So, today after a rather lazy morning, I decided that I would attempt to stamp the coin blanks that I made yesterday. There are a few things that have changed since I tried it with the solder blanks I made last time. I no-longer have a nice big solid workbench to try it on… I can not use the the collar I used previously as these blanks no longer fit in it. These things make a big difference to the force at which I am comfortable striking with.
So… How do I fix these things? I need a stump… a large hardwood log about 40cm in diameter and about 120cm long. This will become my solid work surface. It will be the right height for me to comfortably take a swing at the die sets. As for the collar… that helps with the top die not getting off centre, however it should be OK without it. With the Stump, I would also be willing to try stamping the Silver I have been holding off on.
The other option for coining is a home made lever press. By multiplying lever action through a series of interconnected levers, I should be able to create the force needed to press a coin. In theory this works… however not being math minded enough to be able to calculate the force required, I would just have to take a guess and hope it’s enough…
If you know any truckies who would lend you their 12tonne jack then that would be perfect. We had one in the workshop I took on die pressing jewellery blanks. It was used for forming 3D shapes rather than patterning but am sure it’d be worth a shot with such a soft metal as pewter. Maybe even a smaller jack would work? Just a thought is all.
Yeah, I have looked at that too.
Just need to get a heavy duty frame made up to support it. 