I have in the past tried to use my import metal stamp kit with little or no success.
The numbers never seem to be in a straight line with some up and some down.
Trying to keep them positioned correctly is almost impossible and the spacing between them is never right.
some are stamped too hard and others are not hard enough.
So I decided I would have a go at making a holder that would rigidly hold and space them correctly for marking on round stock.
A couple of years back I made a rotary table ( https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/simple-rotary-table.53051/#post-448014 ) and it would be ideal for setting the spacing just right for each number.
I made some brackets from 1" X 1/4" aluminum stock for the supports and mounted them on the rotary table.
I made the stamp holder and retainer from aluminum also.
I wanted a way to always hit the stamp with the same force so a added a 5/16' X 7" long threaded rod for the steel slide hammer to run on. I also added an side screw to hold the stamp exactly upright.
This shows everything assembled with a the first test piece.
I found that if I drop the slide from the top of the rod 5 times for each number they turn out very uniform.
Encouraged by the first test I mounted a 3" diameter piece of aluminum on the mandrel.
This is the result of the second test.
Now what should I try next? Well right before me was the rotary table itself. I had not put any numbers on it before because I knew they would turn out poorly.
I added some spacers and switched the head around in order to line up the stamps.
The end result is not perfect but much better than what I could do by hand.
Thanks for looking
Ray
The numbers never seem to be in a straight line with some up and some down.
Trying to keep them positioned correctly is almost impossible and the spacing between them is never right.
some are stamped too hard and others are not hard enough.
So I decided I would have a go at making a holder that would rigidly hold and space them correctly for marking on round stock.
A couple of years back I made a rotary table ( https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/simple-rotary-table.53051/#post-448014 ) and it would be ideal for setting the spacing just right for each number.
I made some brackets from 1" X 1/4" aluminum stock for the supports and mounted them on the rotary table.
I made the stamp holder and retainer from aluminum also.
I wanted a way to always hit the stamp with the same force so a added a 5/16' X 7" long threaded rod for the steel slide hammer to run on. I also added an side screw to hold the stamp exactly upright.
This shows everything assembled with a the first test piece.
I found that if I drop the slide from the top of the rod 5 times for each number they turn out very uniform.
Encouraged by the first test I mounted a 3" diameter piece of aluminum on the mandrel.
This is the result of the second test.
Now what should I try next? Well right before me was the rotary table itself. I had not put any numbers on it before because I knew they would turn out poorly.
I added some spacers and switched the head around in order to line up the stamps.
The end result is not perfect but much better than what I could do by hand.
Thanks for looking
Ray