[hackerspaces] Tips on making passport stamps?

[Martin Ling]

Hi,

Now that Mitch's passports are everywhere and our space has just voted
on a new logo, it's about time we made a stamp. But how to fabricate
one? I googled around for what other spaces had done and all the ones I
saw just did a design and sent it out to a commercial stamp manufacturer.
That doesn't seem very hackerspacey to me.

So, does anyone have tips to share on making your own? What materials
work best, just rubber (what sort?) or something else? We have a CNC
mill and a 40W CO2 laser cutter/engraver. Can you mill rubber without
just making a mess, can you laser engrave it deep enough to create a
usable stamp, if so what sort of settings did you need? Or is there a
way more low-tech process for spaces without these tools to use, that
still gets great results?

Tips welcome, then I will run some experiments and post our results.

Martin
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[Vicarious]

ohai,

Before I bought a DIY stamp kit which includes the alphabet and some characters, I took an old eraser I had at home and carved it with a sharp knife.

https://ackspace.nl/wiki/Stamps

Vicarious
ACKspace

[ellra...@yahoo.com]

Re: low tech.
If you have a Michaels craft store nearby, they have a make your own stamp kit. It has a carving tool with hemispheric blades so you can precisely remove the unwanted bits. Either use the rubber mat they sell or a pink pearl eraser. Once you've carved your inverse image, glue it to a block of wood and you have a stamp.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

[Dave Menninger]

At Hive13, we made our stamp with our 60W laser cutter by engraving linoleum blocks.  They turned out pretty well:  http://www.hive13.org/?p=395

If anyone has a 60W laser, these are the power settings we used:  http://wiki.hive13.org/Laser_Settings#Speedball_Linoleum_Block_.283mm_thick_Linoleum.29

~Dave

[Nick]

A suggestion, not actually something I've tried:

- cut a plastic mould with the laser cutter / milling machine
- use that to make the stamp from oogoo [1]

N

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/

[Jerry Isdale]

The various laser manufacturers and laser product suppliers all tout laser cutting/etching as a great way to make rubber stamps.

I've been thinking about doing some of these myself.  A quick google turned up articles like:

   http://www.rubberstamps.net/creating-rubber-stamps-1.aspx "the best technology to use is a laser engraver"

   http://www.laserbits.com/images/LaserResources/TechTipsandFeatureStories/FeatureStories/articles/marking_devices.html

   http://www.epiloglaser.com/sc_stamps.htm

The laserbits folks have a Sample Kit with parts to make 8 self inking stamps...

   http://www.laserbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=80_319&products_id=805

You could make one for the space and one for each member that contributed towards the kit.

Low tech approaches (cutting tools and wood blocks) can produce nice stamps too.

but you have a laser.... burn something!

Jerry Isdale
http://MauiMakers.com

http://www.mauimakers.com/blog/thursday-public-meeting/

[Arclight]

If you have a soldering microscope available, it can make carving one
of these a lot easier. Start with a nice MARS drafting eraser (the
kind that is made from a plasticky, smooth white rubber) and carve
away.

Arclight