Makers mark tool

[Pappy Hayes]

Has anyone made their own makers mark? What did you use and how did you cut the design?

[Trailrider]

Has anyone made their own makers mark? What did you use and how did you cut the design?

Tandy used to make them for a reasonable cost (haven't checked lately). Have a round stap with a trademark from them.  My larger oval trademark was made by a company in Denver about 30 years ago. It is steel.  I've had others made from some sort of epoxy by a company for a customer. Not as good for continued use, and the lettering is not as sharp. I suppose you could make one out of hard plastic rod, or could cast one from epoxy, using a plaster mould that you hand made.

[Mogorilla]

I had one made, not cheap but metal and quality.   I drew my own design and then for the price of a couple dozen cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies, our graphic arts department made a graphic that fit with the maker's requirement.   If you re good with your hands, you might be able to make one from steel.   I have seen some smaller stamps made from bolts.   If you want plastic, maybe a 3-d printer, they are pretty impressive.

[Boothill Bob]

I ordered mine here http://www.phillipsengraving.com/ I'm satisfied.

[Camano Ridge]

I was just typing the same as Boothill, Phillips is $40.00 http://www.phillipsengraving.com/Leather_Stamps.html. They have 4 styles to choose from and you create the text you want, they also do custom. There is Greyghost graphics and otheres I think the FAQ has a thread on makers stamps that mention several. I think that when you consider the time involved rounding up the materials, the cost of the materials and any additional tools you may need, and the time it will take to create the stamp filing each letter etc. you will have far more then $40.00 invested. However if you just want to do it for the satisfaction of doing it on your own that's priceless.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Very nice Henrik, I think I'll give them a shot, I need a new one now that I live in Oregon, thanks for sharing pard..


          tEN wOLVES 

[Boothill Bob]

You are welcome TTF.. I use my homemade press for it, but you can use a havy mallet to.

[Paladin Gun For Hire]

Hey Ten Wolves where are you living in Oregon?

[Massive]

Homemade press?  We need pictures!.  I was going to make a version of the Tandy machine, but standard 3ton press with flywheel was the cheaper option.

I have a nylon makers mark as well as the metal one.  It is small and fits in smaller spaces.  They are sold on ebay, and he has larger sizes and does custom work.  Quality is very good, and the plastic ones take more detail.

If you truly want to make your own, you can get punches, and punch them into something like plasticine, then cast with epoxy mixed with colloidal silica, or just epoxy, or talc, or limestone powder.  Then mount the casting on something hard.  They are making and selling plastic stamps made out of stuff that looks like magic plastic, which is not so hard.  A really good epoxy like WEST is very hard.

[Boothill Bob]

Here is my simple press. Its effective thou, I use it for maker stamps and my US/CS stamps

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

That will work Henrik, and get the job done, I use a press too, not as heavy duty as yours but so far it gets it done. thanks for sharing pard.

          tEN wOLVES 

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Good design, Henrik. I see you use the flat bottom of the jack for a press plate. Can't get much simpler than that.

[Boothill Bob]

Simple and cheap $45 total

[CustomMadeStuff]

Hi All,

I just found and joined the forum today when I ran across this thread.

Just to disclose upfront.....I make plastic leather embossing dies....any size and any design.

Most of my customers use expensive clicker machines, however, a lot of them use table top vices (see picture) for bracelets and keyfobs that you can buy at places like Harbor Freight for $20-$25 or a 1 ton arbor press (see picture) that you can get from Harbor Freight for $40-$50.

If you have any specific questions about makers marks or embossing leather, please feel free to e-mail me at: CustomMadeStuff@gmail.com

 

[GunClick Rick]

 I wonder if you could use an old Public Notary tool,i see them in antique shops all the time,not strong enough?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_kw=Vintage+Cast+Iron+Notary+Public+Seal

[CustomMadeStuff]

You might be able to get away with it.......but that type of a press usually works with a male/female die.....so the bottom die pushes up through the bottom of the paper (or leather, in our case) which you don't really want. Also, it might not be easy removing the existing die......those weren't really designed to allow dies to be swapped in and out. Lastly, based on the link, it appears that some can get quite expensive (much more than the $40 Harbor Freight version).....but if you already own one, you probably could modify it to work.

[GunClick Rick]

Didn't know how they were made,nope wouldn't be worth the hastle then.

[Massive]

Thank you Henrik!

I have a 3 ton press like the grey one in the photo above.  It doesn't feel like too much most of the time.  I don't think the notary press would get her done.  Some stamp makers recommend C clamps as an expedient, if you don't have a press.  Before I got the press, I used a stamp holder I machined to fit my mortising machine (like a heavy duty drill press).

[Skeeter Lewis]

What about hand-held stamps with a handle? Can you get a good image with those?

[TexasToby]

I have 3 hand held stamps and I had to put a line across the top of the handle to be able to line it up. Just trying to line it up by my eye was not good enough for me. It was always off set just a little but enough to be able to see it. I just think a maker of these stamps ought to put some kind of line up line on the top of the stamps they make. My opinion, Texas Toby