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Read Thread: Hint

Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660820 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 2:51am
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Might try contact cement. Works great and it has a brush attatched to the lid so you don't have to use your fingers. (o: Never have liked Gorilla Glue.
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660804 by Sarcasmo
Dec 7, 2011 6:05am
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it is for an upcoming event. . . an event coming up very soon. . . a SHORT event. . . an event that's SHORT in STATURE. . .

*snort, chuckle*

~tigs, who is now working with Aileen's Tacky Glue on a different project for said event
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660811 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 6:07am
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why yes, it was the amber colored, polyurethane-baed stuff. Mr. Umbrella tells me later, "i saw you heading for the sink and thought,' that's not gonna work. i shoulda told you."

Men! Sheesh! i now have a very pretty shiny right hand for work today. Luckily, my clients are used to me being a klutz, and hearing about my adventures.

~tigs
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660831 by Benjamin Clan
Dec 7, 2011 8:54am
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Never have liked Gorilla Glue.

Love Gorilla Glue -- on wood. In fact, I have a pair of stereo speakers with oak cabinets I designed and built myself using Gorilla Glue. IMHO, the stuff just can't be beat for wood. I'd never use it on rubber, though.
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660872 by Kirbert
Dec 7, 2011 9:28am
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Love Gorilla Glue -- on wood. IMHO, the stuff just can't be beat for wood.

Couldn't agree more, K!
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660848 by tiggermama
Dec 7, 2011 9:39am
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Yup - that explains it. Oil-based poly just ignores soap and water. You'll probably still be seeing it for a day or two. But at least it wasn't the super glue!

Ok now, little guinea pig, you'll have to tell us how well it glued your stamp. Did it bubble out all over the place? That's the stuff you want to use only a tiny amount of. Let us know how it came out - if it works well, that would be a good thing to know. And for future reference:

Orginal amber-colored Gorilla glue: clean with paint thinner/mineral spirits.
White carpenter's Gorilla glue: clean with soap and water
Super glue: Acetone

Acetone and paint thinner are two very different solvents, as the super glue vs the amber stuff are as well.
lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660879 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 11:10am
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ok, so i've been using the amber Gorilla Glue to stick my stamps to their foam backings since i started. read about it here on the boards. Why? well, since i found a series in NY state that had used contact cement and they were all sliding off their backings after being exposed to moisture over the long haul, and i didn't want that to happen, i took the advice i found and all of my stamps have held up well.

The process goes like this:
1. Get a foam door knocker from a craft store (they're thicker). i dont' use wood because it warps in boxes around here over the winter.

2. cut out the stamp from its medium.

3. spread a thin THIN layer of Gorilla Glue on the back (note to all after yesterday: NEVER use your finger, ALWAYS use a popsicle stick or toothpick as i had been doing)

4. stick stamp to foam door handle. Weight down and leave it alone for 24 hours. No, it doesn't bubble out all over the place if you only use a thin layer. Yes it does if you use too much.

5. When it's dry, cut out your stamp with an exacto knife. Voila!

Does it look like a professionally mounted Kirbert stamp? No. On the other hand, it will survive a New England winter without warping or coming apart. Learned all this from the friend who taught me to box. . .

~tigs the crafty person today (whose fingers still look unwashed and shiny)
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660897 by tiggermama
Dec 7, 2011 11:12am
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that had used contact cement and they were all sliding off their backings after being exposed to moisture

Does anyone know whether this happens if you use the "permanent" method of rubber cement (i.e., apply to both items, let dry, then attach).

I'd love to use rubber cement instead of super glue. Super glue has the unfortunate problem that if you use about half the container, the rest becomes a brick. And they don't really give the stuff away.

[._.]
Re: Hint Gorilla Glue
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660872 by Kirbert
Dec 7, 2011 11:31am
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I have used Gorilla Glue very successfully on the rubber. I use it to glue the stamp to a foam back. I use it sparingly and then it doesn't bubble up, and smear it ever so carefully with a popsicle stick as thin as possible. I also tend to score the back of my stamp with a gouge before applying the glue. If you get the Gorilla Glue on the face of the stamp it makes it very shinny and changes the properties for inking.
Re: Hint
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660811 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 12:11pm
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My family was quite amused when I gorilla glued my lips shut. (OK, to be accurate, half shut.) Now I can only talk out of ONE side of my mouth and will never get elected.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660898 by Aiphid
Dec 7, 2011 12:15pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Does anyone know whether this happens if you use the "permanent" method of rubber cement (i.e., apply to both items, let dry, then attach).

There are two similar looking products; Rubber Cement and Contact Cement. Rubber cement is probably what a previous boxer was talking about when she said that she found that it slides all over the place. The label even states that the product will soften or dissolve over time. Contact cement is the kind you put on both surfaces, wait 20 minutes and then stick them together. I've always used Contact cement for backing my stamps and it WILL NEVER come apart and I mean ever, even one second after you stick both sides together. I live in NH so that's a pretty good test of the elements. My oldest plant has been out there for six years with no problems.

The reason I know this is because I bought and used Rubber cement accidentally and couldn't figure out why I could adjust the foam backing freely after sticking the two sides together.

This stuff has very toxic fumes though, be careful not to "huff."
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660908 by JESSS
Dec 7, 2011 12:20pm
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Thanks for the information! I have a bottle of contact cement around here somewhere that I can try the next time I mount a stamp.

Contact cement is the kind you put on both surfaces, wait 20 minutes and then stick them together.

You can do that with rubber cement too. It makes the bond more permanent; you can't re-position the two pieces after you've made a contact this way. A lot of brands don't give you these directions on the bottle, they only give the semi-permanent removable directions.

[._.]
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660908 by JESSS
Dec 7, 2011 12:26pm
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There are two similar looking products; Rubber Cement and Contact Cement. This stuff has very toxic fumes though, be careful not to "huff."

Very true, JESS. Contact cement is what they use for formica countertops, and if its done right, they don't come undone. And the fumes are very potent! They do make a water-based contact cement these days, which is far less fumy, but in my experience, it does not hold up anywhere near as well. With the possibility of dampness in our neck of the woods, it probably wouldn't hold up as well anyway.

I'm curious as to how the poly gorilla glue will do over a long period of time - it might make sense to use the solvent based contact cement over the poly glue, only because even cured, contact cement still remains slightly "rubbery", whereas the poly glue becomes solid. The bond of poly glue for wood, as Kirbert said, is fantastic. Perhaps both will hold up just as well.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660897 by tiggermama
Dec 7, 2011 12:33pm
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I made a note of this page, tigs! ;)
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660898 by Aiphid
Dec 7, 2011 1:17pm
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I use a spray can of headliner adhesive. I think I read about it in Kirbert's tutorials. It has worked great so far (about a year now) here in Texas. I haven't gone back to check all my boxes in that time but I have seen enough to know it is holding up well in 110 degree heat and with boxes in high humidity locations. I also used it on my sig stamp with no issues noticed so far. I mount my stamps (pink stuff) onto 1/4" think sheet foam from Stampeaz and Michaels, no wood layer although I have thought about adding 1/4" plywood with the foam layer in between.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660924 by PI Joe
Dec 7, 2011 1:47pm
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Just a word to the wise - although in TX it might be different, but plywood probably isn't the best option - it'll delaminate over time if its out in the weather. Our weather being cooler and more damp it definately is not a good idea, but the heat might affect it down there - not sure. A thin piece of hardwood would be better, or even a 1/4 thick piece of acrylic. Or, just stick with the foam - that's what alot of the people up our way do, and so far so good...
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660933 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 2:24pm
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So far I have only used plywood on my son's sig stamp. All my other stamps are foam-backed only. I have seen one boxer locally using ceramic/porcelain floor tile material.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660940 by PI Joe
Dec 7, 2011 5:02pm
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one local boxer here uses Skulpy (sp). She molds the backing, then bakes them, then glues them in when they're done. They come out really nice, actually.

~tigs (who REALLY cant' spend all night online, because she has too much to DO)
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660898 by Aiphid
Dec 7, 2011 6:54pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Don't ever use rubber cement. It's for paper.

And the key to using contact cement, besides making sure to wait for it to fully dry before putting the pieces together, is to use good contact cement! The commonly-available stuff won't hold up to the heat of summer, even when applied correctly. That's why I use headliner cement, available in a spray can at auto parts stores. It is contact cement, but it's really good contact cement, it'll hold up a headliner in a sunny Walmart parking lot.

Whether or not your stamps slide apart does depend on a couple of other things, though. The headliner cement works great on pink stuff and orange PZ Kut, but it won't hold the white erasers that we could buy from Dollar Tree a few years ago. Something in the Dollar Tree erasers just ate right through the glue.

I really only use headliiner cement to bond pink stuff to pipe insulation foam these days, and for that it's perfectly reliable.

Oh, and about super glue -- the stuff comes in smaller tubes now. I mean, seriously, the tubes were never large, but now instead of buying one tube that's the size of a thimble, you can get a package of a dozen tubes that add up to a thimble. They are deliberately one-use-only, use a tube for whatever you're doing and throw it away, we all know that whatever's left in that tube will be a rock the next time you need the stuff.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660933 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 7, 2011 6:59pm
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Yeah, I agree, don't ever use plywood. Been there, done that. The only wood you should ever consider for backing a stamp is hardwood (oak, walnut, etc.) and at least 1/4" thick.

Funny thing is, I don't really understand why anyone would use anything else. 1/4" thick oak is available at Home Depot or Lowe's, and it's so cheap it's not even worth the discussion. Two bucks will buy you enough to back a couple of dozen stamps.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660897 by tiggermama
Dec 7, 2011 7:02pm
Thread (disabled) Board
In one of the tutorials Goop was recommended. I can't find that tutorial right now, but it's not in "Stamp Carving 101".

Does anyone know how Goop holds up because my stamps haven't had a winter yet.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661024 by Kirbert
Dec 7, 2011 9:51pm
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I have all kinds of scraps of hardwood left over from various jobs, and haven't had to buy a single piece yet. If you know a carpenter, ask them for some hardwood scraps. Any hardwood should do - oak, maple, mahogany, poplar, walnut. I would not advise using softwoods like spruce, pine, douglas fir, balsam - more likely to absorb water and warp or split. Alot of pallets are made with hardwood as well, albeit is usually rough, but a little cutting and sanding will give you hundreds of stamp backings. Just make sure it is hardwood.

Also, if you use wood, you can make it last even longer by sealing the wood with something. I would recommend gluing the stamp first to the raw wood - the glue will bond better and act as a sealer itself on the wood it touches. What I've done is stamped the image on the block of wood first, then glued it and let that dry. Then I wrapped masking tape around the outer edge of the stamp, but left the wood exposed. Then I've sprayed the wood with laquer which dries quick and doesn't affect the inked image on the wood. I haven't tried polyurethane yet, which would definately seal the wood, probably better than the laquer, but not sure if the solvents would affect the ink. Sealing the wood all around will help keep moisture out of it, thereby helping prevent any warping or splitting.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661026 by Oberon_Kenobi
Dec 7, 2011 9:53pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I started by using "Shoe Goo" which is made by Goop as well, then have been using Goop. So far all has been well, but I haven't had any through a winter yet, so I'm waiting to see as well.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660897 by tiggermama
Dec 8, 2011 2:54am
Thread (disabled) Board
You can find sheets of thick foam at Joann fabrics and sometimes at some Michaels. Then you can skip the door knocker thingys. I also slash the back of the stamp like Freddy Krueger so the glue can penetrate; makes a firmer hold.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661045 by greenmountainhiker
Dec 8, 2011 4:47am
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ok, where are you finding the sheets of thick foam at Joann's and Michael's? i'm prowling the same stores as you, gmh and i'm only finding the really thin ones. Hence, i'm buying the packs of door knockers - which is kinda cool; you get a lot of different colors that way. . .

~ tigs
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661056 by tiggermama
Dec 9, 2011 3:37am
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I find them at Joann's all the time; find them at Michael's some of the time. Want some for Christmas? :)
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #660933 by Bubbaloo Magoo
Dec 9, 2011 6:41am
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A thin piece of hardwood would be better, or even a 1/4 thick piece of acrylic.

Anyone ever use acrylic? I have a couple small blocks from some silicone stamps I have for scrapbooking...
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661337 by Peanut Bethy
Dec 9, 2011 7:36am
Thread (disabled) Board
Anyone ever use acrylic

The Neff B I 's use acrylic on some of theirs..

Beardog
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661337 by Peanut Bethy
Dec 9, 2011 11:12am
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I have used acrylic a lot -- because I happen to have a great big 4' x 8' sheet of the stuff I had to buy because I needed about one foot of it off one end, nothing else to do with the rest. It's black acrylic, not clear, but it works the same -- arguably better, I don't need to look through it at the glue job.

I prefer hardwood, primarily because it's so much easier to saw into the correct size piece for backing a stamp. I happen to have a lifetime supply of hardwood too, so I don't use the acrylic any more. It does work fine, though.
Re: lil guinea pig reports in
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #661299 by greenmountainhiker
Dec 9, 2011 4:15pm
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YES! Yes I want some for Christmas! More importantly, I want you to take me there and show me where they are hiding them!

~frustrated tigs