We've only found 1 or 2 wood stamps and neither inked up well at all. I'd
definitely recommend rubber rather than wood. You can find larger pieces of
carving material at art stores or craft stores such as Michael's (or many
places on-line). The stores often will carry the pink Speedy-Cut material
and perhaps MasterCarve (which is a softer material). You can see examples
here:



http://www.opentip.com/Office-Products/Speedballreg-Speedystamp-Carving-Bloc
ks-Speedycut-Carving-Blocks-Speedystamp-Carv-Blk-p-1069169.html



http://www.dickblick.com/products/staedtler-mastercarve-artist-carving-block
s/



By the way, avoid the gray/white Speedy-Cut since it gets very crumbly.



Wisconsin Hiker



From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of oberonkenobi
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 1:14 PM
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LbNA] Woodcut Stamps





Hello,

I have been doing geocaching letterboxes. Before I do traditional
letterboxes, I want to hand-make my own stamp. Most of the places say to
carve an eraser. However, I've looked at them and they all seen too small
(stamping area) and thin (to get a good grip). Are there better sizes at art
supply stores?

I'm thinking of carving a stamp out of a block of wood. It would most likely
be done with a nice size cut out of a pine 2x4. I plan to sand a face flat,
draw on a pattern (backwards), then cut out the rest. How well do wood
stamps hold up in a letter box? I'm in Utah, so when I place a stamp in a
box it will have to take the cold winters, mostly staying above 0
Fahrenheit.

- Oberon Kenobi -





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Depends on the art store. There's one here in Denver that carries erasers that are perfect for carving in terms of size and quality. They also carry Speedball Speedy Carve. As has been said already you want the PINK STUFF *not* the grey crumbly *&^% that won't last at all.

If you have no luck in a brick and mortar store in your area, http://www.stampeaz.com/ is the online store most letterboxers I know use. They have many carving media for you to explore. The owner is also a letterboxer.

"Are there better sizes at art supply stores?"

preboxed
Denver

Have you found any traditional boxes yet? If not, when you do you'll see how the carving material looks. Stamps in boxes can be all sizes but most are in the 2X2 range.Wood just doesn't take ink well for stamping. It is porous and aborbs the ink. You don't really need to get a grip on the stamp for stamping.
MizS

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Debbie Kotlarek" wrote:
>
> We've only found 1 or 2 wood stamps and neither inked up well at all. I'd
> definitely recommend rubber rather than wood. You can find larger pieces of
> carving material at art stores or craft stores such as Michael's (or many
> places on-line). The stores often will carry the pink Speedy-Cut material
> and perhaps MasterCarve (which is a softer material). You can see examples
> here:
>
>
>
> http://www.opentip.com/Office-Products/Speedballreg-Speedystamp-Carving-Bloc
> ks-Speedycut-Carving-Blocks-Speedystamp-Carv-Blk-p-1069169.html
>
>
>
> http://www.dickblick.com/products/staedtler-mastercarve-artist-carving-block
> s/
>
>
>
> By the way, avoid the gray/white Speedy-Cut since it gets very crumbly.
>
>
>
> Wisconsin Hiker
>
>
>
> From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com [mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of oberonkenobi
> Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 1:14 PM
> To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [LbNA] Woodcut Stamps
>
>
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
> I have been doing geocaching letterboxes. Before I do traditional
> letterboxes, I want to hand-make my own stamp. Most of the places say to
> carve an eraser. However, I've looked at them and they all seen too small
> (stamping area) and thin (to get a good grip). Are there better sizes at art
> supply stores?
>
> I'm thinking of carving a stamp out of a block of wood. It would most likely
> be done with a nice size cut out of a pine 2x4. I plan to sand a face flat,
> draw on a pattern (backwards), then cut out the rest. How well do wood
> stamps hold up in a letter box? I'm in Utah, so when I place a stamp in a
> box it will have to take the cold winters, mostly staying above 0
> Fahrenheit.
>
> - Oberon Kenobi -
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>