Greetings from Monkton!

The Prayer Rock box was the first placed by Erik & myself and,
arguably, the first box placed by this group. Be sure to visit the two
at the ApGap and the five at Sherburne Pass. If boating is in your
summer, Butler Island, Valcour Island, and a few others. Some of the
Lake Champlain boxes are listed in New York. Down the Interstate are
some boxes in the Randolph area. One is so sneaky we will need to make
a return trip to find it! Can't wait to search a few more, boxes are a
bit thin up here in Vermont.

On the rubber stamp front: simple is best to begin with. White
vinyl erasers are the easiest to carve. Try a speedball linoleum cutter
set but watch the six year old, the blades are very sharp. The artgum
eraser and butter knife approach is probably safer for him. A star, a
moon, or a shape cut from one of those little cookie cutters for
appetizers is an easy approach for a younger one and the shape being the
stamp makes positioning it a sure bet. The speedball cutters are
available from Artists Mediums in Williston (just off I-89) and
Boutelier's in Burlington (downtown). You might check out a Ben
Franklin store or any serious artists shop. The new light pink
speedball carving medium is pretty good and comes packaged as a starter
set with some of the cutters at AM. Don't let anyone sell you PZ cut as
it is very crumbly (although the prayer rock stamp seems to have held
up, it was extremely difficult to carve). At AM is a large white vinyl
eraser by the name of Factis, pricey at about $2 but very nice to carve
and a good size for a box. It is thick enough to not require a mounting
block which makes things a bit easier. Look for surface flaws BEFORE
you begin carving. You can get a smooth, even surface by lightly
sanding the eraser on a fine grit sandpaper like black oxide, 400 grit.

The only way to make a carved stamp is to just keep at it. And at
it. One way of controlling edges is to carve the image to within about
1/16" of the edge and as a final step, cut off the edge at a 45 angle.
This will prevent a lot of tear outs. Also, remember to sharpen your
blade frequently during a carve. A piece of sandpaper works pretty
well, a stone is a bit better.
An emery board can be used in a pinch!

Anxiously awaiting some clues!
Regards,
Susan Davis
in its finally sunny Vermont

Welcome aboard Dan. Hope to see you at the Gathering.
Val
LBC

--- In letterbox-usa@y..., "David" wrote:
> Hi all -
>
> I've been lurking on the list for a few weeks and finally had a
chance to
> find my first letterbox yesterday, so I thought it was time to
introduce
> myself and say "Hi."
>
> My six year old son and I stopped at the Prayer Rock Letterbox in
Bristol,
> VT, on our way home from Lake Champlain to our house in Northeast
Vermont.
> The box is a great first find (easy, but not too easy) and remains
in good
> shape. It was nice to see the stamps of some of the folks I see
posting here
> or whose websites I've visited. My six year old's first question was
> "Where's MY stamp?", and his second question was "Can we find
another one?"
> (His third question was "Can we have ice cream now?")
>
> I have already picked out three spots to drop letterboxes, but am
having
> trouble carving the stamps (they look great when I sketch them out,
but the
> carvings don't look quite as good -- maybe I'm just too fussy). I
think I
> need a larger stamp! Northern New England letterboxers should stay
tuned,
> as I will soon be placing boxes in Caledonia County, Vermont. I also
travel
> on business quite often, and so will get a chance to hunt (and hide)
boxes
> in many areas of the country (I'm looking forward to having
something to do
> with downtime while on business trips -- hiking and perhaps learning
a
> little about the local area sure beats sitting in a hotel room
watching TV).
>
>
> David C.

Tom-

All of those boxes in Braintree/Randolph are next on my list (after a short
business trip this week to Louisville, Kentucky, where I see there are 2
letterboxes to be found). And then there are those boxes on Valcour Island I
want to get (I have a sailboat on Lake Champlain), and then a trip to Tampa,
where I see there are a few boxes, and then . . . and then . . .

David