pipe stamps

[LexKY_Pipe]

Of course it goes without saying, the simpler the design, the easier to stamp. Tim West's star makes a good clean cut because of its clean lines.

[tsalagi]

Yes, I know this is an old thread but I felt it important to offer another perspective...

Not to be adversarial or create further controversy, but Thomas Cristiano, Kaywoodie and Paul Bonaquisti all heat their stamps. I cannot remember now if Randy Wiley heats his or not. Anyhow, my apprenticeship came largely at the hands of Cristiano with alot of help from Wiley and Feuerbach along the way. Heating stamps was just part of the process and I assumed for a long time that most pipe makers did the same.

Both Cristiano and Kaywoodie have home made stamping contraptions that electrically heat the stamp. The pipe lays in a cradle and a foot operated press stamps the pipe.

I've never gotten around to building one of those presses but I wish I had one. As easy as stamping is, its even easier with a press. Currently I heat my stamp with a heat gun and hand stamp all my pipes.

In my experience, it takes far less pressure to apply the stamping when its heated first, but like anything else in pipe making, my way isn't the only way. Many of these other makers are far more talented than I, and have their own methods that work best for them.

If you are going to use heat, its not necessary to heat the stamp to the point of being red hot nor even hot enough for branding unless that's the effect you are going for. Just getting it hot to the touch is plenty.

[Boekweg]

I cant seem to find this A&M stamp place you guys are talking about???

[KurtHuhn]

A&M has no online presence, and Paul seems to be unreachable for the moment as well. There was a thread here somewhere in the past few days talking about alternative sources for stamps.

[tsalagi]

I just bought a stamp from Paul last week....arrived just this morning. Try his email:

amsteelstamps@yahoo.com

[Mike Messer]

One day I will get around to posting some pictures of this, but for now.. I have a round stamp from A&M, and I can't get a consistently good impression by hand, but the stamp has a 1/4" round shank, which can be chucked in a drill press. Plenty of pressure to get a good stamp, but still there was a problem. I saw a video of how Dunhill and another British mfg. does it with a press which pivots at the top and they roll the shank on a big firm pad with the pressure on. Similar, but I made a little cart which sits on the drill press table, with the wheels on variable thickness blocks, as required by the pipe. It's made from 2" diameter steel roller skate wheels, a 1/16" thick steel platform and a 1/8" thick hard rubber pad. You bring the press down on the shank, aligned properly, then looking from the side to judge the depth, lock the press cylinder with the pressure on. Then roll the shank to one side, then back to the middle, and then on to the other side, rocking it a bit up-and down as you go. Stamps great, deep as you like it.

P.S. I finally got around to making some images of the device, and more details, so it's a web page on my ISP home page (not on my pipes site): The link is:
http://home.windstream.net/messm/Pipes/ ... aratus.htm

[Boekweg]

@ tsalagi,
Thanks for the email.