Crappy Letter Stamping

[Tree Reaper]

If you aren't aware of the different tolerances in Tandy letter stamps then your work will look as crappy as the poor tolerances.

I started stamping the "T " to be followed by an "I " and you can really see the difference where the "I " stamped higher than the T.

I turned the stamp around and it lined up much better with the T and you can see how much lower the second "I " is from the first.

So if you aren't getting good results it could very well be the crappy tools being supplied by our suppliers and NOT you.

[Billsotx]

Not defending TLF's quality, but my stamps have a small, almost indiscernible, index mark on the bottom edge. Nevertheless, I put my own with a punch and heavily beveled the edges to reduce the halo the edge of the stamp usually leaves.

[Tree Reaper]

Your right, my large letter set is easy to see but I need magnification to see the marks on the smaller letter set.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[AndrewMc]

And here's me thinking that was just a mould line. Saying that I had to get the dremel out to square off the outside so I can line them up and there was no V just an upside A .

[Pounder]

I had trouble seeing those little letter marks for each stamp, especially the smaller ones so I dabbed a small amount of paint or used a permanent marker to identify wish way the stamped should be positioned. This has helped get the stamps in the right position but still have trouble with a straight line. Isn't old age great.

[chancey77]

If you aren't aware of the different tolerances in Tandy letter stamps then your work will look as crappy as the poor tolerances.

I started stamping the "T " to be followed by an "I " and you can really see the difference where the "I " stamped higher than the T.

I turned the stamp around and it lined up much better with the T and you can see how much lower the second "I " is from the first.

So if you aren't getting good results it could very well be the crappy tools being supplied by our suppliers and NOT you.

I have 3 different brands of stamps IVAN , Craftool new and VINTAGE...they where all the same around the edges...but the Ivan set cuts much better.

On all of them I took a flat file to the edges so they would all line up straight instead of a little mold edge sticking out...now all is good! But IVAN is a much better Letter/Number stamp for the same money. Not so much filing. Plus my vintage stamps are slightly wider than the new ones, so if I accidentally mix the letters when using a lot of them a trained eye would catch it in a second...it may be a millimeter in width of the mold but it is enough to even through me off sometimes the letters may get mixed up between boxes I do have 2 kids that play with them as well sometimes so it happens from time to time:). I have to look for the corrosion on the old ones so I know I am not using them to stamp along side the new ones.

[HellfireJack]

I took a dremel to all the edges of mine as they all had flashing left on them.

[Tree Reaper]

I find a straight edge is a must in order to get a straight line.

I've mastered putting edges on a round curve but any letter work requires set up time to get it right.

This is how I normally set up when words require even spacing.

[Tree Reaper]

The finished coaster.

[LNLeather]

That is Very Professional looking TR!

and - The stitching is Top Notch.

Is that Antique Saddle Tan you used?

Verrrry Nice!

[Tree Reaper]

Thanks Cheryl.

Yes, it's saddle tan.

Made for a friend of mine that bought a two seat aircraft kit.

The stitching was done on my new cowboy, that was a real trial because I had to turn the coaster with every new stitch but it came out ok.

I could have went a little larger with the emblem but he wasn't expecting it and really liked it.

The coaster was lined with rust suede on the back side.

Layout for the lettering took awhile to get the proper spacing but you just can't cut corners if you want it to look good.

Kevin.

[hidepounder]

Letter stamps can definitely be challenging some times, but I discovered a terrific way to deal with them. That is, don't use them! I used to use them too until I realized how amaturish they made my work look. Hand cut lettering ALWAYS looks better and with computers there is no reason to try to draw letters by hand. Print them out and tool them....you'll be amazed at how much better your work will look!

Bobby

[Sylvia]

I discovered a terrific way to deal with them. That is, don't use them! I used to use them too until I realized how amaturish they made my work look. Print them out and tool them....you'll be amazed at how much better your work will look!

Bobby

I agree 100%. But I don't even print them out... I just put clear plastic over my monitor and trace around the font. I like the clear because I can see exactly where I'm putting the letters on the leather.

[Double U Leather]

I took Bob's advice on lettering quite a while back, and it completely changed the finished look on lettered items. On very rare occasions, I have still had to use the stamps, but every time I hate them. My vote is for not using them if at all possible.

[Tree Reaper]

Do you have any examples?

[Double U Leather]

Here's a few examples of things I've done with fonts off the computer. The checkbooks were small enough I had to use stamps for some of the letters, but did a font on the word champion.

[chancey77]

HERE YOU GO A JPEG EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING YOU CAN EASILY DO BY HAND.

Edited April 2, 2012 by chancey77

[Tree Reaper]

I have photo express I can use for making words but how do you get them to follow the curve on the coaster?

Are the letters put on individually or can you make the word and then use a program to curve it?

Not sure if 1/2 inch letters would look decent carved then beveled.

1" or larger would be easier to work with but won't work on a coaster.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Tree Reaper

[Stewart]

Do you have any examples?

Bad example of craftsmanship ,but this is how i do it.

Cheaper than stamps and tooling styles give the personal uniqueness

[HellfireJack]

You can use inkscape to put words on any path.. be it a curve or flowing wavy lines, whatever. Naturally, you'll have to have whatever font installed on you computer.

You just make the curve using the circle tool or bezier tool and then type the text out near by then, highlight both and click the text to path option in the text drop down. You can then highlight just the curve and change it's opacity to zero. You can also still edit the curve and change it's size and if you've used the bezier tool you can still change the curve itself and the text will follow.

Inkscape has changed a few times for where things are so here's a to-do/manual on how to put text on a path if my rambling semi-coherent instructions don't help you.

http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Text-Path.html

[Tree Reaper]

I went through that site and it appears to be a tutorial for a specific program, is there a download for that program somewhere?

[HellfireJack]

Yeah, as I said it's for Inkscape. It is a free vector graphics program. You can read about it at inkscape.org

Installers for various systems are here.

http://inkscape.org/download/?lang=en

[Sylvia]

Do you have any examples?

Clearly I'm not as skilled as Bob.... but here are a couple of the latest pieces with lettering using fonts from the computer

On the bamboo strap, I used an A104 to create the lettering

This one I just used a textured beveler around the lettering.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Sylvia

[Tree Reaper]

I've downloaded the program, have created text and added a spiral but can't put the text to the spiral so I'll have to spend some time trying to learn the program.

Thanks for the links and the examples.

Kevin.

[Sylvia]

I've downloaded the program, have created text and added a spiral but can't put the text to the spiral so I'll have to spend some time trying to learn the program.

Thanks for the links and the examples.

Kevin.

I haven't figured it out yet either. That tutorial doesn't seem to help me any. I think I might try searching Youtube for videos on Inkscape.

If I find anything that will help I'll send you the links.