Scrolled Stamps

[wdkits1]

HI everyone
I have a client that recently opened a new store selling a variety of outdoor and garden goods and I was asked to make some little garden signs with different sayings on them. I'm using Cypress wood for the durability and each sign is to have the saying painted then finished with Spar-Varnish.The woodwork was no problem but how to go about painting the words was the million dollar challenge. She ordered 2 dozen of each sign. I tried stencils but could not get a good enough variety of fonts. I looked at getting some stamps made but the cost for even a simple stamp would not have been cost effective and I really didn't have the time to wait for custom stamps. After thinking about it for awhile I figured that is should be possible to make my own custom stamps using stuff that I had in the shop. After a little R&D this is what I came up with. I started by using Microsoft Office Word to get the font and size plus the "No " emblem and printed it out to the right size,then using a glue stick glued it to the 1/4" backer also cut to the right size.

The next step is to cut a piece of 1/2" rigid foam insulation board and glue this to the backer board using CA glue.

I scrolled the letters of the sign with a 2/0 crown tooth blade and set them aside. I now glue a second backer to the first backer to strengthen the original letter orientation from the first backer.

Now I cut off the excess foam board from the backers and glue the letters back in their respective positions.

I now build up the sides with scrap wood to fit the size of the sign blanks. I use enamel craft paints and a piece of foam brush and dab it on the stamp letters, then press it onto the wood blanks which fit precisely into the stamp.

It may be necessary to touch up a little but overall this works pretty good.

This is the first batch of garden signs ready to go.

 

[Glennbear]

Fine piece of inventive engineering Mike. :icon_thum

 

[Joe Scharle]

Mike, that's neat! Can you share the specifics on the particular backer board and 1/2" foam?
Closed/open cell? Brand name of the paint used? Or even better; can you put the whole process in the site DOWNLOADS LIBRARY?

 

[Canuck]

Now, that's usin' the 'ol noggin, Steve!!!:icon_thum:icon_thum:icon_thum

Brilliant use of everyday materials to save some big bucks.

Some great ideas there and thanks for sharing them with us all!

Wayne

 

[ScottM]

Mike what a great idea and execution. :icon_thum Yes, please tell us more.

 

[nelsone]

Way to think out of the box.....wait, that's in the box, so way to think IN the box!

Cool and creative solution tot he problem!

 

[TracyP]

Amazing Work and execution. Really nicely done!!!:notworthy:

 

[RickC]

I echo the earlier sentiments - nice job! Very inventive! And please put the process in the downloads library!

You may also want to consider submitting it to one of the popular woodworking and/or craft magazines, too!

 

[ehpoole]

First off, I think we need to address this xenophobic anti-squirrel mentality! :rotflm: (Sorry, I could not resist -- I love squirrels and find them to be one of nature's most amusing critters. Deer and boar do far more damage to gardens, in my experience!)

Another option when one needs to transfer outlines (or a more worn-looking print) to wood (or sheet metal) involves toner transfer (i.e. copier or laser printer). Just as heat fuses toner to a sheet of paper, heat also transfers toner from that same sheet of paper to a piece of wood -- just be sure to print a mirror-image of what you want to transfer. You can then either paint, burn, saw, chisel, etc., along, or between, the lines. If your surfaces are jointed/planed flat and sanded smooth, then a common house-hold iron set to its highest setting works well. You can also use an ordinary woodburner iron with a transfer tip (a flat circular attachment for the iron) to transfer toner, which works better if surfaces are not perfectly flat.

Like the others said, your solution was both creative and effective. Kudos! Thanks for sharing.

 

[DWSmith]

Very inventive use of materials. Does the dried paint on the letters present a problem for future use?

 

[wdkits1]

Thanks everyone for the comments
The fact that I'm making dozens of these little signs with different sayings led me in the direction of making the stamps.
To Joe--I used 1/4" poplar for the backer material mainly because I had plenty laying around in the shop and it cuts nicely on the scroll saw. I did a sign a while back for a client where I used the 1/2" closed cell insulation foam board to cut out the lettering for the sign. It is a little tricky to cut but is cheap and can be painted. It can also be carved with a Dremel tool and I have a half a 4 x8 sheet left over from that project to use for the stamps.I'm using FolkArt Enamel craft paint bought at Michaels craft store. It is very thick and dabs easily with a piece of foam brush.

To Ethan---During my R&D for this project I did try the transfer methods that you mentioned using an iron and a transfer wand with the clear T-shirt transfers. The problem with that was if you don't get a complete transfer it is impossible to fix plus it was way too slow to allow me to do dozens of these little signs . The stamp is much quicker and allows corrections if needed.

To David---Once I have completed a batch of signs I just clean any remaining paint off the stamp by stamping on scrap wood .Totally re-usable.

To all-- I will post a more complete step by step in the downloads library when I do the next set of signs.
Mike

 

[ehpoole]

To Ethan---During my R&D for this project I did try the transfer methods that you mentioned using an iron and a transfer wand with the clear T-shirt transfers. The problem with that was if you don't get a complete transfer it is impossible to fix plus it was way too slow to allow me to do dozens of these little signs . The stamp is much quicker and allows corrections if needed.

Mike

Just for clarification, toner transfer does not use T-shirt transfer paper. That is a totally different type of tranfer method (and is also availale for inkjet use).

The T-shirt tranfers typically have a clear underlying wax sheet on a release paper that you then iron on to a surface. Failure to fully transfer (and cleanly release) this type of transfer system can not really be corrected after the fact.

Toner transfer involves transferring JUST toner direct from a sheet of paper (some papers are better than others... experiment with copy paper, glossy paper, acetate transparency sheets, etc.). This method is only compatible with laser printers and photo-copier output. It will not work with inkjet output since there is no toner to transfer.

With straight toner transfer, if you aren't satisfied with the first try, all you have to do is realign your sheet so that it overlays your first try cleanly. Then reapply heat to complete the transfer. When transferring lines with a household iron, you may find that the tip of the iron (once fully heated) gives the best transfer since you can apply more pressure (esp. with wood). Transfer tips for hobbyist-level woodburner irons also work well since they focus a lot of heat on a small circular surface (just keep a woodburner tip moving or you will scorch your paper and wood).

Hope that helps clear things up.