925 Stamp

[llamacat]

Hi
I'm very new to all this, but before I get too far into making sterling silver items, I wonder if you can help me with the mechanics of stamping items under the 7.78gm assay limit? I have some little tags that are ready-stamped, but they are a bit clunky for some of the pieces I'm making, so I'd quite like to be able to stamp the 925 onto the flattened clasp of a necklace, for instance. However I can't find a stamp anywhere on the Cookson site - or anywhere else for that matter. I'm sure there must be one somewhere - any info anybody? Also - quite how does stamping work - can it be done by hammering, or does it need rather more than that?
If this is a really dim question, forgive me, I'm still really feeling my way with all this, and wanting to run the marathon before I've taken a leisurely stroll, if you know what I mean!!
Thank you - and isn't it wonderful that it's the weekend, at last I can spend 3 days making jewellery instead of feeling guilty that I'm not doing the work that pays my bills!

[Trudy]

are these the ones you mean...?

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APS

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APG

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APA

http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APM

[bustagasket]

Hi try http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APA or http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APG or http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-999-APS

[bustagasket]

lol think we were yping at the same time lol

[llamacat]

Lol - thank you all very much! I knew it had to be there somewhere - I guess putting 925 stamp in the search engine was my problem - used the wrong terminology.
Now my problem is - how do I know which one to choose? There isn't any info on how they work - can anyone give me any advice on that so I don't make the wrong choice? AS you can tell - I'm VERY much the newbie, but I don't want to go and get the wrong thing only to find out when it's too late - done that a little bit already.

Oops - just found that one of them does have information - I was being too hasty! Still appreciate any more advice available though ...

Thanks for all being so friendly and generous - I love this forum!

[ben b]

.........................

[Di Sandland]

Thanks for that Ben - that's a useful bit of advice.

[llamacat]

Ben - you are a star - thank you so much for that. It's exactly the sort of advice I was after - these things are so esoteric until you know what you're doing! I had already decided a swan-neck one was the best bet, and you've confirmed that. Can't wait to get it and have a go now - just wish I'd thought of this on Thursday so I didn't have to wait until Wednesday to try it out!

Cheers

[Fi Wilson]

Hi llamacat,

Just as a tip if ever you have to use a straight stamp on a flat surface, I would advise fashioning a stamp holder out of a block of wood with a hole drilled through from top to bottom just large enough to fit the stamp into. I bought a straight stamp with my logo on it from America (BTW - watch out for customs duty on anything from America!) and found that just holding the stamp on a tag and then hitting it with a short sharp blow from a hammer didn't give enough force and made the stamp wobble about so the imprint came out uneven and blurred. By using a block of wood and then using sticky tape to position a tag, for example, in position under the bottom hole, you can then place the block of wood with the stamp in it on a hard surface and then hit it with a hammer knowing that the full force of the blow will actually go into imprinting.

I know I've gone off on a slightly different tangent, but this info may help anyone else who is having a stamping dilemma.

Fi

[EmmaRose]

interesting tip Fi, pic would be good!
Also check out assay office stuff with punches for hallmarking (.925 means nothing, only used on imported silver, UK silver over a certain weight, I think 7.5 g must be hallmarked or you can't call it silver only white metal yada yada yada etc )
Thanks Ben, great tip as always
Em