[TheForge] Touch Mark summary

Mon Jul 28 17:03:00 2003

Re:touch marks and general consensus:

   The suggestion boiled down to "do it yourself" or "buy it". The 
consensus on "buy it" was:
Henry A. Evers.   72 Oxford Street    Providence, RI 02905
Tel. 401 781-4767   1-800-553-8377 (U.S.)   Fax 401 781-9581 Email 
at:  [email protected]

Thanks for lending a hand - Steve

---original request--
    I've been asked to forward a request for information.  Clyde Payton 
(FABA) wants to buy a touch mark stamp (anvil outline with 'Payton Forge' 
inside the outline). Apparently Centaur Forge has discontinued their 
source.  Any suggestions for Cylde?  I'll gather the comments, echo them to 
Cylde and back to the list just in case anyone needs the compilation.

----responses were-----

(1)----Do it yourself----
   From: Ralph E Douglass <[email protected]>

   Seems the best bet is to find a local machineshop/tool&die place with an 
EDM and have them make it.

   From: "Roger R Degner" <[email protected]>

You can buy reverse letter/number stamps from MSC and make your own.
The stamp alignment is easier to make with straight stock by having the 
stamp parent material clamped in a vise with another piece slightly taller 
to align the letters but with practice a good eye and a steady hand it 
could be done.
OR
The Rob Gunter way.
Start with an Allen wrench and the same size Allen head cap screw.  Cut the 
socked off the head of the screw and weld it into a fixture.  Bolt the 
fixture to another piece of steel marking were the socket is.
Unbolt the fixture and engrave/stamp your design there.  Bolt back 
together.  Heat the very end of the straightened Allen wrench with a torch 
again stressing only the very end, you don't want to upset the wrench into 
the socket.  Place the headed wrench into the fixture striking 3 
times.  Unbolt, drive the wrench out, grind so it will fit the 
socket.  Heat the end again and put it into the fixture making sure it is 
the same way as the first time strike 3 times and continue until it is deep 
enough.  The stamp can be used cold into lead to test.

From: "Bob Ehrenberger" <[email protected]>
In the book offered by ABANA "The best of the chapter News Letters"  or 
something like that.  They have three different methods.  I tried the 
Gunther method and the Walt Hull method and liked Walts better. I didn't 
have O/A at the time so I was having a hard time with the Gunther method 
because I got too much upsetting.  It might go better now.

Walts method was basically using small punches (straights and curves) to 
develope the pattern on the end of the touchmark.

The third method was by Tom Lantine which was a variation on Walts except 
it was more like chaising.

(2) --- buy them---
From: Dragons Watch Forge <[email protected]> (Larry)
Uncle Al at Riverside Machine in DeQueen, AR. can get them, his url is: 
http://www.riversidemachine.net/

From: "R.C.Mundt" <[email protected]>

Henry eavers makes all  sorts of stamps henryaeavers.com/
Don't know a thing about them except they been making stamps for sometime.

I misspelled it should read henryaevers.com

From: Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer <[email protected]>
Offcenter forge has done excellent custom stamps for a long time.

From: Chris Worsley <[email protected]>

I had my stamps made by them 20 years ago and they still look like they did 
the day they arrived. Well made, and harder than hell. That is Henry A. 
Evers.   72 Oxford Street    Providence, RI 02905
Tel. 401 781-4767   1-800-553-8377 (U.S.)   Fax 401 781-9581 Email 
at:  [email protected]

From: "Chuck Robinson" <[email protected]>

Amen to that.
Henry A. Evers is an old time business that is a pleasure to deal with.
They made my touch mark, a dolphin entwined around an anchor with my 
initials at 9 and 3 o'clock. Did a really nice job.

Steve Bloom, IronFlower Forge. Archer, FL
     Webmaster for the FABA web site:
         www.blacksmithing.org 

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