After introducing himself, Ralph asked: 


> Where did old wood tool owners get their name stamps? I priced them  from
several sources and it looked like $200. Any ideas?
I can't speak directly to the traditional solution, but I made my own
(touchmark, rather than name stamp, but I use it for wood as well as formed and
machined metal ). A chunk of steel rod (which I have in copious quantity),
files, and a few home-made gravers, and there you go. I used W-1 water
hardening, then hardened and tempered, since I used it to touchmark metal.


You can construct one for wood from a set (or two, since you have two 'O's in
your name) of letter stamps.


You can scratch make from raw stock like I did those many years ago.

You can build up one suitable for softer woods several ways. Drill holes in a
piece of plate in the pattern you want and braze or weld in pointed pins. Braze
formed wire to a flat in the shape you want to act as a boss.


If you have access to a CNC machine, mill out of raw stock (that is what I would
do now, given that I own a machine and have access via work to others)


A brand can be made up fairly easily, and can be quite soft metal (aluminum, for
example) since it doesn't take great force.

A rubber stamp for use with ink or paint can be made up for a few duckets at an
office store from whatever art you want, or bought online. A lot of furniture,
both commercial and custom, has come with no more than this.

Just a few ideas. There are a lot of other ways, and I am sure others will weigh
in, possibly with economical sources for strike-able options.


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