bought a Metal Stamping Kit today....

[Sir_Ian]

I bought this today for 3 dollars...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=800

Its a 36 piece (26 letters and 10 numbers) metal stamping kit. I'm going to try stamping some stuff into my next pedal to label my knobs, such as "VOL, SUS, TONE, etc." This way, their will be a cool indent, and will be a guide to help me paint in some letters.

I was just curious if anyone else had tried something like this and what their results were. If I prime and paint first, I'm afraid I might chip it. But if I pound into the metal, I'm afraid the paint my pool up inside and get rid of the indent. So I'll have to figure out what I'm gonna do. Any suggestions? When I do get it finished, I'll post some closeups if people are interested, but this will be probably a month from now. My parts haven't even arrived yet...

Also, I'm concerned that my letters are two small. They are 1/8 inch. I was thinking I maybe should go back and also buy the 1/4 inch. So if anybody has done this...what size did you use?

[ambulancevoice]

the guy at Artifact audio uses a really old one on everything he builds
i like how it looks, and i would love to use it
problem is and i quote "getting the letters relatively level, evenly spaced, and uniform in depth is very tricky - you can't take back a hammer blow!"
www.artifactaudio.com

[Dragonfly]

I have 2 different sizes of that kit.

When I tried stamping into the stompbox, it ended up not only stamping the letter in, but making a "depression" (bending) the metal around it. You might have better luck though.

[Sir_Ian]

I have 2 different sizes of that kit.

When I tried stamping into the stompbox, it ended up not only stamping the letter in, but making a "depression" (bending) the metal around it. You might have better luck though.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Aluminum is pretty soft compared to alot of metals. Tell me. Did you just stamp the empty stompbox? I was thinking I would have to cut a piece of wood to fit the inside of the pedal and lift it up off the ground. That way the force wouldn't be on the outside of the box, and it wouldn't warp it in at all (hopefully).

And what did you do for painting your stompbox? Did you paint it? If so, after or before the stamping?

[Dragonfly]

I have 2 different sizes of that kit.

When I tried stamping into the stompbox, it ended up not only stamping the letter in, but making a "depression" (bending) the metal around it. You might have better luck though.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Aluminum is pretty soft compared to alot of metals. Tell me. Did you just stamp the empty stompbox? I was thinking I would have to cut a piece of wood to fit the inside of the pedal and lift it up off the ground. That way the force wouldn't be on the outside of the box, and it wouldn't warp it in at all (hopefully).

And what did you do for painting your stompbox? Did you paint it? If so, after or before the stamping?

just stamped the empty stomp..

I'm lazy...a block of wood (or better yet, metal...) definitely would help/ fix the issue.

after it made the depression in the metal i didnt bother with painting...i threw the enclosure away.

[R.G.]

It's standard metal shop practice to put a strip of masking tape on the material to be stamped as a bottom guideline you can feel as you place the letters.
Also to put a block on top of the letters and whack that so the letters all get  pushed in the same amount.
Also to back up anything you stamp so you don't dent it.

I spent two summers being the kid helper in a metal/welding shop.

[Hamfist]

Well now.  I'm intrigued!  I like the old school utilitarian vibe.  Actually, it's more olde timey than old school, I think.  I was thinking that a simple jig made from square dowels would help keep things nice and straight, but the masking tape is probably just as effective and more simple. 

Hmm.  It's 12:30 on a Sunday.  I've got $3 and a couple of unpainted drilled enclosures, and a hammer.  There's a Harbor Freight a couple of miles down the road.  Hmm...

[Dragonfly]

Well now.  I'm intrigued!  I like the old school utilitarian vibe.  Actually, it's more olde timey than old school, I think.  I was thinking that a simple jig made from square dowels would help keep things nice and straight, but the masking tape is probably just as effective and more simple. 

Hmm.  It's 12:30 on a Sunday.  I've got $3 and a couple of unpainted drilled enclosures, and a hammer.  There's a Harbor Freight a couple of miles down the road.  Hmm...

It looks cool. Like I mentioned, I tried it quite a while back, but didnt make a "wood or metal block" to fit inside the enclosure to keep it from denting...it looked cool though, other than the dent/depression it left !  

[Sir_Ian]

It's standard metal shop practice to put a strip of masking tape on the material to be stamped as a bottom guideline you can feel as you place the letters.
Also to put a block on top of the letters and whack that so the letters all get  pushed in the same amount.
Also to back up anything you stamp so you don't dent it.

I spent two summers being the kid helper in a metal/welding shop.

Hey thanks for the tips. I'll remember to use them. Question though? So I would stamp a couple of letters at once...is that what your saying? I would be worried about holding them all straight, and holding the piece of wood. I'll have to get a helper...and probably tape the stamps together....

And Hamfist, if You do try this....please post pics of your results. thx

[frequencycentral]

Just saw this on eBAy:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/38pc-AUTOMATIC-LETTER-NUMBER-STAMPING-SET-METAL-PUNCH_W0QQitemZ110239710386QQihZ001QQcategoryZ64819QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Solidhex]

Yo

 Sort of related to the metal stamping..I got one of the Dremel engravers  about a year ago. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachments-and-accessories/attachment-accessory-detail.htm?H=188492&G=69671&I=69849  . It had a sort of lettering stencil but I found it hard to make consistent lettering.
 I would imagine stamping would work best with unfinished enclosures unless you had gone really deep with the grooves. Much like etching. You could probably paint it then sand it.

--Brad
 

[Mick Bailey]

I've found a piece of 1 1/4" angle clamped to the work helps align things if you hold the punch against it when you strike the blow . You can also stick on a masking tape scale with the correct letter spacing marked.

One tip with these sets - the letters and numbers often don't line up as they're sometimes displaced up or down (with reference to the flat front side of the punch that faces you). To correct this you need to clamp the angle to a strip of scrap material (e.g. aluminium sheet) and punch a row consisting of each character. You'll see which are high or low. Build up the level of the low characters with masking tape to the level of the highest character.

Sound like more work than its worth, but if they all punch to the same height, are square-on and you've got a scale marked, you can get perfect results. It also helps to re-locate the punch for a second or third blow if needed. Some characters need more impact than others. The letter 'I' hardly needs any force compared to a 'W'.

You also need a solid block (preferably steel) behind the work and a rigid bench to stop the workpiece from bouncing.

[BubbaKahuna]

Definitely support the enclosure behind where you're stamping.

If you have an arbor press - even a cheap one - you can put the letters in the arbor and instead of hammering which can be hard to line up, you can just press the letters into your box in a more controlled fashion. A hydraulic press also works really slick, but they're kind of big and not real cheap. Fine for a motor-head (like me) who works on cars, but kind of overkill for a DIY stompbox builder. An arbor press would be a good alternative since smaller ones can sit in a drawer until needed.

Other methods that I've done before with good results (not on effects, more fine artsy stuff - should work the same though):
1. Stamp an enclosure (supported from behind), then paint it, then sand the enclosure leaving the paint behind in the stamping. Clearcoat over the whole thing. *hint, use colors for nicer results than the standard 'everything in your design has to be black' thing most builders have going on when they think stamping or etching. Doing a couple stages can result in really nice results if planned out well.

2. Paint, stamp, then etch with acid. The paint is only used here as a mask. Stamping punctures the letters through the paint. Acid etch, then sand all the paint off. Looks like the previous, but it's more permanent since the lettering is etched not painted. Same thing works here with colors. Mixing etching and stamping with colors left behind can give really nice results - planning is everything with this technique though.

Cheers,
- JJ

[Cardboard Tube Samurai]

Anyone know if Harbour Freight ship to Australia?

[tranceracer]

On my last Harbor Freight order, I my finger was on the "add to cart" button for one of these sets but I backed out at the last minute. 

Ended up buying the multi hole punch kit and unibits instead.

Really like to see the results you get with your stamp kit!

[soggybag]

I bought one of those spring loaded stamps last year. Very similar to the one posted above. I tried it on the back side of a box. I found it very hard to align the letters. I also found it didn't seem to produce enough force to make a deep enough impression. This thread has given me renewed inspiration. I will have to give it a second try. I wonder if you could use a vice to press the letters?

[clintrubber]

I realize this is an old thread... let me just try though:

how would letter stamping work out on already chromed metal surfaces ? (well supported)

Bye

[tubegeek]

For those looking for some photo examples:

Here is a thread on the GroupDIY forum with some excellent info and pictures:

http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=48046.20

I've been really tempted by this method, I like the look quite a lot and the stamp-then-fill method seems like a good way to get long-wearing, clean legends.

And in an obvious instance of "there are no coincidences" a Harbor Freight has opened about a half mile from my house recently!

[clintrubber]

Thanks for the link. I used to be around thére more often back then, yet I came hére to check for this topic      

I like the (understandably unavoidable) old typewriter-look of all this  

[defaced]

I realize this is an old thread... let me just try though:

how would letter stamping work out on already chromed metal surfaces ? (well supported)

Bye

I anticipate a not-so-pretty outcome.  Chrome is rather hard (read: brittle), and since it is just a plating you'll get a stamp mark, but I bet you'll also get flake/break/crack the chrome around the stamped location. This will reveal the copper and nickel under flashing (assuming it's plated steel, I'm not familiar with the plating steps needed for chromed aluminum). 
All of the examples here are on bare aluminum, which because it's bare and comparatively soft, gives nice results when stamped.