The Groovy Mess: Stamping Washers

Awhile back I posted here about my epic fail related to my attempt to make sterling silver stamped jewelry. I still laugh at myself over it.

Since I've been able to embrace that epic fail and realize jewelry making is not my strong point, I've scaled down to something less expensive when I screw up, but still useful, creative and different.

Stamping on washers is a LOT less intimidating and much cheaper than on the good stuff (I still mourn all the sterling silver disks I destroyed in my first attempt). It still looks cool...and has endless possibilities for uses. Gift tags, jewelry with an industrial vibe, funky labels...I've even used stamped washers to embellish handmade cards.

Here is what you need:

1) A steel bench block of some sort. My father-in-law gave me this one out of his machine shop, but you can actually purchase a similar one like this Premium Steel Bench Block from Rio Grande. I've ordered quite a few jewelry making products from Rio Grande and have been quite happy with their prices, selection and service.

2) A stamping set. I got this basic one at Harbor Freight for less than $10, but you can also order sets with fancy lettering and in different fonts from Rio or other jewelry making supply stores. My set happens to have 1/8" letters.

3) Washers wide enough to accommodate the letter size of your stamps. I had 3/8" on hand for this project, but in hindsight it would have been better to have wider washers.

4) A Sharpie marker with a fine tip.

5) A jewelry polishing pad of some sort. I used these polishing pads which worked great.

6) Oh...and I almost forgot one of the most essential tools...a household hammer.

This is what my basic stamp set looks like. It is actually intended for stamping identifying marks into metal tools, hence being sold at Harbor Freight, but works swell for my purposes.

First, find a hard surface that won't be damaged by the pounding of a hammer on a steel block. I used my cement garage floor. Place your washer on the block, select your letter, and position it over your washer. Hold it down as firmly and as steady as you can. Washers are made of pretty hard metal, so you will have to whack it pretty hard. I give mine 3 good hits (if you choose to stamp sterling silver or copper, keep in mind it is MUCH softer). It is essential that you hold that letter post steady and firmly otherwise it has the desire to jump around on you which will mess up your impression. Don't get frustrated if your first washer isn't perfect...this takes practice to get the feel of it...not to mention the cool thing about stamping is the one-of-a-kind nature and the imperfections that in turn make it perfect!

Once you have your washer stamped the way you want it, take your Sharpie and color in the grooves. Make sure the ink really gets down in them as this is what will make your letters stand out.

After coloring your letters, take your jewelry polish pad and start buffing off the ink surrounding the letters, as well as the rest of the washer until it is nice and shiny. The ink that got pushed down inside the impressions will stay.

Your fingers and the polish pad will turn all black but this grime will come off your hands with a soapy scrubbing. I toss the polish pad once all the white turns black after several uses.