Hello everyone, I know that the issue of aligning letter stamps has
been discussed (and is in the archives), but I thought that once I
lined up the stamps themselves the letters would line up as well.
Boy, did I slap myself on the forehead when after literally dozens of
botched attempts at alignment I finally thought to look at the face
of the stamp itself and realized that each letter is in a different
place relative to the outside edge of the stamp!
duh.
So now what? Do you really need to look under the stamp each time to
try and see where the letter will hit? I have to believe there’s a
better way. Please reward my optimism with advice!
Best, Jessica, where a fine layer of fog is settling on the hills
outside my window in San Francisco.
Hi Jessica - Hopefully someone has a wonderful solution for you re:
the alignment of letter stamps. But, I align and stamp by hand and
rely on my knowledge of using the same stamp set over and over again
to figure out where to place the letters - and I still mess up. The T
is high, the L is low, and B’s and W’s need to be struck dead center
for the whole letter to show up nice and even. It helps to do a lot
of stamping at once - you do get better with the set in one sitting.
Having said this, though, I have noticed that not all stamp sets are
the same. The sets I have from Rio Grande are much, much better
(letter size-wise and being centered) than the cheapies I bought from
Harbor Freight.
And, I have to admit, that one of the things I like about the pieces
that I stamp by hand is the fact that I am doing it by hand and no
two are ever alike. It’s not engraving, it’s not casting, it’s
handmade. (I’m not crazy, though - if something has to be consistent
and I need to make a lot, taking the time to make a nice sample for
casting is the only way to go!)
Good luck! Keep stamping!
Lori Bugaj
One-Eyed Collie Jewelry Design (also in SF)
www.oneeyedcollie.com