Is it possible to mill existing hotstamps and get Paulson chips hotstamped with Starbursts? (1 Viewer)

[Balanar]

Pretty simple question but I couldn't find any clear answers on this.

 

[RowdyRawhide]

Technically it's (2) questions and not simple to understand what you are asking, but I'll take a stab

1) Yes I'm pretty sure you can mill hotstamps

2) yes you can get Paulson starbursts, but not new from Paulson, on the secondary market they are available. In fact I pretty sure there is a classified for some right now

 

[Balanar]

Ok definitely could've phrased it better. What I get for trying to be lazy and incorporate the qn into the title because I hate typing on my phone. I think the word "get" in the question added to the confusion.

I do know existing hotstamps can be milled off/away. However, are we able to apply the same starbursts hotstamps that exist on current starburst chips onto those milled ones? Basically, can we create new starbursts?

 

[Denali]

You mean mill then followed by hot stamping? If so I don't think so. The removal of material would likely make the chips more prone to breaking under the force used in hot stamping.

 

[Balanar]

You mean mill then followed by hot stamping? If so I don't think so. The removal of material would likely make the chips more prone to breaking under the force used in hot stamping.

Yes exactly. Ah man, just what I feared.

 

[Denali]

Not saying impossible but... risky for sure.

 

[RowdyRawhide]

@cgraham86 might be able to answer for sure

 

[Balanar]

Does the starburst hotstamp exist then?

 

[Denali]

Could have one made easy enough.

 

[kmccormick100]

Wait, you want to remove a starburst hotstamp then reapply a starburst hotstamp? I’m confused...

 

[Denali]

I assumed a hot stamp chip with a monogram or something like that that he wants to convert to a starburst.

 

[Balanar]

I assumed a hot stamp chip with a monogram or something like that that he wants to convert to a starburst.

Yup

 

[allforcharity]

Unfortunately, even carefully milling a mint hot stamp chip will make the newly recessed area too fragile to take another hot stamp, because those presses use not a small amount of pressure. Remember, you're milling both sides. New stickers = ok. Re-hot-stamping = no-no.

Maybe a metal-slugged plastic chip could take the pressure, but then who'd want to waste time milling and re-stamping one of those?

 

[Balanar]

 

[cgraham86]

It's been tried - with mixed success.

I've done it a few times - used paulsons who's hotstamp was removed by a milling machine.

First, the inlay has to be milled perfectly flat and uniformly. The new recess has to be 100% perfectly parallel with the face of the chip.

Second, you can't move any more material than what the original hotstamp would require. This also helps getting the die deep enough in the recess to create an impression on the 2nd hotstamp.

Third, the hotstamed area will be made harder by the heating/cooling process of the previous stamp, so hotstamping it again generally leads to only partially successful results, so the smaller the die used most likely the better.

That being said - a member here a few years ago was a machinist and managed to mill a hundred or so. I hotstamped them with a really simple die afterwards. It was good enough for him, but no where near perfect.