Stamp pen

Anyone done one of these and Alumilite in the US, what is the UK equivalent?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uam4g2RFeqc

I have made quite a few stamp blanks with PR. Polyurethane resin is the equivalent of Alumilite.

Peter

Thanks Peter.

I have done a bit more browsing on site as well, but sometimes odd things evade answer, so I ask.

Cheers

I haven;t made any John, but i have seen one and it sure did look good .. It is one of many on my to do list .. :wink:

I'm sure Walter has made them.

Very gratefull for the reference the wife has used Mod Podge for thirty years on her projects I use a similar product if I incorporate gems or precious stones in a pen it allows the beauty of the stones to come though in pictures.

Peter.

I have made them with resin what I got from Bunnings.

You can get aluminite in the uk, heres one place Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast Resin 16oz - Metal Clay Ltd

yes I used to make stamp pens and other on tube casting

Like a lot of other casting there is a lot of unseen pitfalls and potential issues along the way which can cause failure in the blank.

I like to use vintage u.k stamps pre 1952, there is a grey area of a copyright infringement so be very careful and do your research as each country of origin is different.


I used resin saver molds where the bungs come through the side of the mold and into the ends of the tubes, these last longer and are more forgiving for tube length than the ones with cast in silicon plugs.
the downside of these molds is because the tube is horizontal you will get tiny (and i do mean tiny) bubbles stuck underneath, even with vacum & pressure (you cant use too much pressure with these molds as you will get resin in the tubes 40psi is about the most I found i could use) I could not totally get rid of the bubbles!! and believe me I tried.
the way to sort this is to make vertical molds, 100% no bubbles

I tried alumilite and I tried PR both have there for's and against

alumilite: is nice as it has no odour, its not flammable and most importantly it doesn't shrink!! but you have to pre warm the molds and pen tubes prior to casting, you can use the molds warm but the tubes must cool down.

PR: is better because it takes longer to cure so you get more time to get bubbles out but it shrinks and in the resin saver molds you can get a mm or so of exposed tube on one end of the blank.

The best resin for these style of tubes seems to be epoxy and the most prolific on tube caster on the IAP uses nothing but epoxy and vertical molds

I found mod podge was fine for sticking the stamps to the tubes but you must wait 3 - 4 days for it to fully cure before casting or sealing, i had mixed results using mod podge to seal the stamps and instead i used an acrylic varnish which is designed for going over imitation gold leaf.

i really enjoy stamps and enjoyed buying them and seeing the post marks etc my favorite were the queen Victoria violets, but i found that once again they were very labour intensive to produce and from a commercial point of view too pricey to sell, i still have the resin saver molds for the sierra and a few stamp blanks, but here are a few of the other things i cast on tubes



the cigar is vintage stamps,the triton & atrax are varigated gold leaf and the sierra is riveted sheet metal style blanks

hope this helps

Further proof many heads make it so much easier to make up your mind before jumping too quickly thanks for raising U Tubing references and from the master caster his experiences as well.

Thanks fellas Peter.

George Watkins said:

yes I used to make stamp pens and other on tube casting

Like a lot of other casting there is a lot of unseen pitfalls and potential issues along the way which can cause failure in the blank.

I like to use vintage u.k stamps pre 1952, there is a grey area of a copyright infringement so be very careful and do your research as each country of origin is different.

I used resin saver molds where the bungs come through the side of the mold and into the ends of the tubes, these last longer and are more forgiving for tube length than the ones with cast in silicon plugs.
the downside of these molds is because the tube is horizontal you will get tiny (and i do mean tiny) bubbles stuck underneath, even with vacum & pressure (you cant use too much pressure with these molds as you will get resin in the tubes 40psi is about the most I found i could use) I could not totally get rid of the bubbles!! and believe me I tried.
the way to sort this is to make vertical molds, 100% no bubbles

I tried alumilite and I tried PR both have there for's and against

alumilite: is nice as it has no odour, its not flammable and most importantly it doesn't shrink!! but you have to pre warm the molds and pen tubes prior to casting, you can use the molds warm but the tubes must cool down.

PR: is better because it takes longer to cure so you get more time to get bubbles out but it shrinks and in the resin saver molds you can get a mm or so of exposed tube on one end of the blank.

The best resin for these style of tubes seems to be epoxy and the most prolific on tube caster on the IAP uses nothing but epoxy and vertical molds

I found mod podge was fine for sticking the stamps to the tubes but you must wait 3 - 4 days for it to fully cure before casting or sealing, i had mixed results using mod podge to seal the stamps and instead i used an acrylic varnish which is designed for going over imitation gold leaf.

i really enjoy stamps and enjoyed buying them and seeing the post marks etc my favorite were the queen Victoria violets, but i found that once again they were very labour intensive to produce and from a commercial point of view too pricey to sell, i still have the resin saver molds for the sierra and a few stamp blanks, but here are a few of the other things i cast on tubes


the cigar is vintage stamps,the triton & atrax are varigated gold leaf and the sierra is riveted sheet metal style blanks

hope this helps

Click to expand...

George, unless you are copying the stamps there is no copyright consideration, the owner of the copyright would at best have joint copyright in each pen produced, but you can stick stamps to whatever you like without paying for any copyright use.

I used PVA glue to stick the stamps to the tubes and to seal them, yes it does take a few days for it to cure, I also diluted the PVA with water and gave several very thin coats when each coat was dry. The acrylic spray sound like it would be much quicker to use. I make my own resin saver moulds and have never had PR shrink back to the tube, but that may be because I make the moulds with extra room at each end of the tube. I don't pressure cast with the moulds and so far haven't had any bubble issues.

Peter

Buckeye said:

George, unless you are copying the stamps there is no copyright consideration, the owner of the copyright would at best have joint copyright in each pen produced, but you can stick stamps to whatever you like without paying for any copyright use.

I used PVA glue to stick the stamps to the tubes and to seal them, yes it does take a few days for it to cure, I also diluted the PVA with water and gave several very thin coats when each coat was dry. The acrylic spray sound like it would be much quicker to use. I make my own resin saver moulds and have never had PR shrink back to the tube, but that may be because I make the moulds with extra room at each end of the tube. I don't pressure cast with the moulds and so far haven't had any bubble issues.

Peter

Click to expand...

as i said copyright especially crown copyright is a very grey area, in the u.k the stamps are not in the public domain until 50 years has passed (but every country was different) a friend of mine is a lawyer and although not a specialist in copyright law advised me not to sell anything unless it was clearly evident as being in the public domain, especially as its intended use was being changed.

as I said a very grey area, please do your own research before selling any items.

RE shrinking: I was speaking about the resin saver molds which do not have allot of extra room at the ends. I am glad you do not have the trouble that i had.

Thank you George that is very enlightening

George Watkins said:

as i said copyright especially crown copyright is a very grey area, in the u.k the stamps are not in the public domain until 50 years has passed (but every country was different) a friend of mine is a lawyer and although not a specialist in copyright law advised me not to sell anything unless it was clearly evident as being in the public domain, especially as its intended use was being changed.

as I said a very grey area, please do your own research before selling any items.

RE shrinking: I was speaking about the resin saver molds which do not have allot of extra room at the ends. I am glad you do not have the trouble that i had.

Click to expand...

I have had lots of experience with copyright and unless you are copying the stamps there is no consideration, of course it is always best to satisfy yourself and a quick chat with a copyright lawyer will soon put your mind at rest one way or the other.

Peter

Plenty to go on here, thank you all.

I will ask though is PR, polyester resin or polyurethane resin?

Thanks for that info George.

Open book policy helps when venturing into Stamps et al.

Peter.

Whats the different between putting stamps on a pen or putting them in an album?

wm460 said:

Whats the different between putting stamps on a pen or putting them in an album?

Click to expand...

Now I am no expert, but my first thought was, is it because the pen is being sold, but then there are hundreds of stamp auctions and stamp dealers who sell used stamps.

So is it because you are using Machin stamps and portraying the queens head on a pen without royal approval?

If you photocopy a stamp and use this in a print then there could be copyright infringement, but using original paid for stamps would seem ok?.. after all once you've paid then surely it is up to you what you do with them.. my dad recalled a tale as a kid he bought a penny stamp and stuck it to a post box.. was this an abuse of the GPO product and service..if they want at him they will need a ouija board..:pray:

I dont know I'm just a working class lad from Leeds, enjoying my hobby.