Sweat Box

Today's APS Member's Newsletter included the following plans for building a sweat box. I thought I'd share it with you. BTW, the e-newsletter is just another of the MANY advantages of being a member!

An easy way to remove hinges that won't peel off the back of a stamp is by using a sweat box. You can buy them, but you can make one for free with stuff you have lying around the house. Find a small, clean plastic container with a lid and a clean (new is best) sponge. A cellulose sponge of the type you would use to clean the kitchen counter works just fine. Cut the sponge to fit in the container. Fill the container with about a quarter inch of tap water. Put the sponge in. Moisture will wick through the sponge, so you don't need to make the sponge wet. Put stamps in face down in a single layer on the sponge. Put the lid on and leave it alone for 24 hours. After a day, the gum on the hinge should soften sufficiently that you can use tongs to peel it away. Allow the stamp to dry before putting it into an album or stockbook.

Thank you Greg. I've been lucky enough to never need one, but, if I do I'll remember your post.



Butch

Mine is similar to that but I was worried about the water wicking up the sponge and soaking the stamps so I have a small plastic rack from a tupperware cold cut box to keep the stamps from directly touching the sponge. Tn fact my entire box consists of the tupper cold cut box and a sponge. works great!

Richard

greg,
thanks for sharing. I almost posting that today too when I read it.

I was worried about that too. I keep the stamp away from the sponge with a little waxed paper.

One note: if the stamp is gummed, you need to check it periodically. 24 hours in a sweat box can leave you with a sticky mess.
Been there, done that..

Dan

The sweatbox is extremely useful, but it will disturb ALL OF the gum on mint stamps. I really don't recommend it for mint stamps unless you absolutely positively have to remove something from the back of the stamp.

Thanks K we get readymade sweatboxes here :) but I will never be able to use them I think

Khj is correct. I should have been more specific in my post.

A sweat box also works if you have mint stamps stuck together. The same warning applies. You can wind up with a mess if you aren't careful. It will disturb all the gum. Practice on some throw away stamps before you tackle something of value to you.

If the stamps have really been mishandled and are really stuck together, soaking is the option I use.

Dan

couldn't you use the same thing to soak stamps off paper? If you needed to do just a couple of stamps at a time.

My beautiful little sweat box was my grandfather's. Never damaged a stamp with it. Wouldn't be without it.

You might be able to Shark - depending on the glue used and the thickness of the paper, etc.

I'm not sure why you would want to unless you have a stamp that is notorious for fading or running when soaked.

running what do you mean running?

Can someone post a picture of what one looks like?

He means that the ink runs (bleeds) and could discolor other stamps if you soak them.

Some older issues were printed with fugitive inks that would literally 'run' off the stamp were it to be immersed in water.