pipemakersforum.com

Now I know that I suck right now at this whole pipe making (see my gallery postings) but I am hooked and am about to order a pipe stamp. I figure that in 10 years I may actually want to claim a pipe as my own by stamping it. What do you think?

Love the logo. The only thing I might suggest is changing the circle to an oval. Take my advice with a large grain of salt because I have no stamping experience, but I would think that if you were planning on stamping shanks, an oval shaped logo would be easier to get an even impression than trying to roll such a wide mark across a rounded surface. It's not so much an aesthetic thing as it is an issue of usability. I'm thinking of getting a stamp someday myself and want something that will be easy to get consistent results with.

Those with more experience would know better than I.

Keep in mind that as the size of the stamp increases, the difficulty of actually stamping rises exponentially. Not just from rolling the stamp on, but also the force needed to make a good impression - briar is hard wood.

Past that, the logo looks very nice.

Same here. Consider using a small circle with the stylized E, and a different stamp for the text. That's what I would do if I had the money to order another stamp.

When I bought stamps years ago I opted to get separate stamps for everything. Makes stamping very easy.

In my experience, the smaller the stamp, the better. Also, thE simpler the better. It's typically easier to roll a Round stamp (ie. circular) on to a pipe than square or oval.

Assuming you have a stamp made by Paul at A&M, he will tell you if your lettering is too fancy to be practical.

I just ordered a stamp from Paul in which he advised not to use a circle around the lettering, for easier stamping. I took his advice. Pipemaking is hard enough.

Mine will be a simple TRG kind of circular over a smaller straight TEXAS (hey, anyone can do USA, right?).

I ordered my stamp from Paul and he suggested that I loose the circle. I took his advise and am sticking with just the words. Also another newbie question: when do you stamp? After shaping, at the very end? Any help would be great.

Thanks

It's the last thing I do before I take pictures.

Thanks Kurt

Make sure you put a mark of some type on the outside of the stamp that you can see to line it up. Alignment can be a pain otherwise.

Could you give an example? Not sure what you mean.

put some type of line on the outside of the stamp so you know were the top is. The way it is made you will not be able to see the actual stamp once you place it against the wood so it may rotate in your grip between the time you look at it to line it up, and actually place it.

Hi Guys,
I don't own a stamp yet, so my question is are you applying pressure with you hand or using a mechanical alternative?

Depends on the stamp and the surface... I thank my lucky stars each time I can chuck it up in the drill press and use that with the pipe padded nicely underneath. But how often do you have straight enough surfaces for that to work, right?

Brad Pohlmann made the nieftiest little deal. It was a platform with ball bearings that sat in what is best described as a shallow bowl. So the platform would roll easily in any direction, but keep in mind it was rolling. So when the platform rolled to the left it made a motion like when you hold your hand out straight in front of you with the palm down and in a reverse "J" motion roll your palm to where it faces the left. So the platform move like that. The platform had a padded area to rest the pipe shank on. So he'd place the shank on the platform, press the stamp down with a drill press and with the pressure applied he could roll the pipe.

Not sure if that made sense at all, but if i had the skillz I'd make one tomorrow.

Ben,

Brad does not use that tool. It's a great idea, but pretty impractical. Best idea is to either hold the pipe in your hand and stamp with good lighting (what I do) or to form a piece of wood, cover it with thick leather, and use that to support the pipe as you stamp it (as many others do.)

Jeff

I hold the pipe in my hand like Jeff. The pressure required to get a nice stamp (with A&M stamps anyway) is much less than you'd think.

Rad

stamp schamp!!

Real men use their teeth!

Like Rad and Jeff I just use my hand. I lay the pipe on a thick piece of scrap leather and go to town. It's really not that big a deal once you've done it a few times.

I also hold the pipe in one hand and stamp with the other. Just practice a bit on a discarded pipe and you should find out what works for you. Oh, and if you are getting the stamp from A&M then it helps to make a new handle for it. I made a mushroom shaped one that works quite well.

Good Luck!