Hi from a long time lurker:

My first memory of tools was aged 4, being sent to my room in the basement for a
nap. I discovered this neat strip of black metal with a rough edge and when
rubbed on the edge of my plywood bed frame made a satisfying noise. Ten minutes
later, a loud crash and me crying brought my parents running. I had sawed
through my bed. My parents had very confused expressions - angry, amused and
proud - not necessarily in that order.

Later my dad, who grew up on a farm, did a lot of work finishing our house. I
was free labor, so I learned the basics of tools - mostly hand. One tool that
always interested me was a dull Stanley #3, plane belonging to my grandfather.

As a young adult, I acquired a 33 foot sailboat, way beyond my skill level and
equipment level, but I acquired tools and learned some stuff.

Fast forward again and during a lull in white collar work, my wife and I started
a "business" making safe accessories for exotic,  high-end parrots and their
high-end owners. Lots of design fun and acquisition of basic power tools and
specialized stuff from Lee Valley.

Around the same time, I bought a half finished,  laminated wood mast for a DN
iceboat. It had to be taken from octagonal to airfoil shape. Borrowed a sharp
Record #5 and set to planing. It was Zen and I was hooked on hand tools.

The slope was slippery and steep. 

Planes appeared on my doorstep, almost without my conscious intervention - along
with saws, squares and braces. Now, the addiction seems over, but the detritus
remains.

The Galoots have been my confreres, mentors and friends. 

So here is something that keeps me awake at night:
Where did old wood tool owners get their name stamps? I priced them  from
several sources and it looked like $200. Any ideas?



Sent from my iPad
Ralph Booth
ralph@a...
514 952-4179
"Having a yacht is reason for being more cheerful than most." -Kurt Vonnegut

After introducing himself, Ralph asked: 


> Where did old wood tool owners get their name stamps? I priced them  from
several sources and it looked like $200. Any ideas?
I can't speak directly to the traditional solution, but I made my own
(touchmark, rather than name stamp, but I use it for wood as well as formed and
machined metal ). A chunk of steel rod (which I have in copious quantity),
files, and a few home-made gravers, and there you go. I used W-1 water
hardening, then hardened and tempered, since I used it to touchmark metal.


You can construct one for wood from a set (or two, since you have two 'O's in
your name) of letter stamps.


You can scratch make from raw stock like I did those many years ago.

You can build up one suitable for softer woods several ways. Drill holes in a
piece of plate in the pattern you want and braze or weld in pointed pins. Braze
formed wire to a flat in the shape you want to act as a boss.


If you have access to a CNC machine, mill out of raw stock (that is what I would
do now, given that I own a machine and have access via work to others)


A brand can be made up fairly easily, and can be quite soft metal (aluminum, for
example) since it doesn't take great force.

A rubber stamp for use with ink or paint can be made up for a few duckets at an
office store from whatever art you want, or bought online. A lot of furniture,
both commercial and custom, has come with no more than this.

Just a few ideas. There are a lot of other ways, and I am sure others will weigh
in, possibly with economical sources for strike-able options.


*** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply
address(es) may not match the originating address

Ralph

If any of those planes that appear on your doorstep you don't want,
send them my way.

Chris

Welcome to the porch topside Ralph,
(out from underneath it lol)

  The answer is, of course, you can't get by with one stamp.
You can barely get by with a host of stamps.
  I got my last one for $125, but I was looking for a very small one.
They charge by the square mm I think. ;)

  So you make some. Get an old dremel and a bit. It doesn't take so long.
You connive your friends into making you some, heh heh

  One thing that is nearly free, is to find your initials from a letter 
marking set? Then stamp them overlapping or arranged somehow to be 
personal..............

and you order some from old school stampmakers, as the occasion appears.

rubber stamps are really fun too but not completely permanent, except on 
raw soft wood in a protected spot maybe.

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/hometools/touch.jpg
http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/hometools/touchmarks.jpg
yours scott



-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
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