HPC The Stamper

[DIY Dave]

Here's an interesting tool I bought recently on ebay. I hadn't seen one before, so I thought I would share. I've done a little research, and it looks like HPC no longer sells this.

It came with quite a bit of surface rust.

The Stamper.png

Stamper base.png

Stamper wheel.png

So I disassembled it and soaked it in vinegar for several hours to remove the rust

Disassembled stamper.jpg

After allowing it to dry I oiled the moving parts with gun oil (the only oil I had available)

Oiling stamper.jpg

And reassembled...It's much easier to read with the rust removed

Dial on stamper.jpg

Stamper cleaned up.jpg

I didn't even need a hammer to stamp the keys, I just struck it with the palm of my hand and that was enough to make a good imprint

Keys stamped.jpg

(Yes I know I misspelled keypicking...my workbench wasn't bright enough to see the letters well)

Here's a link to my demo of the tool
https://youtu.be/z_d5jVp4JFQ

[MBI]

Pretty neat tool there Dave.
Did you get a decent deal on it?

[DIY Dave]

I paid $100 which isn't a steal, but I thought it was reasonable compared to a decent set of letter stamps and number stamps

[macgng]

that is a good deal. what they sell now is the letter & number stamps and a holder that makes it centered and straight with multiple rows, the whole setup is over 200$

[Riyame]

I paid $100 which isn't a steal, but I thought it was reasonable compared to a decent set of letter stamps and number stamps

Yup, I have watched a few of these sell on ebay and they always hit right around the $100 mark. Congrats on the new toy.

[jeffmoss26]

My college has an HPC stamper in their lock shop but they use a Denison multipress to actuate the stamper. Makes key stamping very fast!

[DIY Dave]

that is a good deal. what they sell now is the letter & number stamps and a holder that makes it centered and straight with multiple rows, the whole setup is over 200$

I've used their new setup with the stamp aligner and its kind of a joke. Its quicker and just as easy to stamp it by hand

[DIY Dave]

My college has an HPC stamper in their lock shop but they use a Denison multipress to actuate the stamper. Makes key stamping very fast!

I wasn't quite sure how it was supposed to be actuated, so I tried a dead blow hammer, but it worked just as well with a nice strike from my hand

[dmasters]

that is a good deal. what they sell now is the letter & number stamps and a holder that makes it centered and straight with multiple rows, the whole setup is over 200$

I've used their new setup with the stamp aligner and its kind of a joke. Its quicker and just as easy to stamp it by hand

I have the stamp aligner as well, I agree it's utter crap. My old shop had a lever-actuated Numberall machine. Line up the number wheels, one pull, done. Great for sequential keys on large systems.

[jacobbiljo]

You could probably cover all the stamped letters with red paint marker and then run a razor blade across the top to leave all the paint in the depressions and off the surface. Giving you much more visible lettering so light isn't such an issue.

[jeffmoss26]

Dave, could you please make a video of the stamper in use?

[MBI]

My old shop had a lever-actuated Numberall machine. Line up the number wheels, one pull, done. Great for sequential keys on large systems.

There is a Numberall machine I wanted for years but couldn't quite justify the cost to myself.
Now that I'm not really doing much locksmithing anymore I'm definitely never going to get one, but they sure do make nice gear.

[DIY Dave]

My old shop had a lever-actuated Numberall machine. Line up the number wheels, one pull, done. Great for sequential keys on large systems.

There is a Numberall machine I wanted for years but couldn't quite justify the cost to myself.
Now that I'm not really doing much locksmithing anymore I'm definitely never going to get one, but they sure do make nice gear.

They are very pricey, even used. The shop I work at has one they paid over a grand for and it's still just a hand punch with just 5 digits of letters and numbers. It really only gets used when we are stamping keys in bulk, like with new key systems.

I'd hate to know how much a lever operated one costs (but it would be nice to use)

Jeffmoss, I'll try to get a video made later this week.

[DIY Dave]

I've added a video demo of The Stamper tool

[jeffmoss26]

Thanks for the video Dave. If I ever make it back to my college's lock shop (I graduated 5 years ago) I will try to get a picture of their setup.