"Heather Coleman" wrote in message
...


Hi ;-)
Can someone advise some ways of making my own personal metal marking
stamp for my jewellery. I am looking either to make something myself or
get someone to make one for me. I assume this has to be done in hardened
Iron if I want it to stamp into gold, Silver, Bronze and Nickel-silver.
I have seen basic stamps for sale from suppliers that say "silver" etc
but wanted to make my own with a tiny icon on it. I am not a commercial
selling artist so I assume for my own work in say Gold I do not have to
get an official hallmark? My jewellery will just be for myself and close
friends although should I decide to venture out in this later maybe
advise on this would be useful anyway. There is a local medal maker in
Devon UK where I am and I was going to ask them. I have use of fine art
computer printing and electronic/acid engraving equipment so I could
produce something but maybe a professional could make the details much
smaller and finer.
Any help appreciated.
regards
Heather
in Devon UK

Hi Heather.

A can of works, you have here.

A hallmark must be accompanied by assay office mark, indicating the origin of
the testing of the purity of the item. Whilst some EU countries are trying to
have legal requirements removed from hallmarking, it remains quite a process
in the UK. I've no idea what the US requirements are, if any.

As a private individual, free of assay office intervention, you cannot
"hallmark" as such. You mustn't, then, apply a "925", a lion passant or any
other official designation of purity.

You may, however, apply your own maker's mark, free of purity claims.

I am in a similar situation, wanting to produce an "autograph" punch. I want
mine to be no more than 2mm square. At this size, computer-produced/reduced
garphics become pretty illegible. I'm not keen on etching, as I can't (YMMV)
get sufficient clarity at this scale. A pantograph reducing engraver would be
the shot, but this is a hobby for me.

My best solution so far?

Get hold of some carbon tool steel blanks. (I have scads of these in 12mm
hex, so I don't need to recycle older tools, but if you don't have any, then
an old drill bit - the unfluted shaft, that is - will do fine. It'll need to
be annealed or normalised first.)

Either turn the tip in a lathe of file it by hand until you have a conical
point (like a pencil) with a flat the size of your desired mark. File the end
to the square/rectangular desired shape.

So endeth the easy part.
Now comes the maddening and frustrating bit.

If you're over 35, get a forehead-mounted set of magnifying glasses. You need
both hands free, and you need magnification. I also use a binocular
microscope, but just for inspection - not during production (not enough room
under the objective lens).

Mount the punch blank face-up in your vice and proceed to engrave the pattern
(mirror image, of course) using a combination of punches (very fine, some
sharp, some blunt) and hand gravers and teeny tiny needle files.

Forget about electric engraving tools. This task is way too fine for them. I
get the best results with a vee-profile super-hard graver tapped
ever-so-gently with a light hammer and guided through the curves and turns.
Straight lines, I prefer a punch.

Keep a piece of lead handy. Tap the punch into the lead every now and then
and observe the progress.

After you've make, ruined and discarded (well, ground flat and started again)
a dozen or so punches, you should be about ready to start on the genuine
article.

When the impression in the lead is about right, harden and temper the tip of
the punch (no need to harden any boyond the first 3-4mm or so) then sit back
and relax.

of course, YMMV

--
Jeff R.
(in Sydney, Australia)