24 November 2012

To Squish or not to Squish?


You might be forgive for wondering what this:

















...little block of oak is for?  It has a square hole going through the length and a 6mm groove on the underside.  The answer is that the hole fits my Chalco stamp...















...so that when it's fitted into said orifice it:















...pokes out thus.  If you've ever tried to use on of these stamps, they're notoriously difficult to use properly by 'tapping' with a maul...it's either too hard, or too soft and very difficult to find the right 'Goldilocks' sweet-spot (which also depends on the hardness of different timbers) and of course, once struck it can't be re-tapped 'cos it won't line up!

So what happens to the slot?...said slot then fits over a:

















...sash cramp bar, so that when the test piece (rosewood here) is  squarely supported:

















...I found a half-turn on the tommy-bar was enough to make a very satisfactory:

















...makers mark.  Something softer like a piece of mahogany took a quarter turn...and turning a cantankerous, awkward little job like this into something with a little control is quite satisfying.

I thank you....

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Sorry I forgot to get back to you Rob with a pic of my Jig, glad you liked my idea, its a much simpler version and therefore better than mine! Simple is always better. I have found that the stop can tilt and give an uneven stamp sometimes - there are 2 ways round this I have found, counter angled pieces that slip over said stop / physically clamping down the piece being stamped. Hae you found this to be an issue yet? All the best, Berin.

Kari Hultman said...

That is very cool!

Matthew said...

Does that mean it is now a squish rather than a stamp?

David Stovell said...

Hi, Where did you get your makers mark stamp/squish made please?

Woodbloke said...

Google 'Chalco Stamp & Die' or see here:

http://www.spanglefish.com/metalstamps/