I've undertaken my first hand-carved stamp. I'm using a small,
white eraser and an exacto (very pointy knife). I have 15 small
letters to carve. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the first 4 letters
and I must say they are not that good. I am having the most
difficulty removing little curved spots and holes (like inside
an "O"). Is there such a thing as a tool that just sort of
pinches/removes a little swatch of rubber from right where you
want it? Do you know what I mean? Is the cuticle thingy
what I need? What exactly is that? Is that a generic tool
that I can buy anywhere? I don't have a cuticle thingy, just
a nail clipper. What about something like a fine-pointed
soldering iron to melt away the rubber between the letters?
Is this way out there, gone against the spirit of carving?
Or would it just not work to get a well-defined image? Any
input fron the bull-pen would be greatly appreciated.
-Dan
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Carving tips?
5 messages in this thread |
Started on 1999-02-26
[L-USA] Carving tips?
From: Daniel Servatius (elf@pclink.com) |
Date: 1999-02-26 21:29:11 UTC-06:00
[L-USA] Re: Carving tips?
From: Thom Cheney (tcgrafx@imagina.com) |
Date: 1999-02-26 20:20:44 UTC-08:00
Good for you!!!! COngratulations on your attempt. I applaud you for
attempting letters. I still find them enough of a challenge to limit my
lettering as much as possible.
As far as carving tools... I say WHATEVER COMES TO HAND THAT WORKS. If
you use a blow torch, air ratchet and 3 bent bobby pins and your work
turns out as expected, you are ahead of the game & moving towards
stardom. For punching nice round holes, look for a Tandy leather
place... or similar & get some leather punches. They come in a bunch of
sizes and should do the trick.
--
Thom Cheney
tcgrafx... among other things
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attempting letters. I still find them enough of a challenge to limit my
lettering as much as possible.
As far as carving tools... I say WHATEVER COMES TO HAND THAT WORKS. If
you use a blow torch, air ratchet and 3 bent bobby pins and your work
turns out as expected, you are ahead of the game & moving towards
stardom. For punching nice round holes, look for a Tandy leather
place... or similar & get some leather punches. They come in a bunch of
sizes and should do the trick.
--
Thom Cheney
tcgrafx... among other things
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[L-USA] Re: Carving tips?
From: (Letterboxr@aol.com) |
Date: 1999-02-27 00:04:45 UTC-05:00
As some of you know, I'm a bit of a compulsive purist. There are various
nifty carving tools available, but I use my Xacto knife almost exclusively. I
have found a few uses for a needle with its head stuck into the end of a dowel
rod. It can be used to prick out very fine details.
Dan mentions having trouble removing little curved spots and holes. The best
tip I have to offer here is to avoid the urge to keep the eraser motionless
while you maneuver the knife this way and that trying to whittle away the
pieces you don't want. Instead, I prefer to to hold the knife still (at an
angle) and rotate the eraser around in my hand.
I don't know what kind of image you'd get by using a soldering iron on rubber,
but I can imagine what kind of SMELL you'd get... Yuck!!
Der Mad Stamper
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nifty carving tools available, but I use my Xacto knife almost exclusively. I
have found a few uses for a needle with its head stuck into the end of a dowel
rod. It can be used to prick out very fine details.
Dan mentions having trouble removing little curved spots and holes. The best
tip I have to offer here is to avoid the urge to keep the eraser motionless
while you maneuver the knife this way and that trying to whittle away the
pieces you don't want. Instead, I prefer to to hold the knife still (at an
angle) and rotate the eraser around in my hand.
I don't know what kind of image you'd get by using a soldering iron on rubber,
but I can imagine what kind of SMELL you'd get... Yuck!!
Der Mad Stamper
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[L-USA] Re: Carving tips?
From: erik/susan davis (davisarc@wcvt.com) |
Date: 1999-02-26 22:55:21 UTC-08:00
> What about something like a fine-pointed
> soldering iron to melt away the rubber between the letters?
> Is this way out there, gone against the spirit of carving?
> Or would it just not work to get a well-defined image? Any
> input fron the bull-pen would be greatly appreciated.
> -Dan
Dan'l:
I remember, many months ago, reading thru the Carving Consortium pages.
One stamp carver had found a way to get incredilby fine detail - she got
used drills from a dentist, and put the in a Dremel tool.I imagine other
things could be used in the Dremel - fine drill, wire brad, needle? I've
not tried this yet.
Erik
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> soldering iron to melt away the rubber between the letters?
> Is this way out there, gone against the spirit of carving?
> Or would it just not work to get a well-defined image? Any
> input fron the bull-pen would be greatly appreciated.
> -Dan
Dan'l:
I remember, many months ago, reading thru the Carving Consortium pages.
One stamp carver had found a way to get incredilby fine detail - she got
used drills from a dentist, and put the in a Dremel tool.I imagine other
things could be used in the Dremel - fine drill, wire brad, needle? I've
not tried this yet.
Erik
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[L-USA] Re: Carving tips?
From: Linda Aplin (linda@auc.com) |
Date: 1999-03-01 11:24:01 UTC-08:00
Reply to: RE: [L-USA] Carving tips?
Daniel,
I find carving letters at an angle works best. If you carve an outward bevel from the letter, you can then carve another bevel inwards towards the level, creating a "v" that can easily be removed. This would also work for inside an "o". Your cuts don't have to be straight down. I use an Exacto knife as a carving tool.
Another fun trick I have discovered is that you can offset some inks with fingernail polish remover. Print out our letters or image on your laser printer, face the print down on your eraser, then dab with a cloth soaked with polish remover. The image will transfer nicely to the eraser.
Good luck with your carving. As with many things, I suspect it just takes practice.
Linda
PS I carved my first 3 stamps this weekend. The first one tooks hours! The second one took 30 minutes and the 3rd one took 20 minutes and looks pretty good!
Daniel Servatius wrote:
>I've undertaken my first hand-carved stamp. I'm using a small,
>white eraser and an exacto (very pointy knife). I have 15 small
>letters to carve. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the first 4 letters
>and I must say they are not that good. I am having the most
>difficulty removing little curved spots and holes (like inside
>an "O"). Is there such a thing as a tool that just sort of >pinches/removes a little swatch of rubber from right where you
>want it? Do you know what I mean? Is the cuticle thingy
>what I need? What exactly is that? Is that a generic tool
>that I can buy anywhere? I don't have a cuticle thingy, just
>a nail clipper. What about something like a fine-pointed
>soldering iron to melt away the rubber between the letters?
>Is this way out there, gone against the spirit of carving?
>Or would it just not work to get a well-defined image? Any
>input fron the bull-pen would be greatly appreciated.
>-Dan
>
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Daniel,
I find carving letters at an angle works best. If you carve an outward bevel from the letter, you can then carve another bevel inwards towards the level, creating a "v" that can easily be removed. This would also work for inside an "o". Your cuts don't have to be straight down. I use an Exacto knife as a carving tool.
Another fun trick I have discovered is that you can offset some inks with fingernail polish remover. Print out our letters or image on your laser printer, face the print down on your eraser, then dab with a cloth soaked with polish remover. The image will transfer nicely to the eraser.
Good luck with your carving. As with many things, I suspect it just takes practice.
Linda
PS I carved my first 3 stamps this weekend. The first one tooks hours! The second one took 30 minutes and the 3rd one took 20 minutes and looks pretty good!
Daniel Servatius wrote:
>I've undertaken my first hand-carved stamp. I'm using a small,
>white eraser and an exacto (very pointy knife). I have 15 small
>letters to carve. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the first 4 letters
>and I must say they are not that good. I am having the most
>difficulty removing little curved spots and holes (like inside
>an "O"). Is there such a thing as a tool that just sort of >pinches/removes a little swatch of rubber from right where you
>want it? Do you know what I mean? Is the cuticle thingy
>what I need? What exactly is that? Is that a generic tool
>that I can buy anywhere? I don't have a cuticle thingy, just
>a nail clipper. What about something like a fine-pointed
>soldering iron to melt away the rubber between the letters?
>Is this way out there, gone against the spirit of carving?
>Or would it just not work to get a well-defined image? Any
>input fron the bull-pen would be greatly appreciated.
>-Dan
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Internet FileZone: Always FREE!
>Instantly store & access your valuable PC files on the net, >from any Web browser.
>SIGN UP NOW - http://offers.egroups.com/click/235/0
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>
>
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