Key Stamper

[RedStagKiller]

Can anyone recommend a key engraver or stamper? It is for a small professional shop. I would like something automatic that could do multiple keys at once. Usually i just stamp 2-3 letters/numbers per key. A quieter sound would be a plus (anything should be quieter than the stamp and hammer I use now)

[Safecrackin Sammy]

Researched it several times over the years for customers and most are pricey.

Ilco makes come computerized engravers listed in their key machine catalog.

Numberall makes come manual stampers built onto a press but again lots of money.

I have an inch thick steel plate with eight pins drilled in it for the holes in the keys. A clamp bar goes across the keys to hold them down. One end is held in place by a thumb screw, the other with a mounted welders clamp. (Harbor Freight $5) The bar is situated so that the edge makes a nice stop to place your individual stamps on to keep them aligned on the key. All you have to concentrate on is the stamp spacing. Does a nice job of close to factory stamping.

[billdeserthills]

I've been stamping keys by hand all my life and I prefer to do it by eye. HPC makes a stamping tool to keep the stamping aligned in a straight row https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUZPXVfdZX0

IDK what you charge to stamp keys-- I usually give away the first 2-3 characters on keys I cut,
and if folks don't think my stamping is good enough for free they are welcome to get their own stamp set and have a go

[cledry]

We use a numberall stamper which we bought used 40 years ago. Still works fine. Wish we had the smaller characters though.

[jimu57]

Automatic is going to cost. A friend of mine in CA has an arbor press type with a Numerall head. It you want I can message you his phone number.

[jeffmoss26]

I have been stamping keys by hand for a year and I have gotten pretty good. Machines will not be cheap but if you are doing a huge volume it may be worth it.

[tpark]

I have the HPC alignment tool and it works, but I find that I can do an acceptable job doing it by hand, it just takes a bit of practice. Silca makes an engraving machine, but it seems kind of expensive for what it does. A system where the information for the key machine and the marker are downloaded at the same time would be handy, but you would have to have pretty high volume to justify the cost in my opinion.

[cledry]

I think a stamper or engraver would pay for itself in saved time in about 2 years in a typical shop. Even a small master key job would mean stamping a few hundred keys. Larger jobs would be a few thousand and then there are all the code keys for desks etc. Some days we don't touch the stamper and other days it can be going for a couple of hours flat out.

[stratmando]

Ilco has an Engrave-it Pro, the're are also Las
er engravers.
Looks like they come a long way.

[billdeserthills]

Ilco has an Engrave-it Pro, the're are also Las
er engravers.
Looks like they come a long way.

I looked into getting a key engraver from Ilco 10 years ago, I was hoping to use it to engrave AR-15 lowers, which it very likely could also do. The over $5k expense forced me to pay extra $$ to the manufacturer instead and have them engrave my info on the lowers for me

[stratmando]

Here's a $100 Laser engraver, I'M sure more Money will get better quality, and or more reliable?

[ShadowXT]

Here's a $100 Laser engraver, I'M sure more Money will get better quality, and or more reliable?

Cheaper end laser engravers are not safe in my opinion. These are low end Chinese made product with minimal eye protection. It only takes a split second to blind you for life with these high powered lasers.

They are fine for wood or other material surfaces where it absorbs the laser light. On nickel plated blanks, the surface reflects light and require higher power to engrave the surface. The higher power levels would be more dangerous. The typical low end system requires safety glasses and that is the only protection for the users. People in the vicinity of the machine would all require to put on safety glasses to be safe. On the more expensive systems, there are safety shields and enclosures.

If cost is a problem and you want to use a CNC system, you can buy very low cost CNC system that uses MACH3 or MACH4 software to generate the engraving letters. The main problem is to make a fixture to clamp the key to the CNC table and allow the cutter to engrave without contacting the fixture. It can be done with clamps, but a precision vise would provide better repeatability. You can buy these lower end CNC system for much less than $500 for a complete system. However, they are more like toys than industrial use machines.

[ShadowXT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5RKWAAxfX0

Here is an example of a CNC system with blank jigging for multi key engraving using a CNC. The main issue is with the blank holding fixture is specific to the blank shape. If you are mainly cutting a specific blank, creating the custom blank holding fixture would be a huge time saver.

[RedStagKiller]

Thanks I like the Idea of that cnc machine. Generally i only use one type of blank with some different ones scattered here and there. I could make a blank holder pretty easily i think.