stamps

[ebernabe]

Could someone point me to a site where I possibly find one of these? Thanks so much.

Eric

[LatakiaLover]

That's called an arbor press.

They're easy to find, and come in all sizes, from ounces to tons:

https://www.google.com/search?q=arbor+p ... 63#imgdii=_

[W.Pastuch]

Yeah, the press is widely available.
What about the support gizmo? It should have some flexibility to the sides so the stamp can be even on rounded surfaces, right? I know most artisan pipemakers stamp by hand and so do I, but I'd love one day to have a setup that would make stamping a quick and easy step, insted of it being the most stressful part of making a pipe

[PremalChheda]

I have seen a number of jigs over the years for stamping. You have to make it yourself, it cannot be bought. The best setup I have seen is where the bottom moves on a half globe. Not sure how it would be made.

[LatakiaLover]

I know most artisan pipemakers stamp by hand and so do I, but I'd love one day to have a setup that would make stamping a quick and easy step, insted of it being the most stressful part of making a pipe

Simple to design, semi-easy to make.

Grind 1/3 off a billiard ball, leaving the exposed surface flat. Then mill a 1/2" V-groove into it, and line the groove with a 3 oz. (thickness measurement, not weight) piece of leather.

Split a hardwood cube in half, and mill (or lathe cut) a hemispherical cavity into each half that's slightly larger in diameter than the ball. Then cut off the top of each block so that when the ball is placed inside the cavity, about 1/4" of it is exposed. Screw the halves together with the ball inside. Voila! Instant gimbaled stamping anvil.

[PremalChheda]

I know most artisan pipemakers stamp by hand and so do I, but I'd love one day to have a setup that would make stamping a quick and easy step, insted of it being the most stressful part of making a pipe

Simple to design, semi-easy to make.

Grind 1/3 off a billiard ball, leaving the exposed surface flat. Then mill a 1/2" V-groove into it, and line the groove with a 3 oz. (thickness measurement, not weight) piece of leather.

Split a hardwood cube in half, and mill (or lathe cut) a hemispherical cavity into each half that's slightly larger in diameter than the ball. Then cut off the top of each block so that when the ball is placed inside the cavity, about 1/4" of it is exposed. Screw the halves together with the ball inside. Voila! Instant gimbaled stamping anvil.

I think wood craft may have the half sphere wood bowls that fit into each other ready to go. I will have to check it out.

[Red]

I made myself a jig for my drill press. For the support, I used a narrow block of wood with a V cut in the top - it's mounted to a flat board long enough to clamp to the press table. For the chuck end, I epoxied a 1/2" piece of rod (could be any reasonable diameter - that's just what I had handy) into a small block similar to the support block, except the groove, instead of being a V, is sort of a curved indentation to receive the top of the stamp with a very loose fit - just enough to keep it more or less centered.
I line the V with a small piece of leather, as LL suggested, and center it under the chuck.
Chuck the chuck piece in the chuck (obviously:-). Holding the pipe on the leather (V groove oriented horizontally), I bring the stamp down where I want it, apply a reasonable amount of pressure on the spindle, and rotate the pipe towrd and away from myself, just enough to get a uniform depth across the whole stamping.
I've got plans to make something a little more sophisticated, but this is a quick and dirty way to get the job done. Like everything in life, it takes a little "doing" to find the right pressure and amount of rotation, but with a good sharp stamp, it won't "walk" at all, once you put the pressure on and start rotating. Good luck, and I do sincerely hope this helps.

[oklahoma red]

The one in the pic is custom made and uses an Acme screw to raise the pipe into the stamp. You will note in the bazillion pics that LL shows in the link that virtually all arbor presses use a lever and a gear rack to drive the mandrel down. The Acme screw will give better pressure control. The buzz word here is "gimbal". Applying pressure on the stamp without a rolling motion of some sort is how shanks get broken. The motion can either be in the stamp itself or in the cradle or gimbal that the pipe is resting on or a combination of both. Also playing a major role (no pun intended) is how much the logo wraps (or rolls) around the shank.
Save your milk money and buy a laser. Less expensive: make a deal with your local trophy shop.
What aggravates the crap out of me is that I have a $100K Rofin YAG laser engraver in my shop that won't mark wood. It just chars the dickens out of it. Its wave length is 1064nm and what is needed is half that which is what the CO2 "trophy shop" lasers have. Oh well. Sharpie anyone?
Chas.