Nexen - Corporate Gifting

A friend of mine was looking for a good corporate gift to give to the attendees at a conference.  She started describing what she was looking for and as I started to picture it in my head I mentioned that I thought I could do that.  It would actually be a pretty straightforward project, it just needed to be done 230 times.  Of course, that means jigs!!

The walnut boards were jointed, thicknesed, and ripped to width with a bevel all at once and then crosscut.   That created the blocks on which to work, they were then sanded and then the fun started.  

Each block was set into a jig which held it in place and at an angle so that the slot in the top would be leaned back by about 10 degrees. 

Slot Routing Jig in Action, Toggle Clamp to Hold the Work in Place

Half Way Done Routing the Slots

After routing the slots I added the rubber feet to the blocks and sprayed them with lacquer.  Also, I ordered some custom stamps from Infinity Stamps.  To get them I sent over a drawing for each of the stamps and they sent a proof of what the stamp would impress.  Once given the ok it took a few weeks to get them manufactured and shipped over.

Spread Out and Ready to Lacquer

A Few New Stamps Ready for Use

Due to the bevel on the front I couldn't hammer the stamp directly so I made a jig to try and align the stamp with the bevel on the blocks of wood.  I turned out to be a massive failure.  The pressure required to impress the wood was too great for the jig to hold secure.

A First Failed Attempt

Once I stopped and thought about it a little more I realized that there was a much simpler way.  I had received a patternmakers vise for my birthday and realized that this was an awesome opportunity to put it to use.  I rotated the vise to vertical and cut a block of wood to hold the beveled face horizontal and then pressed the stamps using the vise.  Much more consistent pressure and fewer dropped items hitting my feet. 

Second Times a Charm

Stamped and Ready for Packaging

The slots in the walnut bases are designed to hold a halved and polished ammonite, it was kind of exciting to unwrap so many fossils.  They are so beautiful.  It took 4 of us a short evening to wrap up all of the bases and ammonites in bubble wrap and box them up. 

A Selection of Ammonites Ready to Go

The Finished Product, One of 230