
traditional stamp with a grooved bending block, but the radius is
too small to fit any but the smallest rings which usually don’t fit
in the pliers in the first place.
The main advantage to stamping pliers is the ability to place the
stamp with great accuracy, plus you can orient the stamp in any
direction you might want, even perpendicular to the shank of a ring
or a bracelet (try that with a curved shank stamp). Another advantage
is greater control of the stamp depth, although just like using a
hammer and a traditional stamp, the harder the material, the more
pressure you have to impart. Annealed silver requires very little
pressure and it’s easy to over-do it, while work-hardened white gold
needs a lot, usually requiring a hard squeeze with both hands.
Another advantage is the elimination of the shadow stamp I sometimes
get with a curved shank stamp caused by hammer rebound. One downside
to the Sparks Steel pliers is that they won’t fit in a ring smaller
than about size 4 or farther away from the edge of a flat piece than
about an inch.
I have no experience with any of the tools you described Joy, but
mainly because the pliers are cheap enough, the variety of stamps
Sparks has and can make is amazing and they work well enough that I
never saw a need. My pair gets daily use with at least two different
impressions made per piece (one or more for metal content and one of
my logo) and has for about ten years now. PM me if you want a photo
or two of what the pliers, stamps and the resulting impressions look
like.
Dave Phelps
David, I would like to see a photo of the pliers and stamps you are
describing…
Many thanks,
Lesley
[Edit]
How can I share files and pictures with the list?
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ftp
Or… send the files to the attention of service@ganoksin.com and
we will upload them for you…
[/Edit]
I use an .03mm ball bur to mark my pieces. It takes a little
practice, but once you get the hang of it it’s quick and flexible as
to where you put the mark. I have one of those bench top tools, it’s
what I used previously, I would sell if you want it.
David Lee
Under these circumstances my hot glue gun comes out and a put a
dollop of hot glue onto my bench bock and place my ring into that.
It’s also a great thing to use when positioning a piece for
photographing. Works great to hold rings upright on a hard surface
and can be trimmed away so it’s nearly invisible. I had not thought
of using it for stamping, thanks for the tip. When I’m faced with a
similar challenge like needing to stamp inside a square shank, right
over the corner and not wanting to flatten the outside of the square
edge, I usually make a seat for the ring with GRS thermo-plastic on
my block (Thermo-loc I think they call it). That helps minimize the
smooshing.
As far as the pliers. I had a great pair that I loved. I broke it
and have bought two different new ones and neither is easy to use.
They are almost closed when I start the impression. I end up putting
them in a vise to get enough oomph to create a nice, deep
impression, particularly in harder white golds. I’ve monkeyed around
with them using spacers and such but they still suck. I end up using
my brass block and hammer usually and stay on the look-out for a
better pair of pliers. I may cross my fingers and order the one that
Dave recommended. Some people collect art, for me it will be
stamping pliers.
Grobet sells a ‘jewelry marking machine’ (Stuller 55-2553). I think
this may be what you are referring to Joy. Save your money, that
thing is a weakling that should never have been sold to the public.
The gears strip under what I would consider normal pressure.
Consider yourself warned!
Mark